Elene Abzianidze is a professor at the Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics at Tbilisi State Medical University (TSMU), President and Founder of Georgian Society of Medical Genetics and Epigenetics (GSMGE) www.geneticsgeorgia.org, and a member of the presidium of Georgian Physiological Society and Georgian Neuroscience Association.She earned her PhD Degree (Candidate of Biological Sciences) and Habilitation Degree (Doctor of Biological Sciences) at Institute of Physiology of Georgian Academy of Sciences, USSR and for years worked as junior, senior and leading researcher. She further continued her career as a head of the Department of Medical Biology and Genetics at TSMU and at the Laboratory of Pain and Analgesia at Iv. Beritashvili Center of Experimental Biomedicine. Her main topic of interest over the years has been behavioral and epigenetic aspects of pain. Today her scientific research is focused on the discovery of epigenetic aspects that underline inflammation process and related disorders. She is the supervisor of 10 PhD programs. Under her leadership and coordination the following accredited conferences were held: “Genomics and Epigenomics in Precision Medicine” (2016, 2017), “Human Genome and Health – First international Conference in Georgia” (2018), 25 Students Scientific Debate Conferences at TSMU, DNA Day Essay Contest and several charity events. Among numerous other books,it was through her initiative and unrelenting commitment that “Thompson and Thompson Genetics in Medicine” (7th and 8th editions 2008, 2016) and Nessa Carey “Epigenetic Revolution” (2014) were published, for which she also served as a translator and editor. She led an effort of both restoring a unique biological museum at TSMU in 1997 and founding a laboratory of Molecular Genetic and Epigenetics in 2014. Elene Abzianidze received the Order of Honor from Georgian government in 2002, and in connection with the World Science Day established by UNESCO, was awarded with a certificate of honor for scientific achievements by the Georgian National Academy of Sciences in 2017.

Education
2013-present Postdoctoral Fellow, Biology Department, Stanford University, Palo Alto CA, USA
2007-2013 Ph.D., Pharmacology Department, McGill University, Montreal QC, Canada
2003-2007 B.Sc., Biology and Biotechnology, Carleton University, Ottawa ON, Canada
Teaching and Employment
2018-present Assistant Professor, Queens College CUNY, Flushing NY, USA
2014-present Lecturer, EduExplora, Santiago Chile.
2013-present Lecturer, Stanford Pre-collegiate Studies, Palo Alto CA, USA
2008-2011 Teaching Assistant, Pharmacology, McGill University, Montreal QC, Canada
2007 Intern, Bioproducts Division, Iogen Inc., Ottawa ON, Canada
2006 Intern, Protelix Inc., San Carlos CA, USA
2005 Intern, Bioren Inc., San Carlos CA, USA
Grants and Fellowships
2015-2016 Beckman Technology Innovation Grant, Stanford University CA, USA
2015-2017 A.P. Giannini Postdoctoral Fellowship.
2013-2015 NINDS Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health Research.
2007 NSERC Industrial Undergraduate Student Research Award.
Honors and Scholarships
2017 Trainee fellowship, Broadening the Representation of Academics Investigators in Neurosciences fellow, University of Washington, Seattle WA
2015 Trainee scholarship, Behavioral Epigenetics, Janelia Farm VI, USA
2014 Trainee fellowship, Summer Program in Neuroscience Ethics and Survival, MBL Woods Hole MA, USA.
2013 Trainee scholarship, Neuroscience School of Advanced Studies, Cortona Italy
2012 Pharmacology Research Day People’s Choice Award: Oral Presentation. McGill.
2011 McGill Faculty of Medicine Medstar Award for best published manuscript: DNA methylation of SPARC and low back pain Invited lecturer
2015 Seminario de Epigenética, Instructor: Masami Ando, UNAM, Mexico.
2014 MUS257: Neuroplasticity and Gaming, Instructor: Dr. Poppy Crum, Stanford
2014 BIOE123: Biotic Games, Dr. Instructor: Ingmar Riedel-Kruse, Stanford

Davit Chokoshvili is a post-doctoral researcher whose work focuses on the implementation of genetic and genomic technologies in the healthcare setting. His area of interest include reproductive genetics, clinical genetics, public health genomics, health technology assessment, and health economics. Davit holds a PhD in biomedical sciences from KU Leuven, which he obtained in june 2018. His dissertation focused on reproductive genetics and was entitled "Expanded Carrier Screening for Monogenetic Disorder: an Interdisciplinary Inquiry".

