Five New 'Key Opinion Leaders' Appointed to Blinkcns Scientific Advisory Board

Dr. Angelo Antonini, Dr. Matteo Bologna, Roy Jones, Dr. Fidias Leon-Sarmiento, and Dr. Fabrizio Stocchi, will help guide company as they advance central nervous system research

CHARLESTON, South Carolina, March 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Blinkcns, Inc, a biotechnology company pioneering blink reflex technology intended to improve the detection, differentiation, and management of neurological disease and conditions, announced today that they have appointed five new Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) to their scientific advisory board.

The KOLs will lend their expertise to help steer the company's research of diseases and conditions of the central nervous system (CNS) such as Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease/Dementia and Migraine, and the role that the blink reflex may play in the early detection and management of each.

The new KOLs are respected industry leaders including:

• Angelo Antonini, MD, PhD, Director of the Parkinson's Dept. at the Institute of Neurology, IRCCS San Camillo, Venice;
• Matteo Bologna, MD, PhD, Researcher at Sapienza University of Rome Department of Neurology and Psychiatry in Rome, Italy;
• Roy Jones, BSc (Hons), MBBS, Dip Pharm Med, Professor of Clinical Gerontology & Director at The Research Institute for the Care of the Elderly in Bath, England;
• Fidias Leon-Sarmiento, MD, PhD, Senior research investigator at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine in State College, Pennsylvania; and 
• Fabrizio Stocchi, MD, PhD, Director of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Research Centre in Rome, Italy;

Angelo Antonini, MD, PhD, is Professor of Neurology and Director of the Parkinson Department at the Institute of Neurology, IRCCS San Camillo in Venice.  His research focuses on pharmacology of dopaminergic medications, neuroimaging as well as cognitive and behavioral aspects of Parkinson's disease. During his academic career, he has published almost 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts and several book chapters. He serves as reviewer for the main neurology journals and has served on the editorial board of Movement Disorders as well as in several committees of the Movement Disorders Society.

Matteo Bologna, MD, PhD, is Researcher at Sapienza University of Rome in the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry. Dr. Matteo Bologna started a Neurology Residency at the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. He then joined the Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience & Movement Disorders at the University College of London. His research activities combine both neurophysiological and kinematic techniques and clinical aspects related to the field of Movement Disorders, particularly Parkinson's Disease.  

Roy Jones, BSc (Hons), MBBS, Dip Pharm Med is the Director at The Research Institute for the Care of the Elderly, an Honorary Consultant Geriatrician in Bath, England and an Honorary Professor at both the University of Bath and the University of Bristol. He is also the Dementia Specialty Lead for the NHS West of England Clinical Research Network. 

Fidias Leon-Sarmiento, MD, PhD is a senior research investigator at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. He started this position after receiving training in movement disorders at the National Institutes of Health and obtaining a PhD in neurophysiology from Kagoshina University, Japan. Much of his current research focuses on brain system function, particularly brainstem and spinal cord reflexes. He is the author or co-author of more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and has received numerous awards for his scientific achievements, including multiple awards from international institutions.

"The elicitation of the blink reflex has become a key element to deeply assess the function and dysfunction of the nervous system," said Dr. Leon. "Having studied the blink reflex and its neural circuits using different scientific approaches for more than 30 years, I found EyeStat findings extremely enticing. Several aspects of EyeStat attracted me to supporting its use in the clinic; not only is it portable, lightweight and easy to handle, but it's non-invasive to the patient and doesn't bring on a cognitive load like many other technologies do. Blinkcns' technology has proven to obtain fast, objective, and quantitative metrics of a human blink reflex that will fill the gap existing for centuries in the medical evaluation of disorders having clinical and subclinical blink reflex alterations."

Fabrizio Stocchi, MD, PhD is Professor of Neurology, Consultant in Neurology, and Director of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Research Centre at the Institute for Research and Medical Care IRCCS San Raffaele, Rome and Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. He is also the Scientific Advisor of the Institute for Parkinson's Disease Research in Vicenza. Dr. Stocchi's research activities have centered on neuropharmacology in the field of movement disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. He has published many books and papers on the genetics, clinical diagnosis, characterization and treatment of Parkinson's Disease, as well as in preclinical research into the disease.

"We are honored to add some of the world's leading minds in diseases of the central nervous system to the scientific advisory board," said blinkcns CEO, Jeff Riley. "These experts bring decades of unmatched experience in our main research areas that will prove to be essential for the advancement of our scientific research and development, study design and implementation, and technology. We are proud to call upon these respected thought leaders to help provide scientific strategic direction and serve as advocates of our company."   

About blinkcns
Blinkcns is a biotechnology company dedicated to improving the detection, differentiation, and management of neurological disease through rapid, noninvasive collection of objective data from the eyes. Blinkcns has the world's first FDA-cleared patented device, called EyeStat, that provides fast, objective data about the blink reflex, a component of the startle response. EyeStat deploys eight light puffs of air across a patient's eyelashes to stimulate their blink reflex in a 30-second test. The system uses high-speed videography to capture and record the eyelids and measure 10 physiological parameters of the blink reflex using a proprietary algorithm. Blinkcns continues to research and apply its technology to several neurological states and conditions such as Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease / Dementia, and Migraine.

Media Contact
Jackie McKelvey
Email: jackie@blinkcns.com
Tel: 843-804-7828
Website: www.blinkcns.com

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Blinkcns Scientific Advisory Board
World's leading minds in central nervous system disease have joined the blinkcns scientific advisory board