Our Scientific Advisory Board is an independent group of both highly regarded clinicians and scientists who generously volunteer their time and expertise to assist ACNRF in our mission to advance innovations in medical research related to nature, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of CASK gene mutations and related conditions.
Our Scientific Advisory Board members are:
Dr Denise Chan (Paediatric Neurologist)
Dr Denise Chan is a Paediatric Neurologist who holds positions at Sydney Children’s Hospital (Randwick), Liverpool Hospital and Royal North Shore Hospital. Denise has expertise in epilepsy, neuroimaging and tuberous sclerosis complex, was well as extensive experience in general neurology. She is a conjoint lecturer at the University of New South Wales and has contributed to teaching and research. Denise has an interest in treatment of CASK Gene Mutations.
Denise works in partnership with families, bringing excellent organisational and communication skills. She understands the complexities of managing and investigating neurological diseases in children and infants, and is very supportive of families whilst walking this road.
Katsuhiko Tabuchi, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Katsuhiko Tabuchi is a professor in the Department of Molecular & Cellular Physiology, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Japan. Dr. Tabuchi has been working on CASK for over 20 years, focusing on its molecular function on neurons in the brain. He is also working on the pathophysiology of neurodevelopmental disorders using mutant mice as disease models.
Dr Joanna Jen, MD, PhD
Head of Neurogenetics Division Mt Sinai
Dr. Jen is a neurologist with formal training in neuro-otology, the neurology of hearing, balance, and eye movement control. She evaluates and treats patients with dizziness due to a variety of causes, spanning very common disorders for example, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, vestibular migraine or migraine-associated dizziness suspected to be genetically complex, and other exceptionally rare hereditary neurodegenerative conditions such as episodic ataxia and pontocerebellar hypoplasia. She sees patients in a subspecialty clinic at the Mount Sinai Hospital. She works closely with colleagues who perform vestibular testing and vestibular rehabilitation, and she collaborates with surgical specialists in otolaryngology and neurosurgery at Mount Sinai.
Dr. Jen’s clinical focus in neuro-otology is complemented by research performed in her laboratory on the genetic and physiological bases of disorders affecting balance and eye movement control in neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration. Her research spans many levels, from clinical observation to genetic characterization, cellular and animal studies, and clinical trials, to bring everything full circle back to patients. The ultimate goal of her research is to improve diagnosis and develop treatments that will improve patient function and quality of life.
Professor Stefan Thor
Professor in Biomedical Sciences
Faculty of Medicine
Biography
BSc in Biology (1988) Umea University, Sweden
PhD in Molecular Biology (1994), Umea University, Sweden. Supervisor: Thomas Edlund
Postdoc, Molecular Neurobiology (1994-1999) Salk Institute, La Jolla, USA. Mentor: John B. Thomas
Assistant Professor (1999-2004), Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
Professor of Developmental Biology (2004-2019), Linkoping University, Sweden
Professor of Developmental Biology (2019-), University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (2013-)
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, Ume University
Rodrigo Suarez, PhD
Group Leader, Brain Evo-Devo Lab
School of Biomedical Sciences and Queensland Brain Institute: The University of Queensland
Biography
I am a biologist interested in the general question of how changes in developmental processes can lead to evolutionary variation and origin of complex traits (such as neural circuits). I study development and evolution of the brain of mammals. My doctoral thesis studied brain regions involved in olfactory and pheromonal communication in mammals. I discovered several events of parallel co-variation of sensory pathways in distantly related species sharing similar ecological niches, as cases of ontogenetic and phylogenetic plasticity. Currently, I study development and evolution of neocortical circuits by following two main lines of research: one aims to determine how early neuronal activity affects development of cortical circuits, and the other one aims to understand what developmental processes led to the evolution of the mammalian brain, including the origin of the corpus callosum exclusively in Eutherians, but not in monotreme or marsupial mammals, and the evolution of the neocortex in mammals but not in other vertebrates. My research combines molecular development (electroporation, CRISPR), transcriptomics, sensory manipulations, neuroanatomy mapping (MRI, stereotaxic tracer injections, confocal and image analysis), optogenetics, and in vivo calcium imaging in rodent pups and marsupial joeys.
Research Interests
- Comparative vertebrate neuroanatomy
- Brain development
- Sensory neuroscience
- Neuroethology
- Evolutionary developmental biology
- Olfaction and pheromones
- Mammal zoology
- Neocortical development and function
Qualifications
- Doctor of Biomedical Science, University of Chile