Martina Cornel, M.D, Ph.D. (♀, 1959) is professor of community genetics and public health genomics at the Amsterdam University Medical Center. She is a physician and epidemiologist. After 2000 she mainly worked on the responsible implementation of genetic testing & screening. She is co-chair of the Public and Professional Policy Committee of the European Society of Human Genetics, that developed amongst others recommendations on Whole Genome Sequencing in Health Care (Van El 2013), responsible implementation of non-invasive prenatal testing (Dondorp 2015), and on responsible implementation of carrier testing (Henneman 2016). She is a member of the Netherlands Health Council and two of its standing Committees (Population Screening and Public Health). She is chair of the Netherlands Program Committee Neonatal Heelprick Screening.

Dr. Sofia Douzgou graduated from La Sapienza University Medical School (Rome, Italy) in 2004. She specialised in Medical Genetics in La Sapienza University Postgraduate School. In 2008 she completed an MD with Honors in the clinical presentation of rare genetic syndromes with hypertrichosis. From 2008 to 2010 she worked as a Consultant Geneticist in the Institute of Child Health, Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital, Athens, Greece. From 2011 to 2012 she worked as a Clinical Fellow at the Manchester Center for Genomic Medicine. She was appointed a Consultant in Clinical Genetics at the Manchester Center for Genomic Medicine and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester in 2013. She completed a Master’s degree in health care management at the School of Economics, University of Piraeus, Greece, in 2013. She was awarded a PhD in dysmorphology services by the Medical School of the University of Athens, Greece, with distinction, in 2015. She became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physician in 2017. Dr Douzgou currently acts as the Developmental Disorders’ Team Lead for the Manchester Center for Genomic Medicine. She is Tele-Health Lead for the ERN ITHACA, a European Reference Network for Congenital Malformations and Intellectual Disability and Dysmorphology assessor for the Clinical Genetics Educational external quality assessment (EQA). Dr Douzgou sees patients of all ages with rare genetic syndromes of intellectual disability and/or multiple congenital malformations, developmental disorders affecting the eye, CHARGE syndrome and ear-nose-throat malformations. Dr Douzgou’s research interests are the use of web-based technologies to improve the care of patients with rare syndromes of intellectual disability and/or multiple congenital malformations; also the genetics of spliceosomal disorders.

Dr. Garovic is Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minnesota, and holds joint appointments in Nephrology and Obstetrics and Gynecology. She currently serves as Chair for Research, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Mayo Clinic, and as Director, Clinical Research Office and Office of Clinical Trials, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic. Her journal editorial responsibilities include Editor-in-Chief for Hypertension in Pregnancy, Section editor for Women's Health, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Section editor, Preeclampsia for Current Hypertension Reports, and editorial board member, Kidney International. She has a long standing interest in studying renal disease and hypertension in pregnancy, the pathophysiology of hypertensive pregnancy disorders and, specifically, preeclampsia, and has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers. Her research interests in preeclampsia span several research areas: underlying molecular mechanisms of renal injury, epigenetics, and epidemiology of long-term cardiovascular and renal effects, with the long-term objective of identifying diagnostic biomarkers and potential new therapeutic targets in order to improve immediate and long-term outcomes of this enigmatic disease.

