Speakers

Professor Carol A. Colton Ph.D.

Department of Neurology, Duke University Medical Center
ADDF-Harrington Scholar, Alzheimer’s Association Zenith Fellow
Durham, USA

Prof Louis IGNARRO

Co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Professor of Pharmacology
Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, UCLA School of Medicine’s
Los Angeles, USA

Prof Sir Salvador MONCADA

FRS, FMedSci, HonFBPhS
Cancer Domain Director
School of Medical Sciences, Manchester Cancer Research Centre, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

Prof Ferid MURAD

Co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
George Washington University, Washington D.C., USA

Professor Louis IGNARRO

BS, PhD
Professor Emeritus
UCLA School of Medicine, Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Beverly Hills, California, USA

A native of Brooklyn, NY, Dr. Ignarro received a BS in pharmacy/chemistry at Columbia University (1958-1962) before earning his PhD in Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota (1966) and completing a postdoctoral fellowship in chemical pharmacology at the NIH (1968). Dr. Ignarro was recruited by Ciba-Geigy Pharma, where his work led to the development of diclofenac. In 1973, he pursued an academic career, first at Tulane University School of Medicine, and then UCLA School of Medicine in 1985. In 1993, Dr. Ignarro became Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology at UCLA, where he currently serves as Professor Emeritus. He excelled as both research scientist and professor, winning many Golden Apple teaching awards from his medical students.

Dr. Ignarro was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with Robert Furchgott and Ferid Murad, “for their discovery that nitric oxide acts as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system”. He also received the American Heart Association’s Basic Research Prize and Distinguished Scientist Award “for the advancement of cardiovascular science”, the Roussel UCLAF Prize in France “for cell communication and signaling”, the CIBA Award for Hypertension Research, the Canadian Medal of Merit, and the Golden Plate Award “for outstanding contributions in cardiovascular research”. He is founder of the Nitric Oxide Society and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American Philosophical Society.

Professor Carol A. Colton

Ph.D.
Department of Neurology, Duke University Medical Center
ADDF-Harrington Scholar, Alzheimer’s Association Zenith Fellow
Durham, USA

Carol A. Colton, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Neurology at Duke University and has received the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation-Harrington Scholar award, Alzheimer’s Association Zenith award and her work has been continually supported by NIH grants since 2000. Dr. Colton was among the first scientists to study microglia, the brain’s immune cell and has developed multiple mouse models that recapitulate immune responses similar to those found in humans with disease. Her recent work demonstrates complex immune changes in Alzheimer’s disease, connecting these changes to metabolic stress in the brain and opening new avenues of AD research.

Professor Sir Salvador MONCADA

FRS, FMedSci, HonFBPhS
Cancer Domain Director
School of Medical Sciences, Manchester Cancer Research Centre
The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

Professor Moncada’s scientific career began at the Royal College of Surgeons, where he was part of the team that discovered the mechanism of action of aspirin-like drugs, thus explaining their therapeutic actions as well as their main side effect, gastric damage. During his time at the Wellcome Research Laboratories he led the team that discovered thromboxane synthase and the vasodilator prostacyclin. This work is the basis for the understanding of how low doses of aspirin prevent cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes and it also explains the cardiovascular side-effects of the so-called COX2 inhibitors. In the 1980s he identified nitric oxide as a biological mediator, the mechanism of its biosynthesis and many of its biological functions. As Director of Research at Wellcome, he oversaw the work that resulted in the discovery and development of several new medicines, including Lamotrigine, Atovaquone, Zomig and Lapatinib. In 1995 he founded the Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research at University College London, which he directed until 2013. In 2013 he moved to the University of Manchester, where he was Director of the Institute of Cancer Sciences and later became the Cancer Domain Director.