Current Neuropharmacology

The research carried out by Dr. Alfonso Alfaro-Rodríguez has focused in the study of the chemistry of the brain. His studies are centered in the search for neuronal damage mechanisms caused by neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, brain injuries, and currently nociception. He has also dabbled in the study of several antiepileptic and antidepressant drugs over the central nervous system. The role of monoamines like serotonin and acetylcholine along with several catecholamines at neuronal and molecular level in the development of neurodegenerative diseases has been a central topic of his research. The research over the mechanisms of brain damage by means of different neurotoxic pathways unchained by neurodegenerative diseases has led him to successfully explore the role of neuroprotective drugs in a myriad of animal models. With his research he has allowed the assessment of neuronal damage and the disabilities caused by these diseases. At present he has centered in the development of novel research protocols over the mechanisms of pain and the elaboration of diagnostic strategies for the timely diagnostic of it; by means of the employment of new drugs that could improve quality of life of patients suffering of chronic pain.

Dr. Qiang Ao received his M.D. degree from Dalian Medical University China (2003) and then received his Post-doctoral training in Tsinghua University. He served as an Associate Professor of neuroscience in Tsinghua Univerisity from 2007 till 2014. He also served as a Professor at the China Medical University (2014–2019), and is now a Professor in School of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, China. He has published more than 100 papers in SCI Journals, including Biomaterials, Brain Stimulation, Acta Biomaterialia. His current research interests include the biomaterials and stem cells related regeneration and reconstruction of peripheral and central nervous system.

Celia Regina Carlini holds a degree in Biological Sciences - Medical Modality from the Federal University of São Paulo (1978), a master's degree (1981) and a doctorate (1985), both in Molecular Biology - Protein Chemistry from the Federal University of São Paulo (1985), Brazil. From 1993 to 1995 she pereformed postdoctoral studies at the Center for Insect Science at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ, USA. She was associate professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (1983-1997) and full professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (1997-2012). She is currently Associate Professor at the School of Medicine and principal investigator at the Brain Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), in the city of Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. She is a Full Member (C. Biologicas) of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (elected in 2009).

Jiachun Feng received his Ph.D. degree from Bethune University of Medical Sciences, China in 1994. He was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada from 2004 till 2005. He is Director of the Department of Neurology, the First Bethune Hospital, Jilin University. Dr. Feng is an Associate Editor of “Journal of Apoplexy and Nervous Diseases” and “Medical information - Neurology channel” whereas he is in the Editorial Board of the “Chinese Journal of Cerebrovascular Diseases” and “Chinese Journal of Stroke.” Besides, he has published several articles in well-reputed journals.

Dr. Martin Frasch is affiliated with the Center on Human Development and Disability (CHDD) and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the School of Medicine at The University of Washington in Seattle, USA. He conducts research on human brain programming through theoretical, in silico, animal-model based in vivo and in vitro as well as human/clinical studies. Martin is passionate about improving the health outcomes of pregnant mothers and their babies by monitoring their health non-invasively using different biosensors and providing actionable information to parents and health practitioners. Martin's research shows that these technologies may reliably predict the risk for perinatal brain injury, allowing more individualized pregnancy, labor, and postnatal health management to optimize the individual brain developmental trajectories. For more information visit the lab's website: https://fraschlab.org

Dr. Amgad Hanna obtained his M.B.B. Ch (Medical Bachelor & Bachelor of Chirurgie) in 1990 from Cairo University, Egypt, and then his D.I.S (Inter-university Diploma of specialization) in Neurosurgery in 1999 from University of Rennes I, France. He is currently Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, in the Department of Neurosurgical Surgery, at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Dr. Hanna specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders related to the spine and [peripheral nerves. Additionally, he has experience in complex spine surgery, treatment of intradural tumors, and minimally invasive spine surgery and kyphoplasty. Dr. Hanna has published over 35 articles in various journals of international repute.

Runming Jin obtained his M.D. in 1984 and Ph. D. of Pediatrics in 1995 from Tongji Medical University, Wuhan, China. He received his postdoctoral training in Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. He is currently a full professor and the head of pediatric department of Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. And he also severs as the chairman of Hubei Pediatric Association. Professor Jin is the principal investigator of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and many other researches. He is in the editorial board of many prestige journals in China. He has published more than 200 academic papers, and is the editor of a number of pediatric teaching materials and reference books. He is focused on blood cancers, inherited and metabolic diseases in pediatrics. The central nervous system involvement in pediatric cancers is one of his research areas.