Prof. Gudkov was graduated from Moscow State University and obtained his academic degrees (PhD in Experimental Oncology and Doctor of Sciences in Molecular Biology) in former Soviet Union. In 1990 he joined Department of Genetics at University of Illinois at Chicago (US). Between 2001-2007 he led Department of Molecular Genetics at Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, Ohio). Since 2007, he is at his current position of Sr. Vice President for Basic Science and Chair of Department of Cell Stress Biology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York. Prof. Gudkov made pioneering contributions in anti-cancer and anti-aging research, radiation biology and mechanisms of inflammation. A number of his drug candidates are currently in clinical development. He authored > 200 scientific papers, an inventor on >50 issued patents and founded biotech companies Cleveland Biolabs (NASDAQ: CBLI), Incuron, Oncotartis, Everon Biosciences and Genome Protection that develop anticancer and anti-aging drugs based on his inventions.

Education
1. 2011: Mayo Clinic Scholar - Postdoc; Department of Molecular MedicineMax-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry
2. 2007: Fellow - Advanced Clinical DermatologyMayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
3. 2007: Resident - Dermatology ResidencyMayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
4. 2004: Doctorate of Medicine - For Ph.D.-equivalent work in the area of biochemistry and cell biology. Thesis title:
"Identification and Characterization of Stress-Activated Signaling Networks in Primary Human Keratinocytes". Grade: summa cum laude.Heinrich Heine University of Dusseldorf
5. 2004: Internship - Preliminary Internal Medicine InternshipMayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
6. 2003: Fellow - Carlo Schmid FellowWorld Health Organization
7. 2002: Medical SchoolHeinrich-Heine-University, Dusseldorf, Germany
8. 1999: Fellow - Fulbright Fellow in Cell BiologyHarvard Medical School
Certifications
1. 2007: DermatologyAmerican Board of Dermatology
Awards and honors
1. 2018: 5th District Eagles Cancer Telethon Research AwardFraternal Order of Eagles
2. 2017: Philanthropic gift to Mayo Clinic from patient in honor of Alexander Meves, MDDepartment of Development
3. 2017: Physician Scientist Career Development Award (K08)National Cancer Institute
4. 2016: Gerstner Family Career Development AwardCenter for Individualized Medicine
5. 2015: Arnold and Kit Palmer Career Development Award in Cancer Research Department of Development

Arndt Rolfs, MD, Professor for Neurology and Psychiatry, is appointed CEO and founder of Centogene AG, Rostock, Germany. He received his approbation for human medicine in 1985 from the University of Mainz, Germany and the University of Vienna, Austria. Prof. Rolfs is a principle investigator of several international multicentre studies in the area of rare diseases and is actively engaged in biomarker research for several metabolic diseases, including the Sifap project (www.sifap.eu), the world's largest study in young stroke patients related to Fabry disease, several biomarker studies (e.g. BioHAE, BioGaucher, BioHunter, BioMorquio) and epidemiological studies in neurogenetic aetiologies. Prof. Rolfs has an extensive track record in medical and scientific publications with more than authored/contributed to 250 peer-reviewed publications and acts as a consultant for international biotech and industrial companies, and is also a consultant for the EMA and FDA.

Eva Klopocki studied biology at the University of Ulm between 1994 and 2000. Dissertation on the topic: "Expression Analysis and Functional Characterization of Two New Tumor Suppressor Candidates of Mammary Cancer" from 2000 - 2003 at metaGen Pharmaceuticals in Berlin rer. nat. at the Faculty of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin (2004). "Master of Business Administration (MBA) Biotechnology and Medical Engineering" at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Potsdam (2005-2007). From 2003-2012 she was a research group leader at the Institute for Medical Genetics and Human Genetics at the Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin. During 2006-2012 Eva Klopocki led the Array CGH Laboratory at the Institute of Medical Genetics of the Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the LaborBerlin GmbH in Berlin. Since October 2012 University professor for human genetics at the University of Würzburg. Eva Klopocki received scientific awards from the German Society for Human Genetics and the European Society for Human Genetics. Copy number variants (CNVs), e.i. losses and gains of genetic material, as well as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are significantly responsible for the variability of our genome. In recent years, Dr. Klopocki‘s and other research groups have shown that CNVs are crucial as a cause or susceptibility factor for congenital malformations, hereditary diseases, and syndromes. New methods, such as molecular karyotyping (array CGH), which allow genome-wide detection of CNVs, have been successful in identifying clinically relevant microdeletions and duplications. Array CGH is an integral part of clinical research when a genetic basis is suspected in a disease or developmental disorder. Eva Klopocki‘s research deals with the genetic causes of rare diseases, e.i. congenital limb malformations and craniofacial malformations.

