Our Team

An EJS ACT-PD Core Management Team has been appointed across University College London (UCL) and Newcastle University. The Core Team are dedicated to coordinating and facilitating the communication, collaboration and progress of the Working Groups. University of Plymouth (UoP) were also involved in Stage 1 of the EJS ACT-PD Initiative.

Tom Foltynie

Professor Tom Foltynie is Professor of Neurology at University College London and Consultant Neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.

He has a specialist interest in Parkinson’s disease (PD), Deep Brain stimulation and the development of novel treatments for PD.

Prof. Foltynie is involved in several trials of new treatments for PD, including chief investigator for a series of trials of Exenatide- a potential neurorestorative treatment for PD. He is excited to be continuing his work in exploring disease modifying treatments for PD through EJS ACT-PD.

“I am delighted to embark on this project with the support of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation. Our existing process of ‘one drug at a time’ is far too inefficient, and it is high time that we had a platform capable of assessing multiple approaches simultaneously.”

Camille Carroll

Professor Camille Carroll is Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at Newcastle University and University of Plymouth and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at University Hospitals Plymouth.

Dr Carroll is UK Lead for Neurodegenerative Diseases for the National Institute of Health and Care Research Clinical Research Network (NIHR CRN) and  Co-clinical Director of the Parkinson’s Excellence Network at Parkinson’s UK.

She has successfully led PD STAT, a nation-wide trial of simvastatin, the largest neuroprotective trial in the UK, and is leading the development of a web-based research register (JPR) for Parkinson’s.

Dr Carroll is looking forward to realising the vision of developing a multi-arm, multi-stage platform trial for Parkinson’s.

“The funding provided by the Edmond J. Safra Foundation will enable a sea change in how we investigate therapies that could slow or stop Parkinson’s progression.”

An EJS ACT-PD Core Management Team has been appointed across University College London (UCL) and the University of Plymouth (UoP). The Core Team are dedicated to coordinating and facilitating the communication, collaboration and progress of the Working Groups.

 

Our Steering Group

Co-chaired by Professor Foltynie and Professor Carroll, the EJS ACT-PD Initiative’s Steering Group were collectively responsible for the successful delivery of the project, according to the agreed timelines and budget to build the trial, and have all agreed to the Terms of Reference for the group. The group continues post-trial launch, to make decisions on the platform’s future innovations and evolution.

The EJS ACT-PD Initiative’s Research Project Manager, Georgia Mills also sits on the Committee.

PROFESSOR ROGER BARKER                                          Professor of Clinical Neuroscience and Consultant  Neurologist, Co-Chair Trial Design WG	PROFESSOR JAMES CARPENTER Professor of Medical Statistics Programme Leader in Methodology, Co-Chair Trial Design WG	PROFESSOR ANETTE SCHRAG Professor of Clinical Neurosciences and Consultant Neurologist, Chair Outcome Measures WG	Dr Joy Duffen Research Associate and Special Project Manager, Co-chair Funding & Sustainability WG	Professor Sonia Gandhi Professor of Neurology and Consultant Neurologist, Co-chair Funding & Sustainability WG
Dr Kevin McFarthing Research Officer and Parkinson’s Research Advocate, Chair Patient & Public Inclusion & Engagement WG	Professor Tony Schapira Head of Clinical Neurosciences and Consultant Neurologist, Co-Chair Treatment Selection WG	Professor Oliver Bandmann Professor of Movement Disorders, Co-Chair Treatment Selection WG	Professor Jeremy Chataway Professor of Neurology and Consultant Neurologist, Chief Investigator Octopus trial

Our International Advisory Group

The EJS ACT-PD Initiative also benefits from the input of an International Advisory Group of key senior researchers and international representation who provide feedback and advice to the Steering Group on the delivery and evolution of the trial.

Chair - Dr Jesse Cedarbaum Professor (Adjunct) of Neurology and Psychiatry, Founder and Head, Coeruleus Clinical Sciences LLC	Professor Tony Lang Professor of Neurology, University of Toronto	Dr Adam Boxer Endowed Professor in Memory and Aging, Weill Institute of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco
Denise Wilson Head of Business Development, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)	Dr Brian Fiske Co-Chief Scientific Officer, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research	Professor Max Parmar Director of MRC CTU and coordinator of the STAMPEDE trial, UCL
Dr Richard Wyse Director of Clinical Development, Cure Parkinson’s Trust