Professor of Neurology, Senior Neurologist, Chairman of the Neurosciences Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu” Cluj-Napoca, President of the Romanian Society of Neurology, President of the Society for the Study of Neuroprotection and Neuroplasticity (SSNN), member of the Academy of Medical Sciences, Romania, secretary of its Cluj Branch. He is also member of 13 scientific international societies (being member of the American Neurological Association (ANA) - Fellow of ANA (FANA) since 2012) and 7 national ones, being part of the executive board of most. Professor Dafin F. Muresanu is a specialist in Leadership and Management of Research and Health Care Systems (specialization in Management and Leadership, Arthur Anderson Institute, Illinois, USA, 1998 and several international courses and training stages in Neurology, research, management and leadership). Professor Dafin F. Muresanu is coordinator in international educational programs of European Master (i.e. European Master in Stroke Medicine, University of Krems), organizer and co-organizer of many educational projects: European and international schools and courses (International School of Neurology, European Stroke Organisation summer School, Danubian Neurological Society Teaching Courses, Seminars - Department of Neurosciences, European Teaching Courses on Neurorehabilitation) and scientific events: congresses, conferences, symposia (International Congresses of the Society for the Study of Neuroprotection and Neuroplasticity (SSNN), International Association of Neurorestoratology (IANR) & Global College for Neuroprotection and Neuroregeneration (GCNN) Conferences, Vascular Dementia Congresses (VaD), World Congresses on Controversies in Neurology (CONy), Danube Society Neurology Congresses, World Academy for Multidisciplinary Neurotraumatolgy (AMN) Congresses, Congresses of European Society for Clinical Neuropharmacology, European Congresses of Neurorehabilitation). His activity includes involvement in many national and international clinical studies and research projects, over 300 scientific participations as “invited speaker” in national and international scientific events, a significant portfolio of scientific articles (120 papers indexed on Web of Science-ISI, H-index: 14) as well as contributions in monographs and books published by prestigious international publishing houses. Prof. Dr. Dafin F. Muresanu has been honoured with: the Academy of Romanian Scientists, “Carol Davila Award for Medical Sciences / 2011”, for the contribution to the Neurosurgery book “Tratat de Neurochirurgie” (vol.2), Editura Medicala, Bucuresti, 2011; the Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu” Cluj-Napoca “Octavian Fodor Award” for the best scientific activity of the year 2010 and the 2009 Romanian Academy “Gheorghe Marinescu Award” for advanced contributions in Neuroprotection and Neuroplasticity.

Neurology and Nanomedicine

Jose-Vicente Lafuente received his Degree in Medicine and Ph.D. from University of Zaragoza (Spain). He is Full Professor for Human Anatomy and Embryology at the Department of Neurosciences, University of Basque Country (Bilbao, Spain). He has supervised more than 20 M.D. and Ph.D. students. He was Visiting Professor at the University of Valparaiso (Chile, 2011) and Cuyo, (Mendoza, Argentina, 2009) and Visiting Researcher at the Institute of Neuropathology of the Free University of Berlin (Germany, 1997) and the Department of Pathology. Midland Centre for Neurosurgery and Neurology. Birmingham (U.K., 1992). His main Research interests are in neuropathology and neurobiology of brain edema, adaptive postnatal changes in the microvasculature of the central nervous system in health and disease. He has been autor of 140 original papers and 33 reviewed book chapters. He has leadered or taken part in 43 research projects supported by public or privat institutions. He is actively involved in cooperative networking in neuroscience research.

His main Research interests are in neuropathology and neurobiology of brain edema, adaptive postnatal changes in the microvasculature of the central nervous system in health and disease

Professor Magdalena Plebanski (BScHon, MA, MBA, PhD) is a Senior Research Fellow (NHMRC Australia) and leads the Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Unit at the Department of Immunology and Pathology, Monash University, Australia. She is also the inaugural co-Head of the Immunotherapy and Regenerative Medicine Division at the newly established Monash Institute of Medical Engineering (MIME). Amongst many awards, she has been recipient of the prestigious International Howard Hughes Fellow Award. She arrived in Australia mid-1999 after a high impact postdoctoral career at Oxford University, United Kingdom, producing field changing findings on vaccines and immune evasion mechanisms that can interfere with vaccine efficacy, including: Lancet, 1995; Nature Biotechnology 1997; Science 1998; Immunity 1999; Nature Medicine 1999; Nature 1999. Since her arrival in Australia she continued to successfully merge technological innovation with translational science (e.g. Nature Medicine, 2004; Plos Pathogens 2009a, 2009b, 2009c; Clin. Cancer Res., 2013; Nature Communications, 2013; Nature Communications, 2015). She is regularly invited as keynote and plenary speaker at international conferences. Her 5 families of PCT patents have progressed to commercialisation nationally and internationally, and she has been Director in two successfully commercialised biotechnology companies.