Dr Karen Temple is Professor of Medical Genetics in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Genetics at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. She co-leads the Wessex Genome Medicine Centre, introducing genomics to clinical practice as part of the national 100,000 genomes project and the Southampton Biomedical Research Unit Data Sciences and is past Director of the Academic Unit of Human Development and Health in the Faculty of Medicine, cross cutting theme. Her major research interests are in genomics, epigenomics, data science in clinical practice and clinical characterization of childhood developmental disorders. She is the clinical research lead for the Wessex Imprinting group which offers diagnostic testing and runs research programs for families with imprinting disorders throughout the UK. She has pioneered research into the genetic causes of transient neonatal diabetes (TND), work that has changed the treatment for neonates with diabetes. She is recognized for her identification of new genetic imprinting syndromes including Temple syndrome, a condition with marked short stature and late onset obesity which has overlap with Prader Willi and Russell Silver syndrome. She co-runs the European Reference Network clinic in Southampton for patients with imprinting disorders. Professor Temple is an experienced clinical geneticist, having been a Consultant since 1990 and she plays a major-role in developing the Wessex Genetics Service. This serves a population of over 3 million people in Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire. She is past President of the Clinical Genetics Society. Qualifications: MB ChB (with Honours), University of Birmingham (1981) FRCP, Royal College of Physicians (1995) MD, University of Birmingham (2004)

Dr. Maral Tajerian is a Neurophysiologist with particular interest in Brain Plasticity. Following the completion of her undergraduate degrees in Biology and Psychology at the American University of Beirut, Dr. Tajerian joined McGill University in Canada where she received a Master’s degree from the department of Biology and a PhD degree from the department of Neurology and Neurosurgery. She then completed a postdoctoral tenure at the School of Medicine at Stanford University, where she received the prestigious Ruth L. Kirschtein fellowship in pain research. She is currently appointed as an Assistant Professor at the Biology department at Queens College, City University of New York. Dr. Tajerian’s main research interest is in the field of brain plasticity in chronic pain conditions. Despite the fact that millions of people suffer from chronic pain worldwide, there is little understanding of the precise mechanistic underpinnings of this disease. Using both preclinical models and patient tissues, Dr. Tajerian has studied various types of chronic pain, including low back pain, peripheral neuropathy, and complex regional pain syndrome. Her work revolves around the following major themes: 1. Epigenetics of Chronic pain, 2. Central nervous system plasticity in chronic pain, and 3. The extracellular matrix and chronic pain-related neuroplasticity.

Nana Nino Tatishvili professor of Neurology, D. Tvildiani Medical University, Head of Neuroscience Department M. Iashvili Central Children Hospital, Tbilisi, Georgia, president of Georgian Association of Child Neurology and Neurosurgery. Past president of Georgian chapter of ILAE.

