Wendy Chung, MD, PhD
Dr. Wendy Chung is a clinical and molecular geneticist who directs the Clinical Genetics program at Columbia University and performs human genetic research. She is an associate professor of pediatrics and medicine. Dr. Chung directs NIH funded research programs in many human genetic conditions including autism, pulmonary hypertension, and birth defects. She leads the Simons VIP study characterizing genetic forms of autism and works on novel treatments for autism. She is a member of the National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research and the Genomics & Society Working Group. Dr. Chung enjoys the challenges of genetics as a rapidly changing field of medicine and strives to facilitate the integration of genetic medicine into all areas of health care in a medically, scientifically, and ethically sound, accessible, and cost effective manner.
Orrin Devinsky, MD
Dr. Orrin Devinsky is professor of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. His epilepsy research includes sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), cannabinoids, phenome-genome correlations, autism, neural markers and imaging, therapeutic electrical stimulation, quality-of-life, cognitive and behavioral issues, and surgical therapy. He is the principal investigator for the North American SUDEP Registry and on the Executive Committee of the SUDEP Institute.
He has chaired several committees of the Epilepsy Foundation and the American Epilepsy Society and has served as a Board member of both organizations. He founded Finding A Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures (FACES) and co-founded the Epilepsy Therapy Project and epilepsy.com. Outside interests include behavioral neurology (intracranial and functional imagining studies to understand language and sensory processing), evolutionary biology and history of neuroscience.
Ana Mingorance, PhD
Ana Mingorance, PhD, is the Chief Development Officer of the Loulou Foundation, the Scientific Director of the Dravet Syndrome Foundation Spain, and an independent consultant in genetic epilepsy syndromes and orphan drug development.
A neuroscientist by training, Ana first worked in drug discovery and development as a laboratory head and discovery project leader at the global pharmaceutical company UCB Pharma. She then founded her own boutique consultancy firm, Dracaena Consulting, to focus on orphan neurological diseases and to work more closely with patient organizations. Ana is a strong advocate for patient involvement in drug discovery and development, and through her multiple roles she joins forces with the patient communities to accelerate the development of new treatments. She is also a regular speaker at rare disease and orphan drug development conferences.
Ana received her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Barcelona in Spain, and completed an EMBO postdoctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.