Dr. Alberto Espay is professor and endowed chair of the University of Cincinnati James J. and Joan A. Gardner Family Center for Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders. He trained in neurology at Indiana University as well as in clinical and electrophysiology of movement disorders at the University of Toronto, where he obtained a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology and healthcare research.

Dr. Espay served as chair of the Movement Disorders Section of the American Academy of Neurology; associate editor of Movement Disorders, the official journal of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS); and in the executive committee of the Parkinson Study Group. He currently serves as chair of the MDS Task Force on Technology and as secretary-elect of the MDS Pan-American Section. Dr. Espay is also an honorary member of the Mexican Academy of Neurology and has received numerous awards, including the Cincinnati Business Courier’s Health Care Hero award, the Patients’ Choice award, the Compassionate Doctor award, and the Spanish Society of Neurology’s Cotzias award.

Dr. Espay has published more than 200 peer-reviewed research articles, 25 book chapters and five books. His research efforts have focused on the measurement of motor and behavioral phenomena in—and clinical trials for—Parkinson’s disease as well as in the understanding and management of functional movement disorders. With his colleagues at the Gardner Center, he recently launched a novel biomarker development program for neurodegenerative diseases with the aim of identifying small but biologically suitable subgroups most likely to respond to therapies already available for repurposing.

Megan Feeney, M.P.H. is Senior Manager, Community Engagement at the Parkinson’s Foundation. In this role, she manages several national patient leadership programs that engage the community in addressing critical unmet needs in Parkinson's. She manages the Women and PD Initiative, an innovative program that addresses long-standing gender disparities in Parkinson's. Within the Women and PD Initiative, her team received a $250,000 Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Engagement Award titled, Women and PD Teams to Advance Learning and Knowledge (Women and PD TALK). Throughout her work, Megan collaborates closely with people with Parkinson’s, care partners, allied health professionals, researchers and industry representatives to promote patient engagement and involvement in Parkinson’s research and care. She received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Master of Public Health from the New York University, School of Global Public Health.

Jessica Shurer is the Center Coordinator and Clinical Social Worker of the Movement Disorders Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence and a CurePSP Center of Care. She graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor’s in psychology and minors in Human Development & Family Studies and Gerontology. She received her Master of Social Work from UNC Chapel Hill in 2012, where she also obtained a Certificate in Aging and was a participant in the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education. In her current role, Ms. Shurer works as a team with the movement disorders specialists to address patient and care partner psychosocial needs, mood and coping, as well as offers short-term problem-solving counseling and connection to community resources. In addition, Ms. Shurer works to grow a referral network of Parkinson’s-specialized rehabilitation clinicians across the state, coordinates two specialty interdisciplinary clinics, one for Parkinson’s and one for atypical Parkinsonism disorders, facilitates both the Chapel Hill Parkinson’s support group and a PSP & CBD support group, and organizes educational programs for patients and care partners.

Peter Schmidt, PhD is Senior Vice President, Chief Research & Clinical Officer at the Parkinson’s Foundation and oversees research, education, and outreach initiatives. Dr. Schmidt leads the Parkinson’s Outcomes Project, the largest clinical study ever conducted in Parkinson’s disease, and is active in research on diverse clinical areas in Parkinson's.

Schmidt serves as an advisor to several government, industry, and foundation initiatives. His focus has been setting clinical standards, and he is involved in several national-scale quality initiatives, including the US National Quality Forum and the Fresco Network in Italy. Schmidt is bringing to Parkinson's ideas from across health care and is on advisory committees for projects in wearable sensors, Huntington’s disease, Glut1 deficiency syndrome, cystic fibrosis, inpatient rehabilitation, and telemedicine. His work has been covered widely in the press and he has contributed to AHRQ and Commonwealth Fund publications; he has been an invited speaker for the NIH, and internationally at patient and professional conferences.

Schmidt joined the Parkinson’s Foundation from Cronus Partners, an investment bank, where he focused on health care innovation. Previously, Schmidt created chronic disease management systems and served as Chief Operating Officer of a joint venture of Oxford, Stanford, and Yale delivering on-line education.

Schmidt earned his bachelor's degree at Harvard University and was awarded an MS and PhD from Cornell University, Sibley School of Mechanical Engineering, where he studied gait and balance and total joint replacement. He completed a fellowship at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

Karlin Schroeder is the Senior Director of Community Engagement at the Parkinson’s Foundation, where she leads the Parkinson’s Advocates in Research program (PAIR). Through this program, Karlin runs the Parkinson’s Foundation Learning Institute, an intensive multi-day course that has trained over 300 people with Parkinson’s and their care partners in the research process and provides tools and resources for successful collaboration with research teams. Karlin creates and directs projects to incorporate patient expertise into research with industry, academic centers and government. Her work includes improving diversity in patient advocacy in Parkinson’s disease and defining metrics in patient engagement in research. She is a member of Patient Focused Medicines Development and the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative Steering Committee.

