Dr. Finkbeiner is a world-renowned neuroscientist for his pioneering work in neuro-degenerative and psychiatric diseases that including  ALS, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, and Parkinson’s diseases. His research focuses on molecular mechanisms of plasticity and neurodegeneration, aiming a long-term goal of understanding how neuronal activity elicits changes in gene expression that are important for learning and memory. Dr. Finkbeiner is the Senior Investigator and Associate Director at the Gladstone Institutes of Neurological Diseases, and is also the Director of the Taube/Koret Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research at the Gladstone Institutes. He is the professor at the Department of Neurology in University of California, San Francisco.