Packard Center investigator and advisor named scientific director of the Live Like Lou.
Reprinted from www.livelikelou.org
As part of our commitment to invest in people, places, and discoveries that will lead to tomorrow’s trials, treatments, and cures for ALS, we are proud to announce that Evangelos Kiskinis, PhD, from Northwestern University will serve as the Live Like Lou Foundation’s Scientific Director.
The Scientific Director will drive Live Like Lou’s ALS research program strategic direction with support from our esteemed Scientific Research Committee and Board of Trustees.
“This role will ensure Live Like Lou’s investments in emerging ALS research fund best- and next-in-class investigators and institutions,” shared Wendy Faust, Live Like Lou Executive Director. “Dr. Kiskinis will ensure we elevate our impact through funding and help grow the reach of the Live Like Lou ALS research community and we are thrilled to welcome him in this role,” she continued.
Dr. Kiskinis is a tenured Associate Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago where he also serves as the Scientific Director of the Stem Cell Core. His lab is focused on studying neurological diseases using stem cell-based approaches.
“In my work I seek to improve our ability to treat people with ALS,” shared Dr. Kiskinis. “I pursue this through focused, translational research. My goals include making meaningful discoveries in the lab, mentoring new investigators, and facilitating collaborations in the ALS community.”
Born in Greece, he moved to the UK when he was 19 and did his undergraduate studies at the University of Surrey and graduate work at Imperial College London. In between, he spent a year in Basel, Switzerland, working as a research trainee at Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Kiskinis trained as a postdoctoral fellow in Kevin Eggan’s lab at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute where he pioneered some of the first personalized stem cell models of ALS.
He has received prestigious fellowships from EMBO, the New York Stem Cell Foundation and the Charles A. King Trust Medical Foundation and in 2019 received the NYSCF Robertson Stem Cell Investigator Award. Dr. Kiskinis currently serves as an advisor to several biotech companies and nonprofit organizations.