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About FAST

Scientific Advisory Board

FAST’s Scientific Advisory Board is a group of scientists and clinicians who review grants, advise on new scientific ideas, and support ongoing programs in academia and in industry.

These individuals review and give constructive feedback on the translational relevance, scientific rigor, track record and expertise of the investigator, proposed timeline and associated budget of the project, and overall feasibility and probabilities of the suggested research. (In addition, there are scientific consultants that volunteer to review for FAST, who we will leverage if the topic is in an area outside of the scope of members of the SAB, or there is any conflict of interest for members of the SAB.) This process is led by the chair of the Scientific Advisory Board, Dr. Barbara Bailus.

At the same time, legal teams negotiate a contract to govern the grant and any advancements that may come from the grant. If and when all is ripe and the grant is approved by the chair of the SAB, the Chief Science Officer, and the entire FAST Board of Directors, then the contract is signed and the work can begin immediately.

Barbara Bailus bio photo

Barbara Bailus, PhD

Scientific Advisory Board Chair

Assistant Professor of Genetics

The Keck Graduate Institute, of The Claremont Colleges

Website

Email: Barbara_Bailus@kgi.edu

Dr. Barbara Bailus is an Assistant Professor of Genetics at The Keck Graduate Institute, of The Claremont Colleges. She did her doctoral research at University of California, Davis in the Segal Laboratory developing a gene therapy based on artificial transcription factors for the treatment of Angelman syndrome.

Meet Barbara Bailus, PhD
Brett Abrahams, Ph.D.

Brett Abrahams, PhD

Board Member

President

Heppinn Biosciences

Website

Email: brett@heppinnbiosciences.com

Dr. Abrahams is a neuroscientist, geneticist, and drug hunter with experience developing therapeutics and building startups. He is the founder and President of Heppinn Biosciences, a consultancy practice launched to support venture investors, foundations, and biotech companies' diligence opportunities, develop drugs, and start biotech companies. He’s also an Advisory Board Member for Autism Speaks, CureShank (Phelan McDermid Syndrome), and Accelerator Life Science Partners.

Meet Brett Abrahams, PhD
Anne Anderson, M.D. bio photo

Anne Anderson, MD

Board Member

Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Neurology, and Neurosciences

Baylor College of Medicine

Specialties: Pediatrics, Neurology

Website

Email: annea@bcm.edu

Dr. Anderson is a clinician scientist in the field of pediatric epilepsy. She is a Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Neurology, and Neurosciences at Baylor College of Medicine. She is an active clinician in pediatric epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology and serves as Medical Director of Clinical Neurophysiology at TCH.

Meet Anne Anderson, MD
Nadia Bahi-Buisson bio photo

Nadia Bahi-Buisson, PhD

Board Member

University Professor and Hospital Practitioner

Neuropediatrics Department of CHU Necker Enfants - Malades

Dr. Nadia Bahi-Buisson's contributions to neuropediatric research and her work with Angelman syndrome at Université Paris Descarte.

Meet Nadia Bahi-Buisson, PhD
Mei Baker, M.D.

Mei Baker, MD, FACMG

Board Member

Professor, Newborn Screening Laboratory at Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene

University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Mei Baker, MD, FACMG is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics, and Director in the Newborn Screening Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Dr. Baker practiced medicine before being trained in both biochemical and molecular genetics, obtaining a clinical biochemical genetics certification from the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics in 2009. She has 20 years of experience in routine newborn screening (NBS) with specific interest in, and a successful track record of, applying emerging technologies to implement new screening tests for disorders and to improve ongoing screening tests. Dr. Baker served as a member of the Department of Health and Human Services' Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children from 2016 to 2021. She has recently been appointed to serve on National the Academies’ committee of Newborn Screening: Current Landscape and Future Directions.

Meet Mei Baker, MD, FACMG
Marisa Bartolomei, PhD Headshot

Marisa Bartolomei, PhD

Board Member

Professor

University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

Website

Meet Marisa Bartolomei, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and an expert in mechanisms of genomic imprinting.