Woon-Man Kung received his M.D. degree from the School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University (TMU), Taipei, Taiwan in 1999. In 2012, he received his M.Sc. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the College of Medicine and College of Engineering, National Taiwan University (NTU), Taipei, Taiwan. Dr. Kung now serves as a Consultant Neurosurgeon in the Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital (TCH), Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, New Taipei City, Taiwan, as well as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise and Health Promotion, College of Kinesiology and Health, Chinese Culture University (CCU), Taipei, Taiwan. He further participates as an International Member of the professional association at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), as a Board Member of Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and World Journal of Clinical Cases. Furthermore, he is in the Topic Editorial Board of Brain Sciences. Additionally, he also serves as a Guest Associate Editor for Frontiers in Oncology, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Frontiers in Plant Science, Frontiers in Neuroscience, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, and Frontiers in Genetics. He has also been the Lead Guest Editor for Molecular Imaging and Behavioural Neurology, and acted as an ad-hoc reviewer for a number of prestigious scientific journals.

Dr. Cheng Luo obtained a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineer from University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. Currently Dr. Luo is a full Professor in school of life science and technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. In 20 years of professional experience, he has signifivanlty contributed to the teaching and training of Neuroimage graduate and studying in therapeutic need Neuroimage. His current research focuses on the methodological development of multi-modal neuroimages and clinical applications. Dr. Luo remained the member of CSBME, OHBM and ISMRM and editorial member of 5 journals. He has over 100 peer- reviewed scientific publications which have received > 3000 citations (h-index = 29). Research Interest: Brain Connectivity, MRI, simultaneous EEG and fMRI, Neurological and mental disease includes: Epilepsia, Schizophrenia, AD.

Dr. Anna B. Moszczynska is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University. Detroit, MI, USA. She received her PhD in Neurochemistry. Institute of Medical Science, School of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada. Her current research focuses on the discovery of novel molecular and epigenetic drug targets to attenuate methamphetamine (METH) abuse in heavy users of the drug. Her primary research interest is parkin and proteasome, two components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system, as drug targets in MUD whereas her secondary research interest lies in transposable elements (rat LINE-1 an Identifier element) and their role in mediating METH neurotoxicity. Moreover, she has published several articles in well-reputed national/international journals.

Seyed Mohammad Nabavi is a biotechnologist and senior scientist of Applied Biotechnology Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Science and a member of Iran's National Elites Foundation. His research focuses on the molecular pharmacology of natural products. He is author/co-author of 250 publications in international journals, 51 communications at national and international congress, and six chapters in book series. Seyed Mohammad Nabavi has been selected as a group of scientists recognized as Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate Analytics, 2018.

María de la Luz Navarro Angulo is currently a Full Professor at the Facultad de Medicina. Depto. de Fisiología, UNAM, Mexico. He received his Ph. D. in Physiological Sciences from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. UACPyP- Center for Neurobiology. México. His research interests include molecular aspects of sleep and memory, diurnal variations in neuroprotection, and participation of the cannabinergic system in the development of the metabolic syndrome. He has published 44 original research articles, 1 review articles, 3 disseminations and 11 book chapters in several national/ international journals.

Dr. Hellen A. Oketch-Rabah is a Pharmacognosist and practicing Senior Toxicologist. Currently she is the Senior Manager & Senior Scientific Liaison at the United States Pharmacopoeia in the Department of Dietary Supplements and Herbal Medicines. She leads the front end of USP/NF monograph development activities that determine the nomenclature and admission of dietary supplements ingredients for monograph development. Before joining USP, Dr. Oketch-Rabah was the Principal Scientist at Herb Pharm Inc. an FDA inspected dietary supplement manufacturing facility in Oregon, USA. Prior to that she was a research scientist at the prestigious Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley California, USA doing research on natural products and breast cancer biology. Earlier in her career Dr Oketch-Rabah was a senior lecturer of Pharmacognosy at the School of Pharmacy, University of Nairobi (UoN) in Kenya. During her tenor at the UoN she secured research grants from various organizations including IFS, DFG and World Health Organization (WHO) and she established a Pharmacognosy Research Laboratory at the UoN to perform Research and Development of Botanical Antimalarials. Dr. Oketch-R received her Ph.D. in Pharmacognosy/Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the Royal Danish School of Pharmacy in Denmark; a B.Ed (Sc) and MSc (Plant Physiology and Biochemistry) from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Oketch-Rabah has presented at more than 50 scientific conferences, published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, written 2 book chapters, and was one of the scientists interviewed in the documentary on herbal medicines- “Numen the Nature of Plants”. Hellen is an active member of the Society of Toxicology and American Society of Pharmacognosy and a reviewer for a number of Journals including Nutrition Journal, PLoS ONE, Food and Chemical Toxicology, Phytotherapy Research. She is currently an Executive Guest Editor for Current Neuropharmacology and is on the Editorial board of the Journal of Modern Medicinal Chemistry (JMMC).