Prof. Plebanski’s current primary interest is to develop practical and affordable vaccines against complex diseases, specifically malaria and cancer (ovarian cancer and leukemias), and to this end she pioneered the use of synthetic size-defined non-inflammatory nanoparticles. Her nanoparticle studies recently also opened to door to new nanotechnology applications to prevent allergic airways disease and asthma (J. Immunol., 2012, 2013). She has >120 peer-reviewed publications (plus books and abstracts). Her current interests also include the study of the interaction of different types of nanoparticles and biomaterials with key antigen presenting cells of the immune system (dendritic cells, macrophages, MDSC, B cells) and she collaborates extensively with chemical engineers and chemists.

Renata Pasqualini received her PhD from the University of São Paulo, Brazil and completed her postdoctoral studies at Harvard University, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and The Burnham Institute. She is the Budke Professor of Medicine, Associate Director for Translational Research and Chief of the Division of Molecular Medicine at the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has published over 170 papers in top tier journals and has filed over 110 patents. She is an editor and reviewer for many journals, and serves on national and international review boards.

Angiogenesis, nanotechnology, cancer biology, drug development, phage and antibody display

Professor Dr. Viroj Wiwanitkit is currently working as a medical professor and Asian Scholar. He graduated in medical doctor (M.D). (honors) and works in medical academics in many universities. At present he is appointed as a visiting University Professor, Hainan Medical University, China ; visiting professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis, Serbia ; adjunct professor, Joseph Ayobabalola University, Nigeria and honorary professor, Dr DY Patil Medical University, India. He has many international publications in medical field. His research interest includes nanomedicine, tropical medicine and public health, Laboratory medicine, molecular biology and microbiology. At present, he is the medical scientist who has more than 1,700 article publications and he has the most number (the first world rank) of international publications as the first and the last author. He also serve as editor in chief and editorial board of about 100 international medical journals published from several countries around the world.

Nanomedicine, tropical medicine and public health, Laboratory medicine, molecular biology and microbiology

Hari Shanker Sharma, Director of Research, Uppsala University is Professor of Neurobiology and is currently affiliated with Department of Surgical Sciences, Division of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Uppsala University, Sweden. Hari Sharma after carrying out a series of Government of India funded Research Projects on the BBB and brain dysfunction (1982–1987), joined the lab of Neuropathology at Uppsala University with Professor Yngve Olsson in 1988 to investigate passage of tracer transport across the BBB caused by stress or traumatic insults to the Brain and Spinal cord at light and electron microscopy. Dr. Sharma received the prestigious Neuroanatomy award “Rönnows Research prize” of Uppsala University for “best neuroanatomical research of the year 1996” followed by the Award of the Degree of Doctor of Medical Sciences of Uppsala University in Neuroanatomy in 1999 and selected for the Best Thesis Award of the Medical faculty, “The Hwassers Prize” of 1999. On his meticulous works on the Blood Brain barrier and Brain edema (2000–2003) Dr. Sharma earned the prestigious title of “Docent in Neuroanatomy” of Medical Faculty, Uppsala University in April 2004. Dr. Sharma on his research on brain pathology and neuroprotection in different models received the prestigious awards from The Laerdal Foundation of Acute Medicine, Stavanger, Norway, in 2005 followed by Distinguished International Scientists Collaboration Award by National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Baltimore, MD (2006–2008). His recent work on 5-HT3 receptor mediated neuroprotection in morphine withdrawal induced neurotoxicity won the coveted prize of Best Investigator Award 2008 and Best Scientific Presentation by European Federation of the International Association for Study of Pain (ISAP), and Awarded during their VI Annual Meeting in Lisbon, September 9–12, 2008. His recent research is aimed to find out the role of nanoparticles in Neurodegeneration and Neuroprotection using various treatment strategies that is supported by European Aerospace Research and Development (EOARD), London, UK and US Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Oh, USA. On his works on Blood–brain barrier in hypertension and diabetes together with Romanian colleagues, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu,” Cluj-Napoca, Romania awarded Dr. Sharma with Honorary Doctorate of Medical Sciences in 2009. Dr. Sharma’s work over 30 years on the blood-brain barrier and brain edema won him the US Neurosurgeon Dr. Anthony Marmarou Award (2011) by the International Brain Edema Society at their 15th Congress in Tokyo, Japan, November 20–24, 2011. His works on Nanoneuroscience and development of nanomedicine to treat the CNS injuries has won accolades at various Government and International Scotties or Organization across the World. Accordingly Dr Sharma was decorated with the most prestigious “Hind Rattan Award 2012” (Jewel of India) on the eve of Republic Day of India 25th January 2012 and Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Gold Medal on October 12, 2012 in House of Lords, London, UK. Based on his outstanding contribution in Nanoneuropharmacology and nanodrug delivery to treat central nervous system (CNS) diseases including Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Hari Sharma bestowed with Prestigious Gujarat Govt. International Visionary Award 2012. His further research on co-morbidity factors e.g., hypertension or diabetes may alter pathophysiology of brain injuries and require higher drug dose or nanodrug delivery of neuroprotective agents to minimize brain dysfunction is recognized by Govt. of India by presenting him one of the coveted “Bharat Jyoti Award 2013. Dr Sharma also received the highest Award of the Govt. of India “Navrattan Award 2013” (Nine Jewels of India) on the eve of 64th Republic Day of India (25th January 2013) Hari Sharma is Founding President of the Global College of Neuroprotection & Neuroregeneration (2004-); Elected President of International Association of Neurorestoratology (IANR) (2014-); and selected Senior Expert of Asia-Pacific CEO Association, Worldwide (APCEO) (2012-) for his contribution to uplift scientific research in many countries. Hari Sharma awarded coveted National Award “Sword of Honor” 2015 by Govt. of India on the eve of 66th Republic Day of India. Hari Sharma has published over 400 research papers, 85 reviews, 14 monographs, and 80 international book chapters and edited 18 book volumesDr. Sharma served as volume editor of several journals and addresses many conferences all over the world.

