Scientific consultants
Dr Susan Fox acts as a consultant in the design, analysis and interpretation of Atuka projects evaluating potential therapeutics for motor aspects of Parkinson’s disease. In addition to project specific work, Susan has been responsible for developing and validating the clinically-relevant rating scales we use in Atuka to evaluate benefits on parkinsonism and dyskinesia. Outside her Atuka role, Susan is a Professor in the Division of Neurology, University of Toronto and a staff neurologist at the Toronto Western Hospital. Her research interests include pre-clinical studies investigating disease mechanisms, particularly neuropsychiatric problems of Parkinson’s disease; as well as phase II and phase III clinical trials of new treatments for Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. Susan is a member of the International Executive Committee of the Movement Disorder Society and is also past chair of the Movement Disorder Society Evidence Based Medicine update on treatment of motor symptoms for PD.
Dr Jay Schneider acts as Head of Cognition for Atuka and he directly manages the design, analysis and interpretation of the non-human primate cognition studies we perform at Atuka. He was responsible for establishing CANTAB and other cognition assays within the Atuka laboratories. Jay received his Ph.D from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and received postdoctoral training at the University of California, Los Angeles and, outside his Atuka role, Jay leads basic and clinical research efforts on Parkinson’s disease at Thomas Jefferson University which focuses on developing new treatments for cognitive dysfunction In Parkinson’s disease, as well as neurorestorative and symptomatic motor therapies for the disease. Jay also oversees a number of clinical trials of new therapeutics for Parkinson’s disease.
Business consultants
Ruairí Mac Síomóin supports the development of Atuka business in Japan. Ruairi received his B.Sc from Trinity College, Ireland and his M.Sc from the University of Tokyo. Ruairí has resided in Japan for over 25 years and has held various technical and business development positions in Japanese pharma and biotech companies. Ruairí currently heads a Japan-based business development firm that specialises in helping biotech companies expand their business in Japan.