Dr. Asher Ornoy Graduated at the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel. He is Training in Pediatrics and in Pediatric Neurology and Child Development in Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem. Teratology training in Children’s Hospital Research Foundation, Cincinnati, Ohio and at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA, USA. He is the Author of about 400 peer reviewed publications, about 300 abstracts and 6 scientific books. His Research focuses on child development and on animal models of congenital malformations and neurodevelopmental disorders. He also acted as Professor Emeritus of Anatomy, Embryology, Teratology and Medical Neurobiology at the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem. Currently He is a Professor and the head of Morphological Sciences and Teratology, Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University, Israel.

My main research interest and expertise is to translate neuroscience findings into diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for neuropsychiatric disorders. I hold a permanent faculty position at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and I have participated as a Principal Investigator on several national and internationally funded research. I successfully administered the operations and resources of my research projects (e.g. staffing, research conducts, budget), collaborated with other researchers, and produced many peer-reviewed publications. As a result of these previous experiences, I am aware of the importance of frequent communication among project members and sound project management from timelines, to resources, and funding. I have a broad background in neuroscience and psychiatry and I have a demonstrated execution and implementation of successful and productive projects in the fields of translational medicine /health. I have the expertise, leadership and motivation necessary to successfully to consult on project design and application.

Dr. Fabiola M. Ribero is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil. She received her PhD in Biochemistry and Immunology, UFMG, Brazil. Following her PhD, she went on for her post-doctorate studies at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. Dr. Ribeiro’s research focuses mainly on investigating the cellular and molecular neurobiochemical mechanisms inherent to Huntington’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Recently, she opened new research lines encompassing the neuroimmunomodulatory aspects of Schizophrenia and Zika virus infection effects into brain tissue. Dr. Ribeiro has published several scientific articles in journals of international repute.

Dr. Luciana Scotti received her Ph.D. in Cosmetology and Molecular Modeling at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. She did 3 years of Post-Doctorate in Pharmaceuticals at the Laboratory of Planning and Synthesis of Potentially Active Chemotherapies in Tropical Endemics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, USP. She has experience in Pharmacology Biochemistry and Molecular acting mainly in the following areas: natural products, Molecular Modeling, QSAR, and Chemometrics. She is the professor of the Post-Graduate Program of Bioactive Natural and Synthetic Products of the Federal University of Paraíba, Brazil.

Prof. Yuan Shi graduated from Third Military Medical University and Chongqing Medical University, \ and obtained MD and PhD degree respectively. Major research work by Prof. Yuan Shi and his group are on neonatal respiratory diseases and brain injury. He is the chief of Department of Neonatology with 300 neonatal beds, Children's Hospital, Chongqing Medical University. In 2019, this department admitted over 12,000 newborn infants, which is indicated to have the biggest neonatal patient numbers in China. Prof. Yuan Shi has published a few scientific articles in some important scientific journals including Pediatrics, Chest, JAMA Pediatrics, Journal of Pediatrics, Archives of Disease in Childhood, and Neonatology. Prof. Yuan Shi serves as associate editor for BMC Pediatrics, section editor for Current Neuropharmacology, guest editor for Frontiers in Pediatrics and CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets.

Prof. Tsang is a Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and the Head of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He was also appointed Cally Kwong Mei Wan Professor in Psychosocial Rehabilitation in 2018. Prof. Tsang’s research focuses on neuropsychiatric rehabilitation for people with severe mental illness (SMI) and integrative medicine over the past two decades. He has altogether secured more than 70 million research grants and more than academic 200 publications. Prof. Tsang currently works as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Psychiatry and Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, and he was the Associate Editor of American Journal of Occupational Therapy for seven years. He also served as guest editors and reviews of many high-quality journals, such as Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, BMC Medicine and Current Neuropharmacology.

Dr Claudio Viegas Jr. received his PhD Thesis on Natural Products and Medicinal Chemistry (2003) and a Postdoctoral period (2003-2006) in Medicinal Chemistry from the Institute of Chemistry of the State University of São Paulo. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry at the Institute of Chemistry of the Federal University of Alfenas. Dr Viegas-Jr. is a fellow of the Brazilian Society of Chemistry and member of the Research Staff of National Institute of Science and Technology for Drugs and Medicines’ Program. His research interests include the design, synthesis and evaluation of innovative drug candidates for neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease), CNS disorders (schizophrenia, epilepsy), neglected diseases (leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis), neuropathic and central pain and inflammation. Dr Viegas-Jr. has published over 65 peer-reviewed manuscripts and reviewed several articles in these areas.

