HSG Board

The Board shall be comprised of the officers in accordance with HSG’s Bylaws. The Chair and the  Co-Chair of HSG shall also serve as the Chair and Co-Chair of the Executive Committee. The Chair and Co-Chair of the Executive Committee shall be elected by a majority vote by the voting members of HSG. The Chair and Co-Chair shall also appoint a Treasurer and Secretary to serve as members of the Executive Committee.

	Andrew Feigin, MD Chair, Huntington Study Group Andrew Feigin, a professor of Neurology at NYU Langone Health and co-director of the Marlene and Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders, has been involved in HD research since his participation in the Venezuela Collaborative Research Group, which isolated the HD gene 25 years ago. Feigin’s independent research has focused on the development of novel imaging biomarkers that could be used as outcome measures for HD clinical trials. He has served as a member of HSG’s Executive Committee, chair of HSG’s Program Committee for the Peter Como HD Clinical Research Symposium for five years, and currently chairs HSG’s Clinical Research Advisory Committee. Feigin is the principal investigator (PI) of the SIGNAL trial and the co-PI of LEGATO-HD, as well as serving as a site PI on numerous other HD trials.
	Elise Kayson, MS, RN, ANP Co-Chair, Huntington Study Group Elise Kayson, an Assistant Professor of Nursing at the University of Rochester and director of Clinical and Strategic Initiatives at the Center for Health + Technology (CHeT) has been involved in the care of Huntington disease (HD) patients and research since the inception of the Huntington Study Group (HSG). She played a key role in the pivotal trials that resulted in the only two FDA-approved drugs for HD. Kayson is currently serving in multiple leadership positions in the HSG, including member of the Executive Committee, co-chair of the HSG Credentials Committee, and co-chair of the HSG Educational Committee. In 2016, she was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from HSG. As a director of clinical project management and time spent in industry, Kayson has led and managed over 50 clinical trials operationally and administratively for Huntington disease, Parkinson disease, and other rare disorders. Kayson is well versed in clinical trial design, organization and conduct, and regulatory management. She has insights into and appreciation of HD clinical trials from the perspective of study participants, coordinators, investigators, CRO functions, and sponsors.
	Julie Stout, PhD Board Member Julie is the Director of the Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at the School of Psychology and Psychiatry at Monash University. Julie focuses on Huntington disease (HD) and on additive behavior, aiming to develop and adapt cutting edge cognitive science tools for clinical settings. Julie teaches in the clinical neuropsychology doctoral program and undergraduate psychology and behavioral neuroscience topics. Julie is trained as a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist. She is an expert in the field of sensitive cognitive assessment in clinical populations, seeks to explain why patients present differently. Currently collaborating and leading in three international and Monash-based studies of HD, Julie and her team at the Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory seek to detect and map how gradual changes in clinical markers appear and use this information to provide recommendations on clinical trial designs. Julie’s work on HD (and also on Parkinson’s disease) has evolved into research with drug abusers, gamblers, and incarcerated offenders. The main aim of the HD work is sensitive measurement of cognition and early detection of disease signs as well as cognitive measurement for clinical trials. The main aim of the work in addiction is to understand why people make impulsive, and often very risky, decisions. Ultimately, she believes that by identifying the underlying neurological and cognitive processes, it will become possible to target treatments more squarely at the underlying causes of these behavior disorders. Julie received her Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy (both in Psychology) at Duke University.
	Shari Kinel, JD Secretary Shari Kinel is the CEO of the HSG where she oversees and manages the HSG non-profit entity that defines, plans, and leads implementation of strategic initiatives to serve the needs of Families, Members, and Sponsors, and oversees the HSG Clinical Research, Inc – a wholly owned for-profit subsidiary that conducts clinical trials. Shari is responsible for the overall operations of both organizations and engages and aligns stakeholders throughout the HD world to collaborate on meaningful initiatives. Shari joined the HSG in 2009 and led the formation of the HSG as a standalone not-for-profit 501(c) organization. Shari is an attorney who started her career at the government in Washington, DC and then transitioned to financial services until she found her passion working towards finding treatments for people affected by HD.
