Dr. Laurent Servais is a Professor of Paediatric Neuromuscular Diseases at the MDUK Oxford Neuromuscular Centre and Invited Professor of Child Neurology at Liège University. He graduated from Louvain Medical School, Brussels, Belgium in 1999, then completed a PhD in Neuroscience from the Free University of Brussels, Belgium, followed by residencies in child neurology at the Free University of Brussels and Robert Debré Hospital, Paris. In 2008, he took a position in neuromuscular disease and clinical research at the Institute of Myology in Paris. He was subsequently appointed Head of Clinical Trials and Database Services. Most recently, he served as Head of the Institute of Myology’s I-Motion (Institute Of Muscle-Oriented Translational Innovation), and Head of the Neuromuscular Centre in Liège, Belgium. He joined MD UK Oxford Neuromuscular Center and the University of Oxford in September 2019.
Lindsey Lee Lair, MD, MBA, FAAN is a board-certified neurologist and autonomic specialist and is VP, Clinical Development at Biohaven Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Lair obtained her MD degree from Tulane Medical School, completed her internship and adult neurology residency at New York University, and fellowship in clinical neurophysiology with a focus on the autonomic nervous system and peripheral nerve disorders at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Lair is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology (FAAN), is a Clinical Assistant Professor at New York Medical College, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the New York State Neurological Society.
Dr. Anne M. Connolly earned her medical degree from Indiana University in 1984. She completed her residency in pediatrics and adult neurology as well as fellowships in neuromuscular disorders and child neurology at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Anne M. Connolly is currently the Chief of the Division of Neurology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and a Member of the Center for Gene Therapy in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute. She is an Internationally recognized expert in Pediatric Neuromuscular Disease and Neuroimmunology. Dr. Connolly’s early research examined the relationship between autoantibodies and childhood neurological disorders. She is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Child Neurology. In addition, she has served as a national thought leader for multiple foundation and government agency efforts to improve outcomes in children with neuromuscular disorders. She is an American Academy of Neurology Fellow, and a Member of the Child Neurology Society, the World Muscle Society, and the International Child Neurology Society.
Dr. Barry J. Byrne is a clinician scientist interested in rare diseases, with specific attention to developing therapies for inherited muscle disease. As a pediatric cardiologist, his research focuses on conditions that lead to skeletal muscle weakness, cardiac dysfunction, and respiratory dysfunction. His current research has focused on developing new therapies using the missing cellular protein or the corrective gene to restore muscle function in Pompe and other inherited myopathies. Dr. Barry J. Byrne is also the Associate Chair of Pediatrics and Director of the Powell Gene Therapy Center at the University of Florida. After obtaining a B.S. degree in Chemistry from Denison University, he pursued his medical education, as well as a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology, at the University of Illinois. He completed his pediatric residency, cardiology fellowship training, and post-doctoral training in Biological Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University. Joining the University of Florida in 1997, he has served in several clinical, research, and educational roles, and is now the Earl and Christy Powell University Chair in Genetics.
Dr. Karen Chen is the Chief Executive Officer of the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation. She is a senior research scientist and manager with over 30 years of experience, including 15 years in the pharmaceutical industry, planning, directing, and conducting preclinical research. She joined the SMA Foundation from Roche Palo Alto where she was Director of Neurosciences and Head of the Alzheimer’s Disease and Neurodegeneration Group. Her post-doctoral training was obtained at Genentech investigating neurotrophic factor therapies for neurodegenerative conditions. Dr. Chen holds an A.B. from Harvard University and obtained her Ph.D. in Neurosciences from the University of California. Dr. Chen currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Bluefield Project and the N-Lorem Foundation and is an advisor to several other non-profit organizations. Dr. Chen has served on the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) National Advisory Council. She also is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Imago Pharmaceuticals and is on the Board of Directors of Nitrome Biosciences.
Dr. Vlad Coric earned his medical degree from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He was an honors scholar in neurobiology and physiology at the University of Connecticut, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree. He completed his internship at Yale-New Haven Hospital, residency training at the Yale Psychiatry Residency Training Program, and fellowship at the Yale Division of Law and Psychiatry. Since July 2001, Dr. Vlad Coric has been an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. He previously served as the inpatient chief of the Yale Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit and director of the Yale Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Research Clinic. He has also served as the president of the Connecticut Psychiatric Society, the program-wide chief resident for the Yale Department of Psychiatry, and the chief resident of the PTSD service at the West-Haven Connecticut Veterans Administration Hospital. He was named one of Connecticut’s Top 25 Healthcare Technology Leaders for 2022 and 2023 by The Healthcare Technology Report, listed in PharmaVoice 100 Standout Executives in 2023, and recognized as the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 Award in the New York region.
Irfan Qureshi, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Biohaven, is a Board-certified neurologist with more than 20 years of experience in industry, academia, and patient care. Prior to joining Biohaven in 2017, Dr. Qureshi held positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he continues to serve as Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology. He completed neurology training and earned his M.D. from Einstein and graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering.
