Meet the Speakers

Baljit Khakh is a neuroscientist exploring astrocyte-neuron interactions. His laboratory has been at the forefront of tool development for astrocytes, defining how astrocytes regulate circuits and for exploring the mechanisms and consequences of astrocyte diversity in physiology and disease. He is Professor and Chair in Neuroscience at Cardiff University, Emeritus Professor at UCLA and the Director of the UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff University, UK

Liset M. de la Prida is a Full Research Professor at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Director of the Centro de Neurociencias Cajal (CNC-CSIC), Spain. Trained as a physicist with a PhD in Neuroscience, her research focuses on the circuit mechanisms underlying hippocampal dynamics, memory and behavior, combining experimental neurophysiology, innovative neurotechnologies and computational approaches. She is internationally recognized for her contributions to understanding physiological and pathological brain oscillations. She has served on international scientific advisory boards, editorial boards and leadership committees, including as Chair of the Programme Committee for FENS Forum 2024. In 2026, she received the Suffrage Science Award for Life Sciences.

Dr. Josep Dalmau received his MD, PhD from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and trained in Neuro-oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where he later joined the faculty. In 2002, Dalmau moved to the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), where he served as Professor of Neurology. In 2011, after 23 years in the U.S., he returned to Barcelona as ICREA Professor, leading the Experimental Neuroimmunology Laboratory at IDIBAPS. He is currently Professor at IDIBAPS–CaixaResearch Institute, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, and Adjunct Professor at Penn.

At Penn, his group discovered anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis in 2007, establishing a new category of antibody-mediated synaptic disorders. These diseases can cause severe but often reversible neurological and psychiatric symptoms and frequently respond to immunotherapy. Since returning to Spain his group has identified seven additional disorders targeting neuronal surface or synaptic proteins and developed animal models to investigate their mechanisms and explore new treatment strategies. He has received numerous awards, is member of the National Academy of Medicine and several other scientific societies, and previously served as Editor of Neurology: Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation, where he now continues as Associate Editor.