Learn about Neurotorium and meet our editorial board

Professor Messoud Ashina’s distinguished career includes the roles of Past President of the International Headache Society (2019–2021) and Past General Secretary of the European Headache Federation. Prof. Ashina is recognized as a Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology. He also contributes as an Associate Editor for prestigious journals including Brain, The Journal of Headache and Pain.
Prof. Ashina’s extensive research focuses on understanding the complexities of migraine and cluster headache pathophysiology. He investigates the mechanisms of action of antimigraine medications, conducts pioneering work with experimental migraine models, utilizes functional neuroimaging techniques, and explores novel targets for antimigraine drug development. His scholarly contributions comprise over 600 papers, abstracts, and book chapters, primarily focusing on headaches, including both migraine and cluster headache.

Since 1994, Professor Gretchen Birbeck has served as a physician, medical educator, and researcher in sub-Saharan Africa. Her overarching professional goal is to elucidate the mechanisms of common neurology disorders in the region, identify opportunities for feasible, affordable, evidence-based interventions aimed at preventing or ameliorating neurologic illness/injury, and move these interventions forward into clinical trials. Professor Gretchen Birbeck’s research priorities are directly informed by their experience as a clinician and educator in Zambia and Malawi. Having originally trained as an adult neurologist in the US, her postdoctoral studies in health services research, epidemiology, pediatric epilepsy, and tropical medicine were all selected based upon the skills needed to pursue these overarching professional goals. Given the dearth of neurologic expertise in Africa and the heavy burden of disease there, her research program spans a broad range of conditions and is made possible through strong collaborations with in-country colleagues and US-based neuroscientists with advanced sub-specialty expertise. Capacity building through mentoring of both US and African scientists is a cornerstone of Professor Gretchen Birbeck’s endeavors. Their Africa-based work has received continuous support from the US NIH for over two decades and is presently supported by R35NS122265 Global Research Endeavors to Advance Treatment of Neurological Disorders in Africa; and R01NS111057 An MRI Ancillary Grant on a Malaria Fever Control RCT. In addition to their own funding, they are presently a mentor for five active NIH career development awardees.

Prof. Katharina Domschke, MA, MD, PhD, is Full Professor and Chair of the Dept. of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Germany, and Adjunct Professor at the Medical University Vienna, Austria. Her clinical and teaching focus is on the treatment and prevention of anxiety, stress-related and affective disorders. Scientifically, Prof. Domschke is a renowned expert in genetics, epigenetics, imaging genetics and pharmacogenetics in the targeted treatment and prevention of anxiety, stress-related and affective disorders as reflected by to date ~440 publications in international journals and an h-index of 60 (Web of Science). She has received funding from the EU, the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF) and is a full member or fellow of ACNP, ECNP, ISPG, SOBP and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. Prof. Domschke is president of the ECNP Anxiety Disorders Research Network (ADRN), vice president of the German Society of Anxiety Research (GAF) and a board member of the German Society of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy (DGPPN) and serves on the editorial boards of 10 international journals. Her work has been recognized by e.g. the WFSBP Research Award, the WPA Fellowship Award and the ECNP Fellowship Award.

Through her academic career, Prof. Dr. Gabriele Fischer has published more than 160 peer-reviewed scientific papers, many books in addition to > 600 international oral presentations, next to many international educational trainings in substance use disorder and related co-morbidities. Her research funds in the field of substance use disorder have been recruited internationally through NIH/NIDA, EU, Council of Europe, third parties as well as numerous grants through national grant funding. For many decades she has been engaged as consultant for UN, WHO, EMCDDA and other international organizations, next to her research focus is neuropsychopharmacology, neuroscience, co-morbidity (like ADHD), sex/gender related aspects, cost-economy, vulnerable populations (prisoners, migrants) and human rights aspects in psychiatry with special consideration of substance use disorder. She serves in the expert pool of CPT (Committee for the prevention of torture) at the Council of Europe next to many board & committee activities related to psychiatry/substance use disorder on a national and international level. Finally, she has been involved for many years as member of the scientific committee at the European Monitoring Center for Drugs & Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) in Lisbon.

