People
Researchers at the Centre.
Linda Greensmith | Scientific Lead for MNDLinda Greensmith is Professor of Neuroscience and Head of the Department of Neuromuscular Diseases at UCL. Her research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie ALS and SBMA, and the development of novel therapeutic strategies, using a range of tools including mouse models and iPSC-neurons. |
Andrea Malaspina | Professor of Clinical Neurology, Clinical Academic Lead for MNDAndrea Malaspina is the Clinical Academic Lead of the Motor Neuron Disease Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. He has contributed to internationally recognised research milestones in neurodegeneration and motor neurone disease (MND), innovating the area of disease biomarkers individualised to each disease phenotype. His research brings together basic science and clinical observations. His work builds on Academic and Industrial partnerships for the development of ex-vivo proteomics and to investigate the immunological response to neuronal degeneration. |
Michael Hanna | Director, UCL Queen Square Institute of NeurologyMike Hanna is a consultant neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and director of the recently established MRC Centre for Translational Research in Neuromuscular Disease. Professor Hanna and his team have specialist interest and expertise in progressive muscle wasting neuromuscular diseases including muscular dystrophy, inflammatory myopathies, neuropathies and motor neuron diseases. He has published over 150 peer reviewed research papers and is active in raising funds for genetic and clinical research.
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Barney Bryson | Senior FellowBarney Bryson currently holds an MND Association Lady Edith Wolfson Senior Non-Clinical Fellowship as well as an NIHR BRC UCL Excellence Fellowship and his research is focused on the development of a novel strategy to restore lost muscle function, which has major therapeutic potential for ALS and other disorders that cause paralysis. Briefly, his research encompasses a combinatorial neural replacement strategy that uses stem cell-derived motor neurons and optogenetics, which confers the ability to artificially restore function to paralyzed muscles in response to finely controlled pulses of light. Barney also utilizes stem cell derived components of the neuromuscular system to investigate pathological mechanisms that affect neuromuscular connections in ALS in a variety of in vitro and in vivo model systems, with the aim of identifying novel therapies that can protect these specialized connections and slow the course of progressive paralysis that occurs in ALS patients. |
Elizabeth Fisher | Professor of Neurogenetics, ALS and Neurodegeneration Mouse Models ExpertElizabeth Fisher’s research focuses on creating and analysing novel mouse models of neurodegeneration including those with motor neuron loss, and also those that model aspects of Down syndrome. She is particularly interested in genomically humanised models, and she works closely with colleagues at UCL, the Francis Crick Institute, and at MRC Harwell, to make new models and then work with experts in different types of analysis. |
Pietro Fratta | Professor of Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Neurologist, ALS/Kennedy’s Disease Expert and RNA BiologistPietro Fratta is a consultant neurologist at NHNN, where he specializes in genetic forms of MND and runs the National Kennedy’s disease clinic. His lab applies novel transcriptomic approaches to investigate disease pathogenesis and to develop biomarkers for MND. |
Rita Gameiro | Clinical Research NurseRita Gameiro joined the University College London Hospitals- National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in 2015. She has a Masters in Population Health from UCL and works as a Clinical Research Nurse in Motor Neuron Disease. Her work comprises Clinical Research Trials and Observational Studies. |
John Hardy | Professor of Molecular Neuroscience, Genetics of Neurodegeneration ExpertJohn Hardy is a Senior Investigator at the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL. His research interests are in finding and understanding the genes which cause or predispose to neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS, as well as rarer causes of neurodegeneration. |
Adrian Isaacs | Professor of Neurodegenerative Disease, FTD/ALS ExpertAdrian Isaacs is a Professor of Neurodegenerative Disease at the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL. His research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie ALS and FTD using a range of tools including iPSC-neurons and Drosophila models. He has made a significant contribution towards understanding the mechanisms that cause C9orf72 ALS/FTD. |
Vincenzo Libri | Director of the NIHR UCLH Clinical Research Facility and Head of the Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology CentreVincenzo Libri is Director of the NIHR UCLH Clinical Research Facility, Head of the Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre and a Consultant Clinical Pharmacologist. Prior to this he was the Head of Clinical Studies at the NIHR Imperial College Clinical Research Facility. He has long lasting expertise in clinical pharmacology, experimental neurology, translational medicine and early phase clinical trials, including first-in-man trials in healthy volunteers and patients. He is the Principal Investigator of the 245AS101/FIH trial in C09ORF72 ALS. Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre |
Jonathan Rohrer | MRC Clinician Scientist, Honorary Consultant Neurologist, FTD ExpertJonathan Rohrer is an MRC Clinician Scientist and Consultant Neurologist. His research has focused on biomarkers in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), particularly in relation to their underlying genetic causes. Since 2011 he has co-ordinated the Genetic FTD Initiative, GENFI, an international multicentre cohort study of presymptomatic genetic FTD (https://www.genfi.org/) which has recruited over 900 participants. He has also set up FTD UK (www.ftduk.org), an annual scientific meeting of UK researchers who work in the FTD field (running since 2011), and runs a website dedicated to providing research updates to the general public about FTD: FTD talk (www.ftdtalk.org). |
Giampietro Schiavo | Professor of Cellular Neuroscience, ALS ExpertGiampietro Schiavo studied Chemistry and Drug Technology, and Biology at the University of Padova, Italy. He then worked in the laboratory of the Nobel laureate Prof JE Rothman, where he studied the machinery regulating neurotransmitter release. In 1997, he founded his independent laboratory at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, before moving in 2013 to the UCL-Queen Square Institute of Neurology as Professor of Cellular Neuroscience. With his team, he is presently studying the machinery responsible for the endocytosis and axonal transport of neurotrophins and other survival factors in neurons. His research efforts have been focused on demonstrating that the impairment of vesicular traffic in neurons constitute a major pathogenic mechanism in neurodegenerative disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and peripheral neuropathies. |
Luca Zampedri | Clinical Research NurseLuca joined the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in 2004 and holds qualifications in Genomics, History of Medicine, Medical Anthropology and Critical Care. Luca coordinates disease registries and research activities for people living with Motor Neurone Disease, Kennedy’s Disease and healthy volunteers. |