The main research interests of Dr. Hari Shanker Sharma are Neuroprotection and Neuroregeneration, in relation to the Blood-brain barrier in stress, trauma, and drugs of abuse in health and disease.

Bachurin Sergey completed his PhD at the age of 27 years from Moscow State University in 1975. Since 1981 till the present time he is working in the Institute of Physiologically Active Compounds Russian Academy of Sciences (IPAC RAS). He was an invited scholar in the University of California, San Francisco, USA (1992) and in Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, USA (1995). Since 2006 Bachurin is a director of IPAC RAS. He is an Editorial Board Member of the number of international chemical and biological journals and the author of more than 200 publications, and about 40 patents.

Medicinal chemistry of neurodegenerative disorders, in particular, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, brain ischemia. Mechanism-based search for new medicines for neurological disorders, in particular, neuroprotectors and cognition-enhancers. Role of mitochondria in neurodegenerative diseases. Development of experimental models of neurological disorders. Neurotoxicology of ecotoxicants, xenobiotics and endotoxins

Her main interest is now focused on Indian Medicinal drugs and their effects on the Central Nervous System Function, toxicology, neurorepair and neuroprotection. She is also investigating neurotoxicological profiles of many Ayurvedic traditional drugs with special reference to those containing metal oxide or metal ashes.

Aruna Sharma, MD is currently Secretary of Research at Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala University, Sweden. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in 1971 and trained in Indian Medicine up to 1977 and engaged in medical research from 1978 to 1986 in India on hyperthermia induced brain dysfunction in the lab of Hari Sharma and Prasanta Kumar Dey under University Grants Commission and Indian Council of Medical Research Programs. She is a qualified experimental Neurpathologist and received her training at Karl Marx University Leipzig, Institute of Neurobiology (1987-1988); Semmelweis University Medical School, Department of Human Morphology and Developmental Biology, Budapest, Hungary (1988-1989), Free University Berlin, Germany (1989-1991) and Neuropathology Institute Uppsala (1992-1995). She was further engaged in experimental neuropathological research at Uppsala University Hospital in the laboratory of Neuropathology of Hari Sharma and Yngve Olsson under Swedish Medical Research Council Program. She continued to work with Hari Sharma and Jan Westman in the department of Neuroanatomy, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala University from 1996 until 2003 on neuroimmunohistochemistry of experimental and human brain diseases. Since 2004 she joined Department of Surgical Sciences, Anesthesiology & Intensive Care Medicine and working with Hari Sharma on various research programs including Nanotechnology in the CNS and disease modulation by endocrine or cardiovascular anomalies in the CNS and neuroprotection under various National and International Research Programs. Dr Sharma is member of various Distinguished American Organizations and elected to receive the prestigious award “Women of the Years Representing Sweden Award 2009” for her outstanding contributions towards society by American Biographical Research Institute, USA; and “Best Professional Business Women Award 2010” For Setting Standard to Motivate, Excel and Inspire Others, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. She has published over 50 original research papers in Reputed Neuroscience Journals and is currently Acquisition Editor of American Journal of Neuroproetction and Neuroregenartion.

Adipocyte stem cell biology,Nanobiomedicine and nanotechnology in medical application,Nano-Cell interaction

Zhi Ping Xu obtained his BS degree from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1988, and received his PhD degree from National University of Singapore in 2001. After his postdoctoral fellowship at University of North Texas, he joined the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, the University of Queensland as a research fellow in 2004, and received promotions to senior research fellow and associate professor in 2008 and 2011, respectively. He has published over 180 journal papers with the H-index = 40, focusing on developing clay and clay-hybrid nanomaterials for drug/gene/vaccine delivery to treat cancer diseases and chemical catalysis.

Layered double hydroxide nanoparticles for drug/gene/protein delivery to treat cancers;Quantum dots for imaging; Nanoemulsions for plant extract delivery to control animal diseases; Nanomaterials for slow gene release to control plant viruses and insects