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Neil Cashman MD FRCP(C) CAHS

Amorfix Life Sciences, Ltd.
Vancouver, BC Canada

A Novel Discovery Platform Targeting Protein Misfolding Domains

Monday, September 13, 2010
4:00 - 4:30 pm

Abstract:  The functions of most proteins depend upon the precise three-dimensional structure of their mature, folded form; when misfolding occurs, problems arise. Misfolded proteins display  exposed domains which can serve as treatment and diagnostic targets in these diseases. 

Biography

Dr. Neil Cashman is a neurologist-neuroscientist working in neurodegeneration and neuroimmunology. His special areas of research include the motor neuron diseases, particularly amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and the amyloid encephalopathies, such as the prion illnesses and Alzheimer’s disease. He was raised in the Boston area, and trained at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the University of Chicago. He joined the McGill Neurology and Immunology faculties in 1986, and accepted the Diener Professorship of Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University Of Toronto Department Of Medicine (Neurology) in 1998. In July 2005, he was appointed Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Neurodegeneration and Protein Misfolding Diseases. He has directed and served in ALS clinics since 1984, and is currently the Director of the Vancouver ALS Centre at GF Strong Hospital. He is Scientific Director to PrioNet Canada, a Network of Centres of Excellence focused on basic and applied research in the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. He has founded two publicly-listed biotechnology companies to commercialize his research on diagnostics and therapeutics of neurodegenerative diseases. He was awarded the Jonas Salk Prize for biomedical research in 2000 and became a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2008.