PhD (Medicine) at Aarhus University (2009-2012), STAR postdoc fellowship at Novo Nordisk A/S (2012-2014), and visiting researcher at the Roslin Institute (2013) and Harvard Medical School (2015). Since 2015, Yonglun has been leading an independent research group at the Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University (Link: www.dream.au.dk). He is also PI at the BrainStem – Stem Cell Center of Excellence in Neurology, Copenhagen University. Since 2017, Yonglun was also appointed as the executive director of the Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine in BGI. Research focus of Yonglun Luo’s group is to systematically combine OMICS technologies, single cell sequencing, CRISPR gene editing, stem cell engineering and animal biotechnology (somatic cell nuclear transfer) to understand and develop regenerative medicines. One of his research focuses is to genetically tailor the pigs for the purpose of transplant medicine. Using single cell OMICS technologies and new sequencing platforms, his group is re-visiting the heterogeneity and precision functions of endothelial cells for human health.

Dr. Tranah is Executive Director of Precision Medicine at Sutter Health and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Tranah’s current research program is focused on identifying inherited and acquired genetic factors that impact aging and disease with the goal of revolutionizing risk assessment and identifying widely applicable and inexpensive genomic tests that identify persons who would benefit from specific pharmacologic and behavioral treatments to prevent disability and disease. He is the principal investigator of six NIH grants and two hospital foundation grants. In his current work he leads research teams engaged in genetic studies of aging and age-related traits and is discovering genes and variants associated with dementia, longevity, macular degeneration, depression, cancer, sleep and circadian rhythms. Much of his work is focused on examining the role of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence variation in human aging and disease and he is pioneering the discovery of age-related changes in mtDNA that impact neurodegeneration, disability, vision and hearing. In a novel collaboration, Dr. Tranah is examining how mtDNA sequence variation modifies individual responses to exercise with the goal of personalizing behavioral interventions to prevent disability. He and his colleagues have also pioneered the study of circadian rhythms in human aging and have identified modifiable activity patterns associated with dementia and mortality. At CPMC and UCSF, he is the Director of Genetics for several large population-based epidemiologic cohorts and is actively leading large-scale genomic analyses in collaboration with several international consortia focused on aging and disease. In this role he manages a large repository of biospecimens for two large cohort studies (Study of Osteoporotic Fractures and the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study). As Director of Precision Medicine, Dr. Tranah is currently leading a research program dedicated to accelerating the translation of research discoveries related to health and aging to clinical settings across Sutter Health. This program is focused on the development of novel treatments, diagnostic tests, wearable devices, or other interventions that can be implemented into clinical practice to improve patient health and functioning.

After studying medicine at the Humboldt-University of Berlin (Charité), Germany, she completed her internship at the Surgical Department of the same university. Since 2007, she is consultant in surgery. During 2007, she first worked in a surgical private practice and then changed to Villa Metabolica, at the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Germany. She worked there as the attending physician for 150 pediatric and adult patients with MPS I, II, IV and VI. In January 2014, together with Prof Maurizio Scarpa, she has set up a Center for Rare Diseases at the Dr Horst Schmidt Clinic in Wiesbaden. She was a coinvestigator on the Phase 3 trials in mucopolysaccharidosis type IV (MPS IV –Morquio syndrome) and the Re-Survey Study in MPS VI (Maroteaux-Lamy), Dr Lampe also is an investigator for the Hunter Outcome Survey and the MPS VI Clinical Surveillance Program (CSP). Dr Lampe is a member of the Natural History Working Group in MPS II, the Steering Committee in MPS II, and the CSP Publishing Board. One of the authors of the 2011 European recommendations on the diagnosis and multidisciplinary management of MPS II. She is particularly interested in the craniocervical compression and related symptoms, a major neurological complication present in particular on MPS I, IV and VI patients. Dr Lampe’s research has also appeared in journals such as, Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease, Rheumatology, Molecular Genetics and Metabolism and Orphanet. Christina Lampe’s interests are also devoted to correction of multiplex dysplasia in collaboration with orthopedicians for the creation of customized supports for the management of spine malformations, joint problems and hip dysplasia. Dr Lampe is Scientific Advisor for the German Society for Mucopolysaccharidosis and medical advisor of the Brains for Brain Foundation as well as of several patient associations and medical associations in particular in the East European Countries.