Editorial introductions

Abstract

Current Opinion in Neurology was launched in 1988. It is one of a successful series of review journals whose unique format is designed to provide a systematic and critical assessment of the literature as presented in the many primary journals. The field of neurology is divided into 14 sections that are reviewed once a year. Each section is assigned a Section Editor, a leading authority in the area, who identifies the most important topics at that time. Here we are pleased to introduce the Section Editors for this issue. SECTION EDITORS Claudia SommerClaudia SommerClaudia Sommer is a Professor of Neurology at the University of Würzburg, Germany. Her research interests are immune neuropathies and the pathophysiology of pain and of antibody-mediated diseases. She has written more than 250 original research papers and more than 100 reviews and book-chapters and edited several books. She is a longstanding member of the Peripheral Nerve Society (PNS) and a Board Member of the Inflammatory Neuropathy Consortium (INC), as well as Chair of the Teaching Course Subcommittee of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN). Dr Sommer is active in the development of national and international guidelines on immune neuropathies, diagnosis and treatment of peripheral neuropathies, on nerve and skin biopsies, and on neuropathic and primary pain syndromes. She is currently president of the German Pain Society and president elect of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). John VissingJohn VissingJohn Vissing is professor of Neurology at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and the Director of the Copenhagen Neuromuscular Center at the National Hospital, Rigshospitalet, in Copenhagen, with 38 dedicated neuromuscular employees. He obtained his MD in 1986 and was then a research fellow at University of Copenhagen and UT, Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, USA. His research focuses on hereditary muscle diseases. Main research interests are treatment and pathophysiology of metabolic myopathies myasthenia gravis and channelopathies, discovery of new neuromuscular diseases, rehabilitation of muscle disease including exercise training, MR imaging of muscle, defining outcome measures for natural history and trials and unraveling genotype-phenotype relations in muscle disease. He has authored more than 400 scientific papers on neuromuscular diseases. Jinsy A. AndrewsJinsy A. AndrewsJinsy A. Andrews, MD, MSc, FAAN is an Associate Professor of Neurology, in the Division of Neuromuscular Medicine and serves as the Director of Neuromuscular Clinical Trials at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, USA. She currently oversees neuromuscular clinical trials at the medical center and cares for patients with neuromuscular disease, primarily with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig ALS Center. Dr Andrews has extensive experience in all phases of human clinical trials and drug development in both the academic and industry settings. Dr Andrews is the elected co-chair of the Northeastern ALS (NEALS) Consortium, which is a network of over 100 ALS clinical research centers internationally. She is also elected to the National Board of Trustees of the ALS Association and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology (FAAN) in the United States. She has also received the Diamond Award for ALS clinical research from Wings Over Wall Street and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Dr Andrews received her B.S. from Union College, USA, M.Sc. in Biostatistics (Patient-Oriented Research) from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, USA, and M.D. from Albany Medical College, USA. She completed her residency training in Neurology at the University of Connecticut, USA, and served as the Chief Neurology Resident in her final year. Dr Andrews completed fellowship training in Neuromuscular Disease/ALS and Clinical Neurophysiology at Columbia University. She is board certified in Neurology, Neuromuscular Disease, and Electrodiagnostic Medicine.