Kevin Kwok is the Head of Patient Engagement at Theravance Biopharma in the Bay Area. Previously, he was a partner at a leading executive recruiting firm, where he led the North American Life Science practice. Kevin earned his doctorate degree in clinical pharmacy from the University of Michigan. An avid lifelong wannabe athlete, Kevin was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in in his late 40’s. He has taken control of his Parkinson’s with bold irreverence, optimism and biting humor. As a self-proclaimed amateur “PD satirist”, he has been a speaker and patient advocate for several foundations and has been featured on national news programs and webcasts, speaking about living a high-impact life, thanks to traditional therapies and a “zen-aggressive lifestyle.” Kevin joined the Parkinson's Foundation Parkinson's Advocates in Research program in 2014.

Priscila es asesora genética certificada y licenciada en el Departamento de Genética Médica y Molecular (MMGE) de la Facultad de Medicina de la Indiana University. Obtuvo una Maestría en Ciencias de la Northwestern University en el 2015 y trabajó como asesora genética prenatal durante 5 años antes de unirse a MMGE en el 2020.

Priscila es miembro de un equipo de asesoramiento genético en la Universidad de Indiana que ha proporcionado asesoramiento genético telefónico a más de 11,000 participantes de estudios de investigación de la enfermedad de Parkinson. También proporciona asesoramiento genético bilingüe a los participantes del estudio de investigación PD GENEration. PD GENEration es una iniciativa internacional patrocinada por la Parkinson’s Foundation que ofrece pruebas genéticas gratuitas y asesoramiento genético para las personas con la enfermedad de Parkinson. Priscila también ha estado involucrada en los esfuerzos de vinculación y educación para la comunidad hispana y es colíder del Comité Latino de Asesoramiento sobre PD GENEration. Algunos de estos esfuerzos incluyen el desarrollo de materiales educativos culturalmente apropiados, así como también eventos educativos abiertos para la comunidad internacional de habla hispana.

Es miembro de la Sociedad Nacional de Consejeros Genéticos (NSGC por sus siglas en inglés) y es colíder del Grupo de Interés Especial de Desarrollo en Español. También es miembro de la Junta Consultiva de Recursos de Asesoramiento Genético de All of Us. Ha dado numerosas conferencias y presentaciones sobre competencia cultural, incluyendo temas sobre diversidad, equidad e inclusión para la comunidad de asesoramiento genético.

Los intereses de investigación de Priscila incluyen el uso de intérpretes y el papel que desempeñan en la sesión de asesoramiento genético, la competencia cultural en el asesoramiento genético y la diversidad en la investigación con un enfoque especial en la comunidad hispana.

Richard Smeyne earned his bachelor’s degree in Biology and Psychology from St. Joseph’s University (Philadelphia, PA) in 1977, attended the M.A. Program in Experimental Psychology at the University of Hartford through 1992 and earned his Ph.D in Anatomy from Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, PA) in 1989. He did a postdoctoral fellowship from 1989-1991 at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology in Nutley NJ where he studied with Jim Morgan and Tom Curran.

Following his postdoctoral work, he started his own lab at the Bristol Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Center where he became recognized for his analysis of mice carrying mutations of the neurotrophin receptors TrkA, TrkB and TrkC. Dr. Smeyne was subsequently recruited in 1994 to become the Head of the Neurogenetics Program in the Division of CNS Research at Hoffmann-LaRoche. In 1996, following the closure of the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology, from 1996-2016, Dr. Smeyne was a faculty member in the Department of Developmental Neurobiology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (SJCRH) in Memphis TN. IN 2016, he moved to his current position as a Full Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the Vickie and Jack Farber Institute for Neuroscience at Thomas Jefferson University. He also serves as the Director of the Jefferson Comprehensive Parkinson’s Disease Center.

Dr. Smeyne has had a long-standing interest in the cell biology of Parkinson’s disease, with studies examining both environmental and genetic causation. His lab was one the first to show, in animal models of PD, that exercise could modify disease progression, and more recently has been examining the underlying molecular programs responsible for this neuroprotection. He is also recognized for his work examining interactions of the peripheral immune system with that of the brain’s innate immune system immune as well as the role of viruses in the etiology of Parkinson’s disease. Currently, Dr. Smeyne serves as a member of the Clinical and Scientific Advisory Board for the Parkinson’s Foundation. His lab is currently funded by the NIH, the Parkinson’s Foundation, and the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Dr. Okun is Chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Florida, as well as Co-Director of the UF Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration. Dr. Okun has long been dedicated to the interdisciplinary care concept, and since his appointment as the National Medical Director for the National Parkinson Foundation in 2006, he has worked with the 43 international Parkinson’s Foundation Centers of Excellence to help foster the best possible environments for care, research, and outreach in Parkinson disease, dystonia, Tourette, and movement disorders.

