Kenneth Marek, M.D., Distinguished Scientist
Dr. Marek co-founded IND in 2001 and serves as IND’s Distinguished Scientist and Treasurer. Dr. Marek served as President of IND from its founding through 2018. Prior to founding IND, Dr. Marek was the Director of the Movement Disorders Center at the Yale University School of Medicine. He graduated from Princeton University (AB, biochemistry) and received his medical degree from Yale University. Dr. Marek was trained in internal medicine and neurology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. He received further training as a post-doctoral fellow in neurochemistry at the Institute of Neurology, Queens Square, London. Prior to his move to Yale University he was a faculty member of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of Neurology. Dr. Marek has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including those from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense, American Heart Association, Parkinson Disease Foundation, and National Parkinson’s Foundation. He has been a recipient of the National Parkinson’s Foundation Richard E. Heikala Research Scholar Award, and the 2017 Robert A Pritzker Prize from the Michael J. Fox Foundation. He currently serves on the scientific advisory board of the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Dr. Marek has made significant research contributions in the identification of biomarkers for early detection, assessment of disease progression and development of new treatments for Parkinson disease and related neurodegenerative disorders, including Huntington disease, Alzheimer disease and dystonia. His specific interest has been in in vivo neuroreceptor imaging in Parkinson disease and related neurodegenerative disorders. He has authored numerous neurology and neuroscience publications on these topics. He has served as a consultant for numerous pharmaceutical companies and for the Veterans Administration. Dr. Marek is a principal investigator or coordinating principal investigator of several international studies investigating the use of imaging to assess the onset, progression and effect of treatment in Parkinson disease, including the Michael J. Fox Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative study (“PPMI”), working with 33 clinical sites in 11 counties.
John Seibyl, M.D., Distinguished Scientist and Chairman of the Board
Dr. Seibyl co-founded IND with Dr. Marek in 2001 and has provided scientific leadership since IND’s founding. Prior to IND, Dr. Seibyl was Chief, Section of Nuclear Medicine and Associate Professor of Diagnostic Radiology and Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine. He received his undergraduate degree at Yale College and completed his medical degree at Case-Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Seibyl trained as a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University where he won the Seymour Lustman Research Prize in the Department of Psychiatry two consecutive years. He joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor upon completion of this training. While on the psychiatry faculty Dr. Seibyl's interest in brain imaging led to his returning for a training Fellowship in Nuclear Medicine at Yale under Dr. Paul Hoffer. He was recruited to the Diagnostic Radiology faculty and was appointed the Director of the NeuroSPECT Center, a clinical brain imaging research lab in the Section of Nuclear Medicine. Dr. Seibyl subsequently became Chief of the Section of Nuclear Medicine and Director of the Yale/VA PET Center. Dr. Seibyl has won numerous grants and contracts in the context of his work in brain imaging. He serves on the editorial board of the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and is a frequent reviewer for top-tier nuclear imaging journals. He serves on international panels for his work in neurodegenerative disease imaging, working closely with Dr. Marek to establish the NeuroSPECT Center as the premier Parkinson disease brain imaging research center in the world. Recent projects include the development of a web-based normal brain image database, and on-going work applying brain imaging techniques and analytic methods to improve the diagnosis and assessment of disease status in patients with neurodegenerative diseases.
David S. Russell, M.D., Ph.D. Director of Clinical Research
Dr. Russell has served as a Principal Investigator for IND since 2007. He currently serves as Director of Clinical Research for both IND and its research partner, Invicro, LLC. For 12 years prior to working with IND, Dr. Russell was a member of the Yale Movement Disorders Clinics, and is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Yale University School of Medicine. At the IND he directs or participates in a number of clinical trials relating to neurodegenerative diseases ranging from Parkinson’s disease to Alzheimer’s disease to multiple sclerosis and others. Dr. Russell received his undergraduate training in Biology at Oberlin College and completed a Medical Scientist Training Program (M.D., Ph.D.) at Cornell University Medical College and the Sloan-Kettering Institute in New York. His internship in Internal Medicine and residency in Neurology were performed at