Neuroscience 

Vikas Mohan Sharma, MD, joined Fortrea in December 2023 and serves as its Global Head of Neuroscience and Ophthalmology therapeutic areas. He is a recognized industry leader with more than 23 years of experience in healthcare and clinical development, known for his expertise in research ethics and patient safety. 

Dr. Sharma has held various leadership roles in healthcare, CROs and the biopharmaceutical industry and is considered a key opinion leader in the field of drug development. He leads and collaborates on various industry, consortia and non-governmental efforts to advance progress in precision psychiatry, digital biomarkers and the use of technologies to address healthcare access and “last mile” challenges. 

In his most recent role with Boehringer Ingelheim, Dr. Sharma was responsible for the end-to-end clinical development strategy and execution of early and late-stage products, as well as leading global clinical development, medical affairs and scientific relations teams spanning multiple therapeutic areas. With 16 years of clinical experience in psychiatry and as an investigator in CNS trials, Dr. Sharma has a track record of success in developing and executing first-in-class, “blue ocean” and “beyond the pill” product strategies for pharmacological as well as digital assets. He is known to champion early investment in biomarker development and has a passion for bringing the right stakeholders together. 

Dr. Sharma also serves an independent ethics expert with the European Research Council and other non-governmental organizations. He is passionate about helping children with special needs and volunteers for this cause by sharing his time and expertise. He earned his MD in Psychological Medicine from Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College (GSMC) and the King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital in Mumbai, India.

Dr. Korchak has more than 23 years of drug development industry experience across broad indication of neuroscience, supporting studies for small molecules, biologics and cell and gene therapies. Her expertise extends from early phase development through late phase/post-marketing studies in capacity of investigator, operational leader and head of clinical development of autologous cell therapy at a biotech company. As an investigator, Dr. Korchak held various COA certifications, e.g., EDSS, ADAS-cog, MMSE and CDR. Her expertise encompasses neurodegenerative, acute and rare neurology and various psychiatry diseases.

Dr. Gutiu is a board-certified neurologist with more than 15 years of clinical experience in a hospital setting across a wide range of neurological and psychiatric indications. He spent 10 years in academia as Assistant Professor of Neurology and attended doctoral courses in neuropharmacology. His 25 years of clinical research experience includes roles as an investigator, medical monitor and medical leadership positions spanning Phase I-IV studies. 

He has broad range of experience across product modalities, including biologics and cell and gene therapies as well as medical expertise in neuro and psychiatric diseases, including, but not limited to, neurodegenerative, pain, neuromuscular and demyelinating.

Dr. Todorova is a board-certified Neurologist and Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Movement Disorder-focused medical expert with 19 years of clinical research experience. She has mainly worked with patients with neurodegenerative conditions and demyelinating diseases. Dr. Todorova is a member of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society, a chapter author for textbooks in PD and has contributed to 14 publications in international medical journals, 13 of which are in PD and movement disorder as well as 16 abstracts or oral presentations in international medical journals/conferences in movement disorders.

Dr. Martinez-Torres has more than 25 years of professional experience and significant medical and pharmaceutical expertise in both academia and industry spanning basic, translational and clinical research in neuroscience, immunology and HIV. His pharmaceutical development expertise encompasses clinical programs spanning Phases I through IV, across diverse therapeutic platforms (e.g., small molecules, biologics, gene therapies) across numerous neurology areas, including rare disease with strong focus on acute brain injuries, neuro-infection and neuro-vascular diseases.

Dr. Calabresi has more than 20 years of clinical experience and 16 years of industry experience with a strong track record of designing, (including adaptive design), conducting and reporting clinical studies in all phases of development in neuroscience. He has worked as a research physician and medical lead at CROs and major pharma companies across various neuroscience indications, including neuropathies, somatic- and chemotherapy-induced pain, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, spinal cord injury, mitochondrial encephalopathy and others across Phases I-IV.

Dr. Chng has more than 15 years of drug development industry experience across broad indications including neuroscience. She has extensive experience supporting small and medium sized biotech companies in Asia-Pac to develop their assets from early phase development to late clinical phases. With her project management skills, Dr. Chng is able to provide and advise operational strategy to Asia-Pac clients and help expand their drug development outside of the Asia-Pac region. Her therapeutic knowledge encompasses neurodegenerative, rare neurology indications as well as psychiatry disease, with a particular focus on schizophrenia.

Dr. Fuller has more than 20 years drug discovery and development experience across neuroscience, immunology and inflammation indications. Her 14 years clinical research experience across Phase I-III studies includes 11 years at Fortrea (formerly Labcorp and Covance), where she has supported development and implementation of Phase I and II clinical trials in patients with neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Fuller earned her Doctorate of Pharmacology from Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine with a focus on Alzheimer’s drug discovery and development.

Mary has over 30 years of experience with Fortrea (formerly Labcorp and Covance), including global project management experience and drug development experience in discovery, translational medicine and clinical development roles. Her clinical research experience includes range of neuroscience indications, such as schizophrenia (adult and pediatric), Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, sleep disorder, Tourette’s and rare disorders. She has an extensive background in Phase I-III studies that require in-hospital patient settings and multiple department interactions. Mary also provides expert advice as she customizes sponsors’ strategies to anticipate and mitigate risk, meet the needs of the target patient population and improve efficiencies and data quality.

Dr. Naidan Luo M.D Ph.D is based in Beijing, China with 25 years as a trained ophthalmologist and 21 years of clinical trial research experience in Phase I, II, III, IV in a wide variety of therapeutic areas, focusing on medical monitoring in ophthalmology indications including Glaucoma, ocular hypertension, wet/dry AMD, Dry eye disease, Conjunctivitis, Blepharitis, refractive error, Corneal Transplantation, NAION, LHON gene therapy, Stargardt disease, ataxia, Parkinson Disease, AD,woman health, COPD etc. 

Education 

Ph. D in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The Ohio State University, OH, USA, 1999-2002 

7-years Elite Program in Clinical Medicine, Trained Ophthalmologist, Shandong Medical University, Jinan, China. 1990-1997 

Key Publications: 

• Luo，Naidan as 1st Author, PNAS 2005 Jan 18；102（3）：541-6.
• Luo，Naidan as 2nd Author, Appl Environ Microbiol. 2003 Sep;69(9):5372-9.
• Luo，Naidan as 1st Author, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 2003 Jan; 47(1):390-4.
• Luo，Naidan as 1st Author, Plasmid 45, 127-13
   

Hannah has more than 12 years industry experience focused on healthcare communications, patient insights and input, recruitment and retention solutions and patient support programs. Her experience spans Phase I-III global trials across range of therapeutic areas including neurodegenerative conditions with specific experience in Alzheimer’s Disease, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, neuropathy and pain. 

She is driven by a strategic mindset to identify and understand the experiences, challenges and needs of patients and their families and build targeted data-driven recruitment strategies that enable truly patient-centric studies.