Dr Wendy Martin, CMO, Xenome
Dr Martin is a trained neurologist who has been a pharmaceutical physician since 1992 and has a strong technical background in international drug development from pre-clinical to Phase IV. She has therapeutic expertise related to the central nervous system, with successful regulatory approvals in epilepsy, analgesia and opiate drug development. Dr Martin has worked in large pharma, mid-size specialty pharma and biotechnology (Glaxo, Elan, Xcel). Prior to assuming the Chief Medical Officer role with an Australian biotech company she was VP of Global Product Development Services within an international contract research organisation.
Professor Justin McArthur, Johns Hopkins University
Professor McArthur is Professor of Neurology, Pathology and Epidemiology and Interim Chair of the Department of Neurology at Johns Hopkins University. He is also the Director of the Johns Hopkins/National Institute of Mental Health Research Center for Novel Therapeutics of HIV-associated Cognitive Disorders. Professor McArthur has become nationally and internationally recognised for his work in studying the natural history, development and treatment of HIV infection, multiple sclerosis and other neurological infections and immune-mediated neurological disorders. He received his medical degree from Guys Hospital Medical School in London, UK and then completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. He also holds a Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University.
Dr Russell Portenoy, Beth Israel Medical Center
Dr. Russell Portenoy is Chairman of the Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, and the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman Chair in Pain Medicine and Palliative Care at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. He is Chief Medical Officer of Beth Israel's Continuum Hospice Care/The Jacob Perlow Hospice, and Professor of Neurology and Anesthesiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Dr. Portenoy is president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and a past president of the American Pain Society. He is the recipient of the Wilbert Fordyce Award for Lifetime Excellence in Clinical Investigation and the Distinguished Service Award from the American Pain Society, the Founder's Award from the American Academy of Pain Medicine, and the Bonica Award from the Eastern Pain Association. He serves on the Board of Directors of the American Pain Foundation and chairs both the medical forum of the National Hospice Work Group and the Committee on Hospice and Palliative Medicine of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
Dr. Portenoy's research has focused on clinical trials of analgesic drugs, opioid pharmacology, symptom measurement, and quality of life assessment. He is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, associate editor for the Clinical Sciences Section Pain, and editor for the palliative care section of The Oncologist. He serves on numerous other editorial boards and has written, co-authored, or edited 17 books and more than 450 papers and book chapters on topics in pain and symptom management, opioid pharmacotherapy, and symptom assessment.
Dr Michael C. Rowbotham, California Pacific Medical Center and UCSF
Michael C. Rowbotham is Professor of Clinical Neurology and Anesthesia at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and a board certified neurologist. Dr. Rowbotham conducts clinical research at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute (CPMC-MRI), where he holds a Senior Scientist position and is Chair of the IRB for human research. Dr. Rowbotham is the Senior Attending Neurologist in the UCSF-Mount Zion Pain Management Center and directs the neurology component of the ACGME-accredited Pain Fellowship Program.
Dr. Rowbotham has earned an international reputation for his novel clinical research exploring mechanisms of pain, developing new therapies and the design of efficient and powerful Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials. His current academic research interests focus on the mechanisms and management of chronic neuropathic pain, clinical trial design, opioid tolerance, therapeutic strategies for drug abuse, biomarkers of drug response, and incorporation of human experimental pain models into testing of new analgesic agents.
Author of more than 50 scientific papers, reviews and editorials, Dr. Rowbotham's clinical research studies are published in leading journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Pain, Neurology, and the Annals of Neurology. He serves as a reviewer for numerous medical journals and is the Section Editor for the journal PAIN and edited the Proceedings of the Ninth World Congress on Pain. He also serves on data monitoring and review boards for several international clinical trials. He has been a Director for the International Association for the Study of Pain and the American Pain Society. Dr. Rowbotham has received numerous awards, including a new investigator award from the Committee on Problems of Drug Dependence and a K-24 award for patient-oriented research from the National Institute on Neurological Diseases and Stroke.
As a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry for almost 20 years, Dr. Rowbotham has played a major role in the development of 3 approved treatments for chronic pain, particularly the design and conduct of clinical trials from Phase I – FDA approval: Lidoderm patch, Flector patch; and a leadership role in the pivotal trial of Neurontin for post-herpetic neuralgia. A sabbatical as Chief Medical Officer and Senior VP of Neuromolecular Pharmaceuticals has given him direct experience within the pharmaceutical industry.
Dr Mike Wood, Director of Research, Vernalis
Dr Mike Wood is the Director of Research for Vernalis, a UK-based specialty biopharmaceutical company focussed on neurology and central nervous system disorders. Prior to this position he was the Head of Preclinical Development at RiboTargets where was responsible the in-licensing and development of a novel pain therapeutic. Before that he worked at British Biotech as Director of Biology and Corporate Project Director for new chemical entities for cardiovascular, anti-inflammatory and oncology programmes. These included matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors for cancer, inflammatory and cardiovascular indications, and PAF antagonists for inflammatory diseases. He also worked on novel biological agents for use in haematological and cardiovascular indications. Prior to joining British Biotech he was at Smith Kline and French in Welwyn as a group leader working on phosphodiesterase inhibitors for 3 years. He gained his PhD from Leeds University.
