66th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Neurology

Naoki Atsuta graduated from Nagoya University School of Medicine in 1996. After completing his clinical training, he became a neurologist and earned his degree from Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine. He served as the ward chief of Neurology at Nagoya University Hospital from 2009 to 2020. Since November 2020, he has been working as an Associate Professor at Aichi Medical University.
Since 2005, he has been a central contributor to the establishment, operation, and analysis of JaCALS, a registry of ALS patients in Japan. He has also participated as a site principal investigator (PI) in many ALS clinical trials, including those for edaravone and methylcobalamin. Additionally, he is a member of the ALS Clinical Guidelines Committee of the Japanese Society of Neurology and is also a member of the committee working on the clinical evaluation guidelines for ALS clinical trials.

Curriculum Vitae
2001 Graduated from Tohoku University School of Medicine
2001-2002 Department of Neurology, Tohoku University Hospital
2002-2003 Iwaki Kyoritsu Hospital & Tohoku Kosei Nenkin Hospital
2003-2007 Department of Neurology, Tohoku University School of Medicine
2004-2007 Graduate study at Department of Molecular Therapy, National Institute of Neuroscience
2007-2011 Clinical Fellow at Department of Neurology, Tohoku University Hospital
2011 Assistant Professor at Department of Neurology, Tohoku University Hospital
2011-2014 Postdoctoral Fellow, Eggan Lab, SCRB, HSCI, Harvard University
2014-2019 Assistant Professor at Department of Neurology, Tohoku University Hospital
2019-2020 Chief physician, Department of Neurology, Shodo-kai Southern Tohoku General Hospital
2019-2023 Assistant Professor at Department of Neurology, Tohoku University Hospital
2024-Senior Lecturer at Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine

May 2002: Resident, Department of Neurology, Tokushima University Hospital
June 2003: Resident, Kohnodai Hospital, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry
October 2005: Fellow, Department of Neurology, Tokushima University Hospital
April 2012: Designated Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Tokushima University Hospital
August 2012: Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Health Biosciences, Tokushima University Graduate School
August 2014: Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Neurosciences, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
April 2018: Designated Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Tokushima University Hospital
April 2020: Designated Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, Tokushima University Hospital
May 2021: Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, Tokushima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (current position)

Dr. Angela Genge is Director of the ALS Clinic and Executive Director of the ALS Center of Excellence at The Neuro, Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital. She earned her MD at Memorial University of Newfoundland, completed residencies at McGill University, and a Fellowship in Neuromuscular Diseases at The Neuro, achieving Canadian and American certifications in internal medicine and neurology.

From 2004 to 2023, Dr. Genge led The Neuro’s Clinical Research Unit, transforming it into one of Canada’s largest neurological research centers, including a pioneering Phase 1 Unit for neurological diseases. She is an internationally recognized leader in clinical research, specializing in rare neurological disorders. She has conducted trials in ALS, dementias, neuropathies, myopathies, myasthenia gravis, and pain, with extensive expertise in trial design, drug development, regulatory affairs, and real-world evidence programs.

She consults for biotech companies specializing in rare diseases. Dr. Genge has served on numerous advisory and safety boards. Her contributions have earned prestigious honors, including the 2023 Wings Over Wall Street Award, 2018 Forbes Norris Award, and Governor General’s Diamond Jubilee Award.

Currently, Dr. Genge leads ACCESS ALS and serves on executive committees for CAPTURE ALS, TRICALS, Precision ALS, the ALS Network, and the WFN MND Study Group.

Dr. Osamu Kano is currently a Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Neurology, Toho University Faculty of Medicine. He completed his medical degree and PhD in Neurology at Toho University. He continued to develop his skills as a neurologist at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience, the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, and NTT East Corporation Kanto Medical Center. He has been a postdoctoral researcher since 2007 under Professor Stanley Appel at Houston Methodist Hospital, where he studied the pathology of ALS using model mice. After returning to Japan in 2011, he focused on identifying biomarkers from peripheral blood in ALS patients to promote future clinical trials. His ALS clinic became the first in Asia to be certified as a NEALS site in 2020. He aims to work with overseas consortiums to conduct efficient clinical trials globally.