	Joni Steinman Board Member/Treasurer Joni M. Steinman brings 35 years of health care management consulting experience to advancing the goals of the HSG. As the co-founder and managing principal of AUSMS Healthcare Consultants, Ms Steinman served the U.S. health care industry, advising policy makers, administrators and practitioners on strategic, facility, organizational and business planning and development matters, including performance improvement initiatives for hospitals, surgery providers and practitioners, hospice and home care agencies, medical groups and governmental agencies, regarding the development of many facets of acute, sub-acute, ambulatory, home and long-term care. In 2012, after completing several consulting engagements in Toronto, Canada, Ms. Steinman affiliated with Strategic Interests, LLC, a Rochester, NY-based firm dedicated to guiding health care organizations nationwide to grow through improved performance and the innovative use of information technology and business intelligence. With educational achievements in both political and medical sociology (Brandeis University, cum laude) and social work administration (San Diego State University), Ms. Steinman has devoted her career, as AUSMS’ motto indicates, to guiding clients and colleagues alike ‘From Ideas to Results’ in health care and human services. Ms. Steinman has always given back to her communities through voluntarism and philanthropy. Examples of her commitment including serving as President of, respectively, the Health Systems Agency of San Diego and Imperial Counties, the Jewish National Fund’s San Diego Region and San Diego Women in Health Administration. Today, in addition to her new commitment to HSG, she is a member of the Rochester Women’s Giving Circle, a community of philanthropic women who combine their financial strength to support area women and girls on their journey to economic self-sufficiency.
	Peter Schmidt, PhD  East Carolina University Board Member Dr. Peter Schmidt is the Vice Dean at the Brody School of Medicine of East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, part of the UNC system. From 2009 through April, 2018, Schmidt served as Senior Vice President and Chief Research and Clinical Officer at the Parkinson’s Foundation where he oversaw research, education, and outreach initiatives. Through his tenure at the Foundation, Schmidt launched and led as PI the Parkinson’s Outcomes Project, the largest clinical study ever conducted in Parkinson’s disease, designed to identify best practices in Parkinson’s disease care. He has advisory engagements in wearable sensors, telemedicine, and remote monitoring, and clinical trial design. He has been an invited speaker for NIH and diverse patient and professional conferences. Schmidt previously worked in corporate finance in healthcare innovation, created chronic disease management systems, and served as Chief Operating Officer of a joint venture of Oxford, Stanford, and Yale delivering online education. Educated at Harvard and Cornell, he had a fellowship at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery.
	Eric Siemers, MD  Siemers Integration Board Member Dr. Eric Siemers has performed clinical research in neurodegenerative disease for over 25 years. He earned his MD with highest distinction from the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1982. After completing his residency in the Department of Neurology at Indiana University, he founded and headed the Indiana University Movement Disorder Clinic. His research there included investigations of Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease; he played a major role in one of the first studies of at-risk Huntington’s disease, and he established one of the first centers for surgical treatments in the US. In 1998, Siemers joined Eli Lilly and Company and rose to the rank of Distinguished Medical Fellow. Siemers was a founding member of the Alzheimer’s Association Research Roundtable and is the immediate-past Chair. He has served as a member of the Steering Committee for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), which is funded by the National Institute on Aging and a consortium of pharmaceutical companies. He served as the chair of the Industry Scientific Advisory Board for ADNI in 2007 and previously served as a member of the Resource Allocation Request Committee. Siemers participated as a member of the NIA/Alzheimer’s Association working group that proposed criteria for pre-clinical Alzheimer’s disease in 2011. Siemers is currently a consultant for a variety of efforts regarding the development of diagnostics and therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases.
	William Hoh  Board Member William Hoh is a Managing Director at H.C. Wainwright and has over 20 years of health care experience in investment banking, asset management and venture capital. Mr. Hoh is also the Co-Founder and CEO of CentreLink, a platform healthcare company dedicated to rapidly advancing innovation in China. In addition, he is an advisor to 3E Bioventures, a China-based venture capital firm investing in global health care. Prior to joining T.R. Winston, Mr. Hoh was the Founder and Managing Member of Goldwater Management, an investment, consulting and strategic advisory firm which specializes in global health care. Mr. Hoh has over sixteen years of direct investing experience managing portfolios at top institutions including Soros and SAC Capital. In addition, Mr. Hoh has over ten years of experience investing in China health care. Most recently, he has been an advisor to several public and private health care companies where he has been engaged to advise companies on corporate strategy, business development, raise capital, license products and form joint ventures. Mr. Hoh began his Wall Street career at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette as a Research Associate in Specialty Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that, Mr. Hoh started his professional career at The Advisory Board Company, a health care focused consulting firm based in Washington, DC that was recently acquired by Optum, a division of United Healthcare. He holds a BS in Biology and Philosophy from the University of Michigan and an MS in Physiology at Georgetown University.