Jeff is an internationally recognized leader in the gene therapy and muscular dystrophy fields and has been a pioneer in AAV micro-Dystrophin gene therapy research and clinical development for DMD.

Justin Fallon is a Professor of Neuroscience and has been on the Brown faculty since 1996.  Fallon also co-founded two biotechnology companies spun out from his lab at Brown.  Tivorsan Pharmaceuticals is dedicated to developing therapies for Muscular Dystrophy through utrophin modulation.  Bolden Therapeutics is developing drugs to promote adult neurogenesis as a treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurological disorders.  His original training was in cell biology at the University of Pennsylvania.  He then expanded into neurobiology during his postdoctoral training at University College London and Stanford.  His laboratory studies basic mechanisms  of neuromuscular function and brain plasticity. He has Chaired and served on numerous review panels for the NIH, the Department of Defense and muscular dystrophy patient advocacy organizations.  He is also a member of the Scientific Council of the Association Française contre les Myopathies. 

Monkel is an established researcher in the neuromuscular disease field and his research has led to novel gene discoveries for previously undiagnosed rare muscle diseases.

Dr. Thompson has been in the nucleic acid therapeutics field for over 30 years. Prior to retiring from Moderna as Vice President in December 2021, Dr. Thompson held several positions during his 8-year tenure including Head of CMC, Head of Analytical Development, Interim Head of Regulatory Affairs and Chair of Moderna’s Specification Committee. Dr. Thompson represented CMC in regulatory interactions world-wide on behalf of Moderna. Prior to Moderna, Dr. Thompson was Vice President of Development at Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where he worked on developing therapeutic siRNAs for both local and systemic administration. Before this, Dr. Thompson was Director of Research & Development at Genta, Inc. working on antisense and drug delivery technologies, and Director Biology Research at Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals/Sirna Therapeutics working on synthetic and gene therapy applications for ribozymes, antisense and siRNAs. Dr. Thompson received a BS (magna cum laude) in Biology from Temple University and a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia.