The Centre Drivers
 |
MATTHEW WOOD, Co-Founder & Centre Director Matthew is Professor of Neuroscience and Deputy Head of the Medical Sciences Division at the University of Oxford. He directs the Laboratory of RNA Biology and Neuromuscular Disease investigating development of RNA-based medicines for neuromuscular disease including advanced generation antisense oligonucleotides. He is Director of the Oxford Rare Disease Centre, founder of the biotech spin-outs Evox Therapeutics (therapeutic exosome technology) and PepGen (peptide based drug delivery technology). |
 |
KAY DAVIES, Co-Founder & Steering Committee Member Kay is Dr Lee’s Professor of Anatomy at the University of Oxford and directs the MRC Functional Genomics Unit. Kay’s work has paved the way for the use of mini dystrophin AAV gene delivery, contributed to exon-skipping therapy approaches and identified the dystrophin-related protein, utrophin targeted to prevent pathology. She co-founded Summit Therapeutics (antibiotics bio-tech), is a founding fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and is a Fellow of the Royal Society. Kay is Dame Commander of the British Empire for services to science. |
 |
KEVIN TALBOT, Co-Founder & Steering Committee Member Kevin is Professor of Motor Neuron Biology and Head of the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on in vitro and in vivo modelling of pathogenesis in ALS, FTD and SMA to elucidate the mechanisms of motor neuron degeneration and accelerate the identification of disease modifying treatments. He also leads a specialist clinical service that provides a multidisciplinary team-based care for patients with ALS and SMA. |
 |
GEORG HOLLANDER, Steering Committee Member Georg is Hoffmann and Action Medical Research Professor of Developmental Medicine and Head of the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Oxford. He is trained in both Paediatrics and Experimental Immunology in Switzerland and the U.S. and his research is focused on the development and function of the immune system in health and disease. His particular scientific interests concerns the molecular and cellular control of thymus development and function. |
 |
LAURENT SERVAIS, Statutory Chair of Paediatric Neuromuscular Disease Laurent is a Professor of Paediatric Neuromuscular Disease at the University of Oxford and Invited Professor of Child Neurology at the University of Liège. He directs the Specialised Translational Research Oxford Neuromuscular Group (STRONG), is Head of the Neuromuscular Reference Centre in Liège, and is one of the creators and director of Institute I-Motion in Paris. He specialises in clinical programmes in DMD and SMA and leads the newborn screening program for SMA in the UK and BabyDetect, which screens newborns for over 120 genetic diseases, in Belgium. He also aims to bring digital endpoints to regulatory qualification. |