Qiang Wang obtained a PhD in Psychiatric Genetics from Mental Health Center, Faculty of Medicine, West China, University of Medical Sciences, P.R. China. Currently, he is a Professor of Psychiatry at the Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital of Sichuan University. He has published more than 40 peer-reviewed scientific papers in several well-reputed journals. He has won several awards such as Academic and Technical Leader and Reserve Talent of Sichuan Province, Academic Leader and Reserve Talent, Health Commission of Sichuan Province, High-Level Overseas Talent of Sichuan Province, Outstanding Medical Worker for 2013-2014, Sichuan University, and Advanced Individual for 2013, West China Hospital of Sichuan University. Besides, he is an Editor of the journals like PloS One, Frontiers in Psychiatry, and JSM schizophrenia whereas a Reviewer of the journals including Schizophrenia Bulletin, Translational Psychiatry, Scientific Reports, American Journal of medical genetics(neuropsychiatry), PloS One, Frontiers in genetics, Schizophrenia Research, and BMC Psychiatry.

Dr. Yu Feng Wang received MD. & Ph.D. (Neurobiology) from Fukui Medical University (now University of Fukui Faculty of Medicine), Fukui, Japan in 1993-1997. Currently, he is a Professor of Physiology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China. Dr. Wang has been the Editor of Translational Biomedicine, Mathews Journal of Neurology, Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience and a Guest Associate Editor in Frontiers in Neuroscience and Frontiers in Endocrinology. Also, he has published more than 30 articles in well-reputed journals.

Dr. Wang XP is a Professor and Director of Neurology St. Luke Hospital at Shanghai JiaoTong University Medical School. He serves as the consultant expert at Shanghai International Medical Center. His clinical practice and research interests focus on movement disorders, neuro-degeneration, Wilson disease, sleep medicine, neuro-psychiatry, cognition, and Traditional Chinese medicine. He participates in invited review by the National Natural Foundation of China, journal Lancet/Lancet Neurology, Curr Neuropharmal, Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, CMJ, Chin J Neurol. He has been appointed as MDS-AOS Leadership: Officer and Executive Member Since Sept. 2019. His research has been funded by the National Natural Foundation of China three times plus the International Cooperation program, and Shanghai JiaoTong University Medical School Brain Innovation Plan 2015.

Haiyan Wu is an Associate Professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, China. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology and Neuroscience from Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China. She has published more than 30 articles in well-reputed journals. She is also a reviewer of many journals like Neuroimage; Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience; Neuroimaging: clinical; Psychophysiology; Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience; and IEEE’s Transactions on Affective Computing.

Dr Weilin Xu is working as a Neurosurgeon in the Second affiliated hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, China. He was a PhD student in Neurosurgery at the Zhejiang University, China and obtained M.D. in Neurosurgery from the PLA general hospital, Beijing, China. He has published more than 30 papers in distinguished journals.

Professor Chuntao Yang received his M.D. in Pathology and Pathophysiology from Sun Yat-sen University, China. He did postdoctoral training on Chemistry in Washington State University, US. In July 2011, he joined the faculty at Guangzhou Medical University. The core of his research interests comprises the discovering of therapeutic targets related to diabetic complications and cancer, through bioinformatics, medicinal chemistry and cellular biology. His area of research is to explore the significance of hydrogen sulfide and its related modification of biomacromolecules in metabolic diseases and cancer.

Dr. John H. Zhang, MD, PhD, F.A.H.A. is currently a professor in Neurosurgery and Physiology at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine. He has Edited 24 stroke & CNS disorder related books, Guest edited more than 25 special journal issues on stroke research, published more than 400 original articles, and did more than 250 invited presentations. Dr. Zhang’s research interests are cerebral vascular biology and cerebral vascular diseases, including ischemia and hemorrhage, and he has proposed the concept of early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage and vascular neural network concept for cerebral circulation.

Dr Cheng Zhou is an Associate Professor at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University. His research interests include Pharmacology of anaesthetics and analgesics and have published over 60 articles in this field. He completed his PhD in 2013 and is a scientific member of Society of Neuroscience, The New York Academy of Science, Chinese Society of Anesthesiologists and Chinese Society of Pharmacology. His other research interests involve the study of Neuroscience, Ion channels, Anesthetic mechanisms and Pharmacology.