Meet Marisa Bartolomei, PhD
Art Beaudet bio photo

Art Beaudet, MD

Board Member

Founder and CEO of Luna Genetics

Texas Children's Hospital

Specialties: Genetics

Website

Founder and CEO of Luna Genetics

Meet Art Beaudet, MD
Dr. Liz Berry-Kravis

Elizabeth Berry-Kravis, MD, PhD

Board Member

Professor of Pediatrics, Neurological Sciences, Anatomy and Cell Biology

Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL

Elizabeth Berry-Kravis MD, PhD is a Professor of Pediatrics and Neurological Sciences and Director of the RUSH Pediatric Neurosciences F.A.S.T. Center for Translational Research at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Meet Elizabeth Berry-Kravis, MD, PhD
Lauren Black bio photo

Lauren E. Black, PhD

Board Member

Distinguished Scientist

Charles River Laboratories

Website

Email: lauren.black@crl.com

Dr. Black is a distinguished scientist who specializes in preclinical assessment of transplant drugs, oligos, monoclonals for autoimmune disease, treatment vaccines, and cell therapies.

Meet Lauren E. Black, PhD
Robert Carson, Ph.D.

Robert Carson, MD, PhD

Board Member

Professor

Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt | Nashville, TN

Specialties: Epilepsy, Pediatric Neurology

Website

Email: robert.carson@vumc.org

Dr. Carson's research has been focused on understanding disease mechanisms so that these mechanisms may be modulated to improve the quality of life of my patients. His experience with mTOR signaling led to a collaboration with Mark Grier in the lab of Dr. Andre Lagrange investigating myelination and mTOR signaling in Angelman syndrome model mice. Since that initial basic science exposure, his clinical focus has transitioned to the study of Angelman syndrome and Dup15q syndrome.

Meet Robert Carson, MD, PhD
Jimmy El Hokayem, PhD

Jimmy El Hokayem, PhD

Board Member

Vice President, Program Development and Medical Insights / Head of Neurology and Cell and Gene Therapy Centers of Excellence

Biorasi’s Neurology and Cell & Gene Therapy Centers of Excellence

Website

As head of Biorasi’s Neurology and Cell & Gene Therapy Centers of Excellence, Dr. El Hokayem oversees all clinical projects within this space. His unique expertise in the whole basic, translational, and clinical research spectrum provides critical insights at strategic, operational, and managerial levels.

Meet Jimmy El Hokayem, PhD
Kyle Fink, Ph.D.

Kyle Fink, PhD

Board Member

Assistant Adjunct Professor

Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis

Specialties: Translational research for genetically linked neurological disorders

Website

Email: kdfink@ucdavis.edu

The Fink laboratory focuses on the therapeutic development of gene modifying modalities such as Zinc Fingers, Transcription Activator-like Effectors, and CRISPR/Cas9 to treat genetically-linked neurological disorders. His unique academic training and research experience have provided him with an excellent background in multiple biological disciplines including neuroscience, molecular biology, microbiology, chemistry, and genetics.

Meet Kyle Fink, PhD
yong hui jiang bio pic

Yong-Hui Jiang, MD, PhD

Board Member

Professor of Genetics, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics and Chief

Yale School of Medicine

Dr. Yong-hui Jiang is a Professor of Genetics, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine and Chief of Medical Genetics of Yale New Haven Hospital. Dr. Jiang is a physician scientist and active practicing physician at Yale Children’s Hospital and Yale Hospital. He received his MD at Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University with highest honor and his PhD in Human and Molecular Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine under the mentorship of Arthur Beaudet.

Meet Yong-Hui Jiang, MD, PhD
Albert Keung, Ph.D.

Albert Keung, PhD

Board Member

Goodnight Distinguished Scholar, Associate Professor

North Carolina State University

Website

Email: ajkeung@ncsu.edu

Dr. Albert Keung is the Goodnight Distinguished Scholar and Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State University. His group applies synthetic biology approaches to advance knowledge and treatment of neuroepigenetic disorders. Their work includes engineering new models for Angelman syndrome research and therapeutic testing, and using human stem cell models to study neuroepigenetic mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental disorders.

Meet Albert Keung, PhD
Eric Klann, Ph.D.

