Speakers and Working Groups

Learn More About ICNMD 2022 Speakers

The ICNMD 2022 Scientific Programme Committee is pleased to announce the following speakers for the 17th International Congress on Neuromuscular Diseases.

To find out more about each speaker, please click on their pictures below.

Associate Professor of Neurology, Università Cattolica

Prof. Amelia Evoli

Amelia Evoli is Associate Professor of Neurology at the Neuroscience Department of the Catholic University in Rome and leads the Myasthenia Gravis Unit at the University Hospital Policlinico A. Gemelli in Rome, Italy.

Her clinical and research interests are mainly focused on Neuro-immunology:

- Myasthenia gravis: Pathogenesis (genetic susceptibility, immune-pathology), markers of disease activity, clinical studies

- Other disorders of neuromuscular transmission: Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome, neuromyotonia, congenital myasthenic syndromes

- Paraneoplastic neurological diseases and autoimmune disorders of central nervous system.

She is actively involved in clinical and research studies, participates in guidelines for the management of these disorders and in the standardization of clinical and diagnostic assessments.

She is a current member of the Italian Society of Neurology and the Italian Myology Association. She has authored 191 peer-reviewed articles and nine book chapters.

Professor in Neurology and Immunology Erasmus MC

Prof. Bart Jacobs

Bart Jacobs is a professor in Neurology and Immunology at the Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. His main interest in research are epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnoses and treatment of inflammatory neuropathies, in particular the Guillan-Barré syndrome and CIDP. He is the initiator and chair of the International GBS Outcome Study (IGOS).

Co-Director Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney

Prof. Matthew Kiernan

Professor Matthew Kiernan is the Bushell Chair of Neurology at the University of Sydney and Co-Director of the Brain and Mind Centre. He is Chair of the World Federation of Neurology ALS/MND Specialty Group and established the Pan-Asian Consortium for Treatment and Research in ALS (PACTALS). He is President of the Brain Foundation and Editor Emeritus of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

Director, John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre

Dr. Volker Straub

Volker was trained as a pediatric neurologist at the Universities in Germany. He wrote his PhD thesis on Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Iowa, USA.

Volker has a long-standing interest in the pathogenesis of genetic muscle diseases. His current research involves animal models, the application of magnetic resonance imaging, next generation sequencing and other –omics technologies for the characterization of primary neuromuscular disorders.

One of Volker’s main interests in muscle diseases is around translational research. He was the co-founder of the EU FP6 funded network of excellence for genetic neuromuscular diseases, TREAT-NMD (www.treat-nmd.eu). He is the CI/ PI for a number of natural history and interventional trials in DMD, LGMD, Pompe disease, spinal muscular atrophy and other NMDs. He is currently the president of the World Muscle Society and an author on >400 peer-reviewed publications.

ICNMD 2022 Coordinators of the Working Groups

Working Group 1: Muscle
Volker Straub, United Kingdom
Mariz Vainzof, Brazil

Working Group 2: Neuromuscular junction
Hans Lochmuller, Canada

Working Group 3: Neuropathy
P. James Dyck, United States
Peter Van Den Bergh, Belgium

Working Group 4: Motor neuron
Nicolas Deconinck, Belgium
Matthew Kiernan, Australia

Working Group 5: Teaching Courses
Zohar Argov, Israel
Marianne De Visser, Italy

Working Group 6: Transversal
Alessandra Bolino, Italy
Davide Pareyson, Italy