Jeffrey Madden is a Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at ADvantage Therapeutics. His career spans more than 20 years in the institutional investment management industry including Partner and Portfolio Manager at IronBridge Capital Management and Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager at RMB Capital. He also worked at Accenture in the Management Consulting Practice. Jeffrey is an active board member and lead investor of Rational Vaccines, which is developing therapeutic and prophylactic live attenuated vaccines for HSV-1 and HSV-2. He also serves on the boards of Leading India’s Future Today, which offers educational programs attuned to sound economic thinking, and the Bartley J. Madden Foundation, which creates employment opportunities for those most in need. Jeffrey graduated from the University of Iowa with Business Honors and Distinction.

David Buchsbaum is the Chief Financial Officer at ADvantage Therapeutics. He is also currently Managing Director at a boutique Investment Bank specializing in healthcare and biotechnology. After starting at Claire’s Stores, a NYSE fashion accessories retailer, he spent most of his career as a senior equity analyst where he covered consumer discretionary companies most notably at Wells Fargo. More recently Mr. Buchsbaum helped manage the Holtzman Opportunity Fund, a shareholder activist hedge fund and private equity holdings for Jewelcor. He has a J.D. in Law from the University of Miami and a B.S. in business from the University of Richmond.

Mr. Jarry combines a business background (12 years with Accenture) with 25 years of life sciences experience including Novartis, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb and midsize biopharma. His responsibilities covered Strategy, M&A, regional leadership and finance-associated roles. He has had financial responsibility for sales in excess of $1.4 billion and M&A in excess of $1.1 billion. He has negotiated and managed agreements with nine-digit annual value in North and Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, China and Japan. Mr. Jarry’s experience in vaccines includes addressing the H1N1 pandemic flu of 2009 with authorities in Europe and ex USSR.

Dr. Achim Schneeberger has over 20 years’ experience in biomedical research and development focusing on immunotherapeutic approaches in cancer and chronic diseases. Following the study of Medicine at the Universities of Tübingen, Germany and Bordeaux, France, he started his career at the Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria. At the time, he studied melanoma vaccines and was instrumental in translating the most promising candidates into the arena of clinical testing. This work and its results led to several prizes including the thesis award of the Medical University of Tübingen and the Egner Dermatooncology Prize of the German Dermatological Research Society. In 2005, Dr. Schneeberger joined the Laboratory of Prof. Yokoyama at Washington University, Saint Louis, to study the interactions between NK cells and cancer. Upon returning to Europe, he joined AFFiRiS to build and lead their clinical department. As CMO, he was responsible for the clinical development of the company’s vaccine candidates. Under his lead, AFFiRiS initiated clinical programs in the indications of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, MSA and atherosclerosis covering a total of 18 clinical trials. He was instrumental for AFFiRiS being awarded with significant grants from the Michael J. Fox Foundation and the European Union (FP7 programs SYMPATH and MultiSYN).

Dr. Walter Schmidt studied biology at the university of Göttingen, Germany. He got his PhD in 1990 at the Max-Plank-Institute of Experimental Medicine with Fritz Eckstein and was awarded the Otto-Hahn Medal for his thesis. From 1991 till 1997 he started as Postdoc and later became staff scientist at Boehringer’s “think tank” Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna, Austria. Walter co-founded Intercell (now Valneva) in 1991, the first Austrian biotech company that went public serving as CTO in the beginning and Founding Vice President for Business Development afterwards. Later in 2003, he co-founded together with Dr. Frank Mattner, AFFIRIS and served as CEO until he moved on to co-found ACCANIS in 2015 again together with Dr. Mattner. 2021 he became a co-founder of ADvantage Inc. and since then he is member of the Board of Directors and Director of the mRNA department.

Carmela R. Abraham, Ph.D., devoted her entire career to the study of aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). She obtained her B.Sc. in Biology at Tel Aviv University and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Harvard University. She is Professor Emerita of Biochemistry and Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics at Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Abraham’s research is both basic and translational. The basic research focuses on understanding the pathologic mechanisms leading to AD and to other neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Abraham studies ways to protect the nerve cells that die in these diseases and, thus, prevent brain dysfunction. Her group discovered that the Klotho protein, whose levels decrease with age, is neuroprotective, anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory. In mouse models of AD, multiple sclerosis and ALS, increasing the levels of Klotho improved the outcomes of these diseases. Since higher Klotho levels are associated with better outcomes, Dr. Abraham is exploring various modalities to elevate the Klotho protein. Based on her findings of 43 years of studying normal aging and AD, she is now focused on finding drugs that would either prevent or alleviate the symptoms of AD and other age-related diseases, such as cancer and kidney disease. She is a co-founder of Klogenix (formerly Klogene), a biotech startup with the same mission; the company was the recipient of a $1.5M NIH grant to advance this research. Dr. Abraham was the first Rappaport fellow at the Center for Neurologic diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the recipient of the Zenith and Temple awards from the Alzheimer’s Association. Carmela has directed and taught a course entitled Molecular Basis of Neurologic Diseases for over 25 years, and has mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Her research has been supported by the NIH, Alzheimer’s Association, Boston University Ignition Award, the Massachusetts Neuroscience Consortium Award, the Cure AD Fund and Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation.