In addition to his role as National Medical Director for the Parkinson’s Foundation, he is the Medical Advisor for Tyler’s Hope for a Dystonia Cure and Co-Medical Director for the Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA).

Dr. Okun has enjoyed a prolific research career exploring non-motor basal ganglia brain features, and he has participated in pioneering studies exploring the cognitive, behavioral, and mood effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS). Dr. Okun holds the Adelaide Lackner Associate Professorship in Neurology, has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles, is a published poet (Lessons From the Bedside, 1995), and has served as a reviewer for more than 25 major medical journals. He has been invited to speak about Parkinson’s and movement disorders all over the world.

Dr. Okun earned his BA in history from Florida State University and his MD from the University of Florida, with honors. He completed an internship and neurology residency at UF. Following residency, he was trained at Emory University.

Ms. Hunter is the Director of Clinical Research for the Baylor College of Medicine, Parkinson’s Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic (PDCMDC) and serves as the coordinator of the Parkinson's Foundation Center of Excellence. As part of the PDCMDC’s leadership team, she serves as a resource to the Parkinson's community both locally and regionally. Her duties at Baylor College of Medicine include oversight of the research program, as well as serving as the primary coordinator for a number of PD-related trials.

Through educational efforts, Ms. Hunter is committed to increasing awareness of Parkinson's disease and improving care for individuals with PD and other movement disorders. She is an active member of the Movement Disorders Society and the Parkinson Study Group, for which she currently serves on the Executive Committee. She is a founding mentor of the Parkinson’s Foundation Mentoring and Networking Program for Centers of Excellence.

Ms. Hunter joined the Baylor Department of Neurology in 1995. She earned her AA degree in Nursing from Houston Community College and her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the University of Texas, Arlington.

James Beck, PhD, is the Parkinson's Foundation Chief Scientific Officer and has led the scientific affairs of the foundation since 2008. Dr. Beck oversees the foundation’s research strategy and programs, including management of grants that support research centers, individual investigators, fellows and collaborative projects. In his role, he has changed the parameters of investigator-initiated grants programs to provide additional funding and multi-year support to Parkinson’s-focused scientists; expanded funding for early-career Parkinson’s researchers, established Conference Awards and instituted the inclusion of Parkinson's Foundation’s Research Advocates in the foundation's own programs. Dr. Beck is a member of the Forum on Regenerative Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences and the Udall Center Coordinating Committee.

Dr. Beck is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology at the New York University School of Medicine. Previously, he taught at Long Island University as Assistant Professor in the Biology Department. Additionally, Dr. Beck was a recipient of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and has been published in journals, such as the Journal of Neuroscience, Journal of Neurophysiology and Journal of Comparative Neurology. His research focused on the neural control of vertebrate motor systems and behavior.

Dr. Beck holds a B.S. from Duke University and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington, Seattle. He completed his postdoctoral training at the New York University School of Medicine. Dr. Beck frequently comments in the media about the implications of the latest Parkinson's science headlines.

Tanya Simuni, MD, is an Arthur C. Nielsen Jr. Professor of Neurology and Director of the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. She also serves as Residency Program Director in the Department of Neurology.

Dr. Simuni graduated with her medical degree from Leningrad Medical School and completed an internship in medicine in Leningrad, Russia. She subsequently completed an internship in internal medicine at Albert Einstein Medical Center and a neurology residency and a clinical neurophysiology fellowship at Temple University in Philadelphia. She remained in Philadelphia to pursue a movement disorders fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, where she served on the clinical faculty for three years and was Medical Co-Director of the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders surgical program. She is board certified in neurology and clinical neurophysiology.

Dr. Simuni joined the faculty of the Northwestern University in 2000 to build and lead a multidisciplinary movement disorders center that is now a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence and serves as a training model in the region. She is currently the investigator of more than a dozen PD clinical trials, one of which is a multicenter, phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate isradipine as a potential disease-modifying agent in early PD. Her works have been widely published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and she has lectured nationally on PD and other movement disorders.

Dr. Simuni is an active member of the American Academy of Neurology, American Neurological Association, Movement Disorders Society, Parkinson’s Study Group, Restless Legs Syndrome Study group, and REM Behavior Disorders Study Group.