Scientific Advisors

Dr Desmond Fitzgerald FRCP

Desmond is a clinician turned drug hunter and co-founder of Synosis Therapeutics.

He initially gained a science degree and then qualified in medicine, subsequently specialising in gastroenterology before joining the pharmaceutical industry in the early 1960s. He enjoyed an 18-year career in research and development with ICIs Pharmaceuticals Division (now AstraZeneca), becoming general manager of research and then joining the Pharmaceutical Divisional Board as International Medical Director. He was involved in the discovery of several cardiovascular drugs, including the widely prescribed betablocker Tenormin.

He has returned to academia at various points in his career, becoming Professor of Medicine at McMaster University in Canada, and subsequently visiting Professor of Pharmaco-epidemiology at McGill University in Canada and a visiting Professor of Pharmacology atthe University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

Desmond is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine.

Prof Peter Jenner PhD DSc

Professor Peter Jenner is a Director of the Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Centre and the National Parkinson Foundation Centre of Excellence in the UK. He leads a 20-strong internationally-recognised research team that focus on the cause, treatment and cure of Parkinson's disease. In particular, he has contributed significantly to the concept of oxidative stress as a cause of the progression of nigral cell death in Parkinson's disease. In addition, he has been responsible for developing novel compounds for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and the avoidance of dyskinesia through the use of experimental models of the illness.

Until 2004, Peter was Head of the Division of Pharmacology & Therapeutics in the Guy's, King's & St Thomas' School of Biomedical Sciences at King's College London.

He has published more than 400 papers in peer reviewed journals, written in excess of 100 review articles and book chapters and written or edited numerous monographs. He is a member of the Medical Advisory Panel of the Parkinson's Disease Society of the United Kingdom and Chief Scientific Officer of Proximagen, a biotechnology company spun out of King’s College London.

PROF DAVID BROOKS MD DSc FRCP FMed Sci

David Brooks is Hartnett Professor of Neurology in the Division of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London. He is also Head of the Neurology Group at the Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre, Hammersmith Hospital, London. Additionally, he is Chief Medical Officer of Imanet, GE Healthcare PLC.

He is a member of the Research Advisory Board of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Disease Research, the UK Medical Research Council Neuroscience and Mental Health Board, the Research Advisory Panel of the UK Parkinsons Disease Society (Chairman 1996-7), and UK Huntingtons Disease Association. He was Chairman of the Scientific Issues Committee of the Movement Disorder Society 1998-2002 and of the Council of Management of the UK Parkinsons Disease Society 1997-8. He is on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Neural Transmission, Synapse, Molecular Imaging and Biology, and Current Trends in Neurology, and was on the editorial boards of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry 1998-2004 and Movement Disorders 1994-1998. In 2001, he was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Science, UK.

David's research involves the use of positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging to diagnose and study the progression of Alzheimers and Parkinsons Disease and their validation of biomarkers therapeutic trials. To date, he has published over 250 reports in peer reviewed journals, including Nature, and his research is currently supported by grants from the UK Medical Research Council, the UK Wellcome Trust, Michael J Fox Foundation, UK Parkinsons Disease Society, and industry.

PROF Patrick Nef PhD

Patrick Nef brings several years of international experience in CNS preclinical research and business development from the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. Recently, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Faust Pharmaceuticals, a CNS start-up biotech company based in Switzerland,with a phase II clinical development program and a GPCR technology platform. Patrick also served as Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Business Officer of Xytis Inc, a Swiss CNS start-up with a clinical phase II compound for traumatic brain injury.

Previously, Patrick was Vice-President and Global Director at Roche Pharma Partnering in Switzerland, where he was in charge of the in-licensing and alliance management for research & technology and early clinical compound assessment in certain disease areas.

Dr John Posner PhD FRCP

John Posner has worked as a consultant for several years with the largest multi-national and small national pharmaceutical and biotech companies on a wide variety of projects. These include contributing to the strategy of drug development and portfolio analysis, devising and executing early development plans for new molecular entities and designing and overseeing conduct of first in human, pharmacokinetic and proof of principle Phase I and II studies. John has also authored numerous clinical overviews and supporting documents for product licence applications in the USA, Europe and Australia and advised companies on regulatory strategy at various stages of drug development.

From 1996 to 1999, he served as Medical Director and subsequently Chief Executive Officer of BIOS (Consultancy & Contract Research). Previously he was International Director of Clinical Study Units, GlaxoWellcome andHead of Clinical Pharmacology at The Wellcome Foundation for 10 years.

John is a board certified physician in Internal Medicine, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) and of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine and is an Executive Editor ofthe British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.