Eric Klann, PhD

Board Member

Professor and Director Center for Neural Science

New York University

Specialties: Learning & Memory; Cognitive Disorders

Eric Klann is an American neuroscientist who studies how molecular signaling, synaptic plasticity, and behavior are altered in developmental disability, autism, aging, psychiatric disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Meet Eric Klann, PhD
Kevin Nash Profile

Kevin Nash, PhD

Board Member

Associate Professor

University of South Florida

Email: nash@usf.edu

Kevin has a broad background in biochemistry, molecular biology and virology and in particular he has 20 years of experience working in the Adeno-associated virus (AAV) field. His current research focus is in neurodegenerative diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Meet Kevin Nash, PhD
Dr. Cesar Ochoa-Lubinoff

Cesar Ochoa-Lubinoff, PhD

Board Member

University of California, Los Angeles

Specialties: Pediatric Psychology, Pediatric Psychiatry, Developmental Behavior

FAST Scientific Advisory Board Member

Meet Cesar Ochoa-Lubinoff, PhD
Dr. Bryce Reeve

Bryce B. Reeve, PhD

Board Member

Professor

Duke University School of Medicine

Website

Email: Bryce.Reeve@Duke.edu

Dr. Bryce Reeve is a Professor of Population Health Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine. He also serves as Director of the Center for Health Measurement. Trained in psychometric methods, his work focuses on assessing the impact of disease on the lives of patients and their caregivers.

Meet Bryce B. Reeve, PhD
Dr. David Segal bio photo

David Segal, PhD

Board Member

Professor

University of California, Davis

Specialties: Genomic therapeutics

Website

Email: djsegal@ucdavis.edu

David Segal received his Ph.D. from the University of Utah performed a post-doc at The Scripps Research Institute. Now at UC Davis, Dr. Segal’s research focuses on gene and epigenome editing to treat Angelman syndrome and related neurologic disorders. He is a founding member of the Interventional Genetics Program at the UC Davis MIND Institute, an investigator in the NIH Somatic Cell Genome Editing Consortium, and Editor-in-Chief of Frontiers in Genome Editing.

Meet David Segal, PhD
Laurent Servais bio pic

Laurent Servais, MD, PhD

Board Member

Professor of Paediatric Neuromuscular Diseases at the MDUK Oxford Neuromuscular Centre and Invited Professor of Child Neurology at Liège University.

MDUK Oxford Neuromuscular Center, Specialised Translational Research Oxford Neuromuscular Group: STRONG

Website

Email: laurent.servais@paediatrics.ox.ac.uk

Dr. Servais is a paediatrician - MD graduated in 1999. His PhD was about cerebellar electrophysiology in mice cerebellum- including in "Angel mice". He trained as a child Neurologist in Paris- at the Hospital Robert Debré and as a myologist at the Institute of Myology-La Pitié-Salpêtrière. He has co-founded and led Institute I-Motion where he was Assistant Professor until 2019. He is now a professor of Paediatric Neuromuscular Diseases at the University of Oxford since 2018 and Professor of Child Neurology at the University of Liege-Belgium.

Meet Laurent Servais, MD, PhD
Keith Sutton bio photo

Keith Sutton, PhD

Board Member

Director of pre-clinical development

Resolution Therapeutics

Website

Dr. Sutton is a translational scientist experienced in the development of cell, gene, and immunomodulatory therapeutics from candidate selection to first-in-human.

Meet Keith Sutton, PhD
Dr. Ashley Winslow bio photo

Ashley Winslow, PhD

Board Member

CEO & CSO

Odylia Therapeutics

Website

Email: awinslow@odylia.org

Ashley Winslow is CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of Odylia Therapeutics, a nonprofit biotech focused on accelerating drug development for rare diseases. Odylia develops therapeutics in collaboration with patient groups and a strategic network of CROs, academic partners, and industry, with the aim of bringing life changing therapeutics to patients. Ashley received her PhD in Medical Genetics from the University of Cambridge and completed her postdoctoral work at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Meet Ashley Winslow, PhD
SAB member

Tim Yu, MD, PhD

Board Member

Neurogeneticist

Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School

Website

Email: timothy.yu@childrens.harvard.edu

Tim is a neurogeneticist at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He leads a multidisciplinary research group in the Division of Genetics and Genomics whose efforts span the range from experimental neurobiological investigations of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders to human genetics to the advancement of novel models for individualized genomic medicine. He pioneered the use of antisense oligonucleotides as individualized medicines for seriously debilitating or fatal neurogenetic conditions.

Meet Tim Yu, MD, PhD

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