SAAUT|The Rising Tide
A pilot conference by Students Against Alzheimer's University of Toronto
Speakers
Dr. Jeffrey Henderson, PhD
Talk title: Modulation of neurodegeneration: Alzheimer’s and beyond.
Dr. Jeffrey Henderson is an Associate Professor in the Division of Biomolecular Toxicology at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto. His laboratory studies the molecular mechanisms governing life and death within cells through a process known as programmed cell death (PCD). Abnormal PCD is a key feature of many neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease. Through the characterization of key molecular interactions governing specific forms of cell death they are implementing development of small molecule drugs to modulate neurodegeneration in vivo. He is a recipient of CIHR, NIH, Heart and Stroke, NARSAD and NSERC awards and a multiple awardee of the Rick Hansen Fellowship in spinal cord injury. His laboratory has published a number of works in the area of molecular neuroscience including articles in Cell, Neuron and the Journal of Neuroscience. Following doctoral studies in Physical Biochemistry at the University of Illinois he pursued post-doctoral work in molecular genetics, neuroscience and transgensis, establishing his own laboratory at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital in 1997. Dr. Henderson currently directs the MIH Core facility at the University of Toronto, sits on the Board of Advisors for the Transgenics Core, Toronto Centre for Phenogenomics and is a member of the Academic Program Committee for the University of Toronto’s Neuroscience Program.
Dr. Isabelle Aubert, PhD
Talk title: Therapies promoting brain health and function.
Dr. Isabelle Aubert and her team The Brain Repair Group, focus on developing therapies to stop neurodegeneration and promote regeneration under pathological conditions found in cases of Alzheimer's disease. Novel treatments are being tested in models of Alzheimer's disease to deliver therapeutic molecules across the blood-brain barrier, halt the toxicity of beta-amyloid peptides and induce neuronal survival and regeneration. Pharmacological approaches, immunotherapy and gene therapy are being evaluated in vitro and in vivo for their potential in maintaining neuronal health and inducing brain repair.The Brain Repair Group aims to develop meaningful treatments that will lead to better brain and mind health, and ultimately restore and preserve critical cognitive functions such as learning and memory in cases of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Aubert obtained her BSc. in biochemistry at University of Montreal, her PhD in neuroscience at McGill University, followed by a Post-doctoral fellowship at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego. She is currently a senior scientist under the Brain Sciences Research Program at the Sunnybrook Research Institute, and is also an associate professor under the Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology department at U of T.
Dr. Donald Weaver, MD, FRCPC, PhD
Talk title: New directions in the development of drugs for Alzheimer's Disease.
Dr. Weaver's research interests are focused on computer-aided drug design and medicinal chemistry with particular applications to chronic neurodegenerative disorders. His general approach employs a variety of theoretical chemistry techniques to design small molecules capable of binding to designated receptor sites; these small molecules are drug-like new chemical entities. The molecules are then synthesized using synthetic organic chemistry methods, and then evaluated to enable an iterative process of compound optimization driven by quantitative structure-activity relationship calculations.
Dr. Weaver is applying this drug design strategy to a variety of disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), protein misfolding dementia (tauopathies), epilepsy and stroke. In Alzheimer's disease, he is designing brain penetrant compounds that bind to beta-amyloid preventing its aggregation into neurotoxic oligomers. These agents hold beta-amyloid in a non-toxic conformation thereby blocking neuronal degradation. To date, his laboratory has devised three novel drug design molecular platforms as putative anti-aggregants. These agents have significant activities across a variety of in vitro and in vivo models of AD. In addition to the design and development of drug molecules, Dr. Weaver is also interested in medical device development, specifically as related to the evaluation and measurement of human consciousness. For example, he has worked to develop a " consciousness scanner" device that can be used to clinically evaluate concussions and to determine the depth of a coma. In all of his research, Dr. Weaver is focused on both basic science and translational science. He has pioneered the concept of " micropharma" , and his work emphasizes the importance of hospital and university-based biotech companies to address the growing need for new innovative therapeutics for a wide variety of human brain disorders.
Dr. Barry Greenberg, PhD
Talk title: Realities of Dementia: Establishing a breakwater to divert the incoming tsunami.
Barry Greenberg has been involved in Alzheimer’s disease research and drug discovery since 1985. He has held a series of positions internationally in the US, Sweden and Canada within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Dr. Greenberg was the leader of a drug discovery project at AstraZeneca through lead optimization, involving up to 50 individuals from eight departments. Before joining UHN as Director, Neuroscience Drug Discovery and Development, he was Senior Director of Pharmacology at Neurochem, responsible for the preclinical biology research program and a contributor to the analyses of the phase III Alzhemed trial. At UHN, he is also co-directing the Toronto Dementia Research Alliance as Director of Strategy, a consortium involving academic research and the five memory clinics at hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto to create a citywide dementia research center. He possesses a significant background in most aspects of the drug discovery process in neurological disease, with externally recognized expertise ranging from target identification and validation through preclinical and clinical development including issues of biomarker-based diagnosis and proof of concept. He has a strong international network in the Alzheimer field including industry, academia, government and the voluntary sector, plus previous involvement in multi-sector consortia, and was recently a member of the committee charged with drafting the scientific strategic recommendations to inform the National Alzheimer Plan in the US.. He has authored or co-authored 70 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 19 book chapters and reviews.
Dr. Carmela Tartaglia, MD, FRCPC, RCPSC
Talk title: A diagnosis in search of a cause.
Dr. Tartaglia is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a Staff Neurologist at the University Health Network. She is a clinician-investigator at the Tanz Center for Research in Neurodegenerative Disease. Her clinical and research interests lie in neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on Frontotemporal dementia. She uses imaging, pathology and genetics to better understand the pathological substrates that cause cognitive, behavioral and motoric dysfunction. The ultimate goal of her research program is to provide early, pathology-specific treatments to her patients. An emerging interest of Dr. Tartaglia is the role of head trauma (concussion) in dementia, both in athletes and in members of the general population.
Dr. Bill Ju, PhD
Dr. William (Bill) Ju obtained both his Master’s degree (M.Sc.) in Physiology and his Doctorate (Ph.D.) in the department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, from the University of Toronto. His graduate research involved the examination of the cellular and molecular pathways underlying motivation, learning and memory, and neurodegeneration. His post-doctoral fellowship extended these interests, and investigated the roles of receptor trafficking and stabilization in the brain and their influence on health and disease states. After completing his research, Bill spent time as a sessional lecturer in the Physiology and Cell and Systems Departments at the University of Toronto, before joining the Human Biology Program in 2009 as a full time lecturer. Bill has incorporated the use of his previous research background to teach courses within the Neuroscience as well as the Health and Disease streams. Student engagement and extending the traditional classroom has been a dominant part of Bill’s pedagogical philosophy and he has enjoyed presenting the use of technology enhanced, extended classrooms and online classroom management strategies at various teaching conferences. His current interests focus on the translation of his research work in motivational learning and use of technology to develop assessment tools to gauge the effectiveness of online lecture delivery and learning. Bill also aims to create novel forms of “authentic “ (or real-world) assignments to assess skills, concepts and knowledge transfer to students in both online and traditional classrooms.