Professor Matthew Kiernan is the Chief Executive Officer and Institute Director, Neuroscience Research Australia. He holds appointments as the Scientia Professor of Neuroscience at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia and is a Senior Staff Specialist in Neurology at South Eastern Sydney Local Health District. Professor Kiernan is past President of the Australian & New Zealand Association of Neurologists, having helped shape neuroscientific research and the training of neurologists across Australia and New Zealand.
Professor Kiernan is Chair of the World Federation of Neurology Specialty Group in Neurodegenerative Disease, Chair of the World Congress of Neurology, President of the Brain Foundation and Editor Emeritus of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry (BMJ Publishers, United Kingdom), having served as Editor-in-Chief from 2010-2022.

Dr. Lim has also published extensively within the areas of Parkinson’s disease and related disorders, in major scientific journals including Lancet Neurology, JAMA Neurology, Neurology, Nature Genetics, Nature Reviews Neurology, Movement Disorders, etc. He has been an active member of the International Parkinson & Movement Disorder Society (MDS), being closely involved in multiple task forces and committees, e.g., on Parkinson’s disease classification. He is currently Chair of the MDS Asian-Oceanian Section (AOS).

He is a versatile and sought-after speaker and has delivered numerous Plenary Lectures, including at MDS Congresses (Toronto 2011, Dublin 2012, Nice 2019, Philadelphia/Virtual 2020, Copenhagen 2023) and at the World Parkinson’s Congress (Kyoto 2019). He has represented the MDS as Visiting Professor and Ambassador in many underserved countries throughout the AOS.

Dr. Lim’s main research interests are in the following areas: (i) PD (particularly genetics and genotype-phenotype correlations; evidence-based medicine/clinical trials; non-motor features including gastrointestinal aspects; comorbidities; patient-centred care; and rating scales/disease staging); (ii) Parkinson-plus syndromes and other miscellaneous/”orphan” movement disorders, including progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

Dr. Yatham has held leadership positions for national and international professional organizations including the President of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders, the Secretary for the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP), and he is now the President of the WFSBP. He is the Editor in Chief for the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Field Editor at Large for Bipolar Disorders, and on the editorial boards of many international journals.

Dr. Yatham’s areas of interests include neurobiology and treatment of bipolar disorder. He has a google scholar h-index of 93, and he has published over 430 papers in peer-reviewed international journals including New England Journal of Medicine, World Psychiatry, Lancet Psychiatry, JAMA Psychiatry etc with over 35,000 citations to his work. Dr. Yatham was listed in the Clarivate Analytics 2017 to 2021 reports and Thomson Reuters’ reports on “World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds -2014 and 2015” as one of the most highly cited researchers (publications with top 1% of citations) in psychiatry/psychology in the world based on research published since 2002. He is the principal author of widely read and cited CANMAT/ISBD guidelines for treatment of bipolar disorders, has edited books and written a number of book chapters including a chapter on Treatment of mood disorders for the current 10th and the upcoming 11th editions of the Kaplan and Sadock’s Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry. Dr. Yatham is a sought after speaker and has presented his research work at numerous international conferences.

He has won numerous prestigious national and international awards for his contributions including Mogen Schou Award for international education and advocacy on bipolar disorder from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD), Heinz Lehman Award as well as the Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology Medal for his contributions to psychopharmacology, John M Cleghorn Award for excellence in research and leadership from the Canadian Psychiatric Association, Frank and Kupfer Award from the ISBD for distinctive and sustained contributions to the field of bipolar disorder, Robert Post Mentorship Award from the ISBD for mentoring and facilitating careers of junior researchers and clinicians, Gerald L Klerman Award from Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance in the USA for significant contribution towards advancing causes, diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders and the Colvin Research Prize in Mood Disorders from the Brain and Behaviour Foundation in the USA for his outstanding contributions to research in mood disorders.