Cindy Bokobza
Cindy Bokobza Dr Cindy BokobzaHead Scientist at MayInserm U1141 (France) Session: From pre-clinical work to an approved therapy – Wednesday 14 May (10.30am-12pm) Cindy Bokobza is a perinatal neuroscientist and head scientist at May, a mission-driven health tech startup. She has a background in translational research, with experience in France, the USA, and Portugal. Cindy coordinated key projects within the PREMSTEM consortium and has led multiple studies on neonatal brain injury, neuroinflammation, and early neurodevelopment. She has supervised over 15 students and received awards including the Alzheimer Harmonie Mutuelle Prize and the ARAPI Young Researcher Award. Passionate about bridging science and real-world health impact, she now focuses on evaluating and scaling digital health tools to support maternal and infant well-being.
William Dawes
William Dawes Dr William DawesAcademic Paediatric NeurosurgeonConsultant Paediatric Neurosurgeon, Oxford University Hospital (UK); Honorary Associate Professor, Institute of Child Health, University College London (UK) Session: Learnings from co-creation: involving external stakeholders in research – Thursday 15 May (8.30-10am) William Dawes is an academic paediatric neurosurgeon from Oxford University Hospital. He was awarded his PhD from Queen Mary University of London in 2017 and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Surgical Neurology in 2018. His PhD thesis focused on role of neural stem cells as potential therapeutic targets following germinal matrix/intraventricular haemorrhage in neonates born prematurely. William is an Honorary Associate Professor at UCL Institute of Child Health and Co-investigator and lead for basic sciences on the NIHR funded ENLIVEN Trial, a UK-based national clinical trial investigating the efficacy of endoscopic intraventricular washout following NIVH. His current research is exploring the role of the ependymal lining of…
András Lakatos
András Lakatos Dr András LakatosAssociate Professor of Neurobiology and Neurology Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge Session: Novel and innovative approaches to screening – Tuesday 13 May (2-3.30pm) András Lakatos is Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurobiology at the University of Cambridge and leads a research laboratory in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences. Over the past 10 years, he and his team have pioneered the development of human 3D neural organoid and other stem cell-based models. This work helped uncover novel cellular and molecular mechanisms relevant to the healthy, injured, and diseased central nervous system, aiming to identify new neurological treatment strategies. He has additional affiliations with the MRC-Wellcome Trust Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and Cambridge University Hospitals, where he conducts his clinical practice as a consultant neurologist. He has received several prestigious awards, including the MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship Award in 2017, the Alzheimer’s Research UK David Hague…
Md Munnaf Hossen
Md Munnaf Hossen Md Munnaf HossenPhD candidate, School of Health and Biomedical SciencesRMIT University (Australia) Session: Cell based therapies in animal studies – Wednesday 14 May (1.30-3pm) Md Munnaf Hossen is a PhD candidate at RMIT University, Australia working with Dr Rosita Zakaria and Dr Bobbi Fleiss. He is investigating the effects of perinatal brain injury on glial cell responses and kynurenine pathway metabolites. His multidisciplinary approach integrates immunohistochemistry, LC-MS/MS, and RNA sequencing to elucidate the molecular and cellular pathways underlying neuroinflammatory responses. Recently, Munnaf was awarded a competitive research grant by the Australian Institute of Medical Scientists (AIMS) to support the development of a novel LC-MS/MS approach for analysing multiple kynurenine pathway metabolites. His work aims to advance our understanding of early life neuroinflammatory processes and inform future strategies for brain injury prevention and neurodevelopmental health.
Jessica Dubois
Jessica Dubois Dr Jessica DuboisResearcher Inserm, NeuroDiderot unit, NeuroSpin center (France) Session: Imaging modalities – Thursday 15 May (12.30-2pm) Jessica Dubois has been a researcher in neuroscience at Inserm (France) since 2009. She heads the inDEV team (Imaging of Neurodevelopmental Phenotypes) at the NeuroDiderot unit, between the Robert-Debré paediatric hospital (Paris) and the NeuroSpin center (Saclay). Her research focuses on the early development of the human brain, studied using neuroimaging and behavioural evaluations in infants. She has an engineering background (Ecole Centrale Paris) and a PhD in Physics (Université Paris Sud). She carried out her postdoctoral research with Professor P.S. Hüppi at the University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland, where she studied early cortical folding in premature newborns. Her current projects focus on sensorimotor development, in typical and pathological conditions, particularly in infants at high risk of neurodevelopmental disorders and cerebral palsy. She has made significant contributions to our understanding of…
Nicola Pelizzi
Nicola Pelizzi Dr Nicola PelizziGlobal Project LeaderChiesi Farmaceutici (Italy) Session: Learnings from co-creation: involving external stakeholders in research – Thursday 15 May (8.30-10am) • Degree and PhD in Chemical Sciences in 1998.• From 1998 to 2007, R&D Senior Scientist in Analytical Chemistry Department at Chiesi Farmaceutici.• From 2008 to 2011, R&D Project Manager at Chiesi Farmaceutici, with PMP® (Project Management Professional) certification granted in 2009.• From 2012 to today, Global Project Leader of neonatology projects, with responsibility for creating the strategy and the integrated project plan for the development of the assigned projects, leading cross-functional and multicultural teams composed by experts of different areas (preclinical, CMC, clinical, regulatory, commercial, market access, medical affairs, manufacturing, IP, project manager). As Global Project Leader, experience has been gained in leading projects in different therapeutic areas and in different phases of development, as well as in assessing the value of new opportunities through due…
Silvia Coco
Silvia Coco Dr Silvia CocoSenior ResearcherUniversity of Milano Bicocca (Italy) Session: Alternatives and adjuncts to stem cells – Wednesday 14 May (3.30-5pm) Silvia Coco is a tenured researcher at the Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, with a degree in Biological Sciences and expertise in pharmacology and neuroscience. Her research investigates innovative therapeutic strategies for challenging neurological conditions. Specifically, she focuses on the potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and their extracellular vesicles (EVs) in neurodevelopmental disorders, aiming to restore altered GABA switch mechanisms crucial for normal brain development. Silvia also investigates the neuroprotective and immunomodulatory potential of MSC-EVs in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Actively contributing to the academic community through teaching and mentorship, she disseminates her research and fosters collaborations to advance the understanding and treatment of these debilitating conditions.
Roosmarijn Vandenbroucke
Roosmarijn Vandenbroucke Professor Roosmarijn VandenbrouckeHead of the Barriers in Inflammation LabFull professor at Ghent UniversityGroup leader at VIBDepartment of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent University, Ghent (Belgium)Center for Inflammation Research, VIB, Ghent (Belgium) Session: Alternatives and adjuncts to stem cells – Wednesday 14 May (3.30-5pm) Roosmarijn Vandenbroucke is head of the Barriers in Inflammation at the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research in Ghent, Belgium. She has a background in biotechnology and molecular cell biology. She obtained a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Ghent University where she focused on gene therapy. During her postdoctoral research, she became interested in peripheral and central inflammation and brain barriers. She founded her independent research lab at Ghent University in 2015 and at VIB in 2018. Her team is internationally recognised for its expertise in brain barriers, (neuro)inflammation, the gut-brain axis, and extracellular vesicles.
Elisabet Farga Carrera
Elisabet Farga Carrera Elisabet Farga CarreraPresident/founderSom Prematurs (Spain) Session: Learnings from co-creation: involving external stakeholders in research – Thursday 15 May (8.30-10am) Elisabet Farga Carrera is the president and founder of the Premature Babies Association of Catalonia – Som Prematurs – and a mother of premature twins. She is deeply involved in co-creation forums, including the PADEICS Group and the Pediatrics Program: NIDCAP of the ICS (Institut Català de la Salut). She also serves on the Family Council at Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona, where she helps evaluate and improve paediatric care. As part of Som Prematurs, she actively participates in committees like RECLIP (Spanish Pediatric Clinical Trials Network) and the Simulation and Teaching Committee at Vall d’Hebron Hospital in Barcelona and PARENTS KIDS part of i4KIDS is a Pediatric Innovation Hub, coordinated by Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Children’s Hospital. Her leadership in the Expert Patient incubator…
Nicole Labusek
Nicole Labusek Dr Nicole LabusekPostdoctoral researcher Department of Paediatrics I, Neonatology and Experimental perinatal Neurosciences, Centre for Translational Neuro- and Behavioural Sciences (C-TNBS), University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen (Germany) Session: Cell based therapies in animal studies – Wednesday 14 May (1.30-3pm) Nicole Labusek is a neuroscientist specialising in neonatal brain injury and cell-based therapies. She earned her Master’s degree in Translational Neuroscience from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf before pursuing her PhD at University Hospital Essen. Under the supervision of Dr Josephine Herz and Professor Ivo Bendix, her research focused on hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and the effects of mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs). Currently, she is a postdoctoral researcher investigating the role of MSC-EVs in modulating inflammatory processes following HIE. Her work aims to advance the understanding of MSC-EV-based therapies and their potential for neuroprotection and regeneration in neonatal brain injury.