Dr. Thomas Hoffmann pursued his academic journey in molecular biology at the esteemed University of Vienna. Upon the successful completion of his diploma thesis at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Cancer Research (LBICR), he went on to achieve his Ph.D. with distinction at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in 2015. During his tenure under the mentorship of Prof. Johannes Zuber, he focused on advancing RNA interference tools within the field of hematology. Following a brief postdoctoral stint within the same laboratory, Dr. Hoffmann assumed the role of Laboratory Scientist at Accanis, where he spearheaded the development and implementation of protocols for assessing mRNA treatments in both human (ex vivo) and porcine (in vivo and ex vivo) skin. In November 2021, Thomas transitioned to the mRNA department at ADvantage Therapeutics, dedicating his efforts to fortifying the company's mRNA intellectual property (IP) position across various domains. Dr. Thomas Hoffmann's contributions extend beyond his research, as evidenced by his co-authorship of over 25 scientific papers and his status as the holder of multiple patents.

Dr. Makoto Kuro-o, M.D., Ph.D., is a professor at the Center for Molecular Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Japan. He received his degrees from the University of Tokyo, Japan. Dr. Kuro-o has over 30 years of research and clinical experience in endocrinology, endocrine FGF, molecular biology of aging, nephrology and mineral metabolism. He discovered and named the Klotho gene and since then, over the last 24 years, has published extensively on it. Dr. Kuro-o’s pioneering research opened up a new and very promising path toward understanding longevity as well as preventing and treating diseases.

Dr. Lemere is a Scientist in the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA USA. Her research focuses on understanding and using the immune system therapeutically to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Lemere earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and education from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s in neurobiology from SUNY Albany. Her current research involves: 1. nonclinical studies of antibody treatments targeting a pathogenic form of amyloid-beta protein found in plaques in Alzheimer’s disease brain; 2. the role of the innate immune system’s complement signaling in aging and Alzheimer’s disease; and 3. the effects of deep space galactic cosmic radiation on brain aging and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in studies in mouse models and human neural cells in preparation for NASA’s first manned mission to Mars. Her lab is funded by NIH and NASA. Dr. Lemere serves as an advisor to the Alzheimer’s Association, the BrightFocus Foundation and Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. In addition, she serves as a consultant for several companies.

Dr. Tanzi is the Vice-Chair of Neurology, Director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit, Co-Director of the Henry and Allison McCance Center for Brain Health, and Co-Director of the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease at Massachusetts General Hospital. He also serves as the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Tanzi received his B.S. (microbiology) and B.A. (history) at the University of Rochester in 1980 and his Ph.D. (neurobiology) at Harvard Medical School in 1990.

Dr. Tanzi was a key member of the teams that discovered the first Alzheimer’s disease (AD) gene, the amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene, and the two other early-onset familial AD genes, presenilin 1 and presenilin 2. As leader of the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund Alzheimer’s Genome Project, Dr. Tanzi identified several other AD genes, including CD33, the first AD gene shown to regulate neuroinflammation in AD. He also discovered the Wilson’s disease gene and several other neurological disease genes.

Dr. Tanzi’s team was the first to use human stem cells to create three-dimensional mini human brain organoids of AD, dubbed “Alzheimer’s-in-a-Dish”. This model was the first to recapitulate all three key AD pathological hallmarks. He and his team have successfully used these organoids to screen for approved drugs and natural products that can stop AD brain pathology. Dr. Tanzi has developed several novel therapies for AD including gamma secretase modulators targeting amyloid pathology (Phase 1 planned 2021) and AMX0035, which was already successful in a clinical trial of ALS and now under priority review for approval at the FDA. Dr. Tanzi also discovered that beta-amyloid plays a functional role in the brain as an anti-microbial peptide, supporting a potential role for infection in the etiology of AD.

Dr. Tanzi serves as Chair of the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund Research Leadership Group and on numerous scientific advisory and editorial boards, He has published over 600 research papers and is one of the top 50 most cited neuroscientists in the world. He has received the highest awards in his field, including the Metropolitan Life Foundation Award, Potamkin Prize, Ronald Reagan Award, Oneness in Humanity Award, Silver Innovator Award, the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award, the Brain Research Foundation Award, and the Kary Mullis Award for Medical Research. He has also been named to TIME magazine’s list of TIME100 Most Influential People in the World. Dr. Tanzi is also a New York Times bestselling author, who has co-authored the books Decoding Darkness, and bestsellers, Super Brain, Super Genes, and The Healing Self.

Dr. Gauthier is a member of Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Psychiatry and Medicine of McGill University. Director of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders Research Unit at the McGill Center for Studies in Aging, and Research Chair in the Canadian Institutes for Health Research program for health research. Many prizes and distinctions such as 2009 “Irma M. Parhad Award for Excellence”, 2012 “prix Hubert Reeves”, 2014 “Queen Elisabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal” and member of the “Order of Canada”.

Professor of Neurology, Sorbonne University, Paris; Director of the Behavioural Neurology Department and of the Dementia Research Center at Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris; Director of a Research Unit Inserm at Paris Brain Institute. Past-President of the French Society of Neurology. Coordinator of the Center of Excellence in Neurodegeneration (CoEN) of Paris. Member of the ‘Académie Nationale de Médecine’. Many prizes and distinctions such as “Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur”. Member of the European Alzheimer Disease Consortium (EADC) and of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN). Principal or co-investigator of a number of research programs focusing on Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson disease. Chairman of the International Working Group (IWG) on the new criteria for Alzheimer’s disease.

Prof. Dr. med. Oliver Peters, Full Professor at Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, is currently chief of the branch Geriatric Neuropsychiatry at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Campus Benjamin Franklin. He is head of the Memory Clinic and Dementia Prevention Center at Experimental Clinical Research Center (ECRC), Charité - Campus Berlin Buch. He is principal investigator at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and board member of the German Dementia Competence Network (KND e.V.). He is interested in the establishment of, and has extensively worked on, new biomarkers for early diagnosis of chronic neurodegenerative diseases. He has participated as Principal Investigator in numerous observational and interventional clinical trials.