Jean-Antoine Girault MD, PhD (France) is an Inserm Research Director. He was the Head of the Institut du Fer à Moulin (Inserm and Sorbonne University) in Paris until September 2020 and director of the Laboratory of Excellence “Biology for Psychiatry” (Bio-Psy Labex, 2012-2020).

His research focuses on the signalling mechanisms involved in the plasticity of the nervous system, in normal and pathological conditions.

Jean-Antoine Girault has published over 200 research articles. He has received numerous awards and honours, including the Brixham Foundation Prize in 2016, the Lamonica Prize for Neurology (French National Academy of Sciences grand prize) in 2013 and an ERC Advanced Research grant in 2010. Member of various professional committees, President of the French Neuroscience Society in 2015-2017, Jean-Antoine Girault also actively contributed to the coordination of neuroscience research and training in Paris region.

Jean-Antoine Girault is the FENS President for 2020-2022.

Carmen Sandi is a Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), where she leads the Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics at the Brain Mind Institute, that she directed from 2012-2018. She is co-Director of the Swiss National Center of Competence in Research Synapsy and founder and co-President of the Swiss Stress Network.

She studies the impact and mechanisms whereby stress and personality affect brain and behavior, with a focus on motivation and the social domain, and on the contribution of mitochondria and metabolism. Her lab adopts an integrative research program in rodents and humans.

Carmen Sandi has published over 200 research articles. She has received numerous awards and honours, including the Ron de Kloet Prize for Stress Research, Valkhof Chair at Radboud University, Visiting Professor at Rockefeller University and a Distinguished Visiting Scientist Fellowship at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. President of the European Brain and Behavior Society (EBBS), she currently is member of the executive councils of the European Molecular and Cellular Cognition Society (EMCCS) and EBBS, Chair of the ALBA Network, President of the Cajal Advanced Neuroscience Training Programme, and the immediate past-President of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS).

Dóra Reglodi is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Pecs (Hungary).

Her research focuses on neuroendocrinology and neuroprotection/general cytoprotection. Most of her studies deal with different effects of a neuropeptide, PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide), with focusing on its neuroprotective effects. Her team showed strong antiapoptotic, antiinflammatory and antioxidant effects of PACAP, leading to protection in vitro in different cell cultures and in vivo in models of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and retinopathies. PACAP has general cytoprotective effects shown in several other organs. The lack of the neuropeptide, due to the lack of these protective effects, increases vulnerability of animals to different insults and leads to accelerated aging. Dora Reglodi has published over 240 articles and has mentored 22 PhD students so far. She has received numerous awards and honors, including the Life and Science-publication award (2004) and the L`Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science award (2005).

She was President of the Hungarian Neuroscience Society from 2016 to 2018 and was Chair of the Organisation Committee for the FENS Regional Meeting in 2017.  She is an ALBA Network Ambassador and the FENS Secretary General for 2020-2022.

Harm Krugers obtained his PhD in in 1996 at the Department of Biological Psychiatry of Groningen University, The Netherlands. He performed postdoctoral studies on stress and synaptic plasticity at the University of Amsterdam and on molecular mechanisms underlying memory formation at the University of California (San Diego). He is currently Associate Professor at the Swammerdam Institute of Life Sciences of the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

His research focuses on molecular and cellular mechanisms how individuals adapt to stressful experiences, how this is modified by early life experiences and how this affects mental health. His lab exploits and combines animal behavior (learning, memory, social behaviour) with electrophysiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, molecular biology and cellular imaging. He is also involved in studies to investigate learning, memory and cognition in humans in relation to emotion and ageing.

He serves in many administrative and organisational roles at the University of Amsterdam. In addition, he serves in several (inter)national committees. He is board member of Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, serves as board member of the foundation for interdisciplinary behavioral research (SIGO). He was board secretary of the Dutch NeuroFederation and was treasurer of the European Brain and Behavioral Society (EBBS). He is a strong advocate for increasing public awareness of brain and cognitive research. He has been elected FENS Treasurer for 2021-2023.

Domenico Pellegrini-Giampietro is a Professor in Pharmacology at the Department of Health Sciences, in the University of Florence (Italy), where he teaches in Motor Sciences, Nutrition Sciences and Medicine & Surgery (in English) graduate courses.

His current research interests focus on the role of mGlu receptors and interactions with endocannabinoids in the mechanisms of post-ischemic cell death and on the role of excitatory synaptic transmission in models of ethanol toxicity and dependence.

Domenico Pellegrini-Giampietro has published over 100 research articles and has been the supervisor of more than 250 doctoral theses. Throughout his career, he has held the following positions: Executive Secretary, Local Organizing Committee, 8th World Congress of IBRO, Florence, 2011 (2008-2011), Member of the Executive Board, Italian Society of Neuroscience (2010-2013), Chair, World Congress & Regional Meetings Committee, IBRO (2011-2015), Member of the Host Society Committee, FENS Forum 2014, Milan (2012-2014) and FENS Treasurer (2019-2021). Since 2019, he is member of the Ethical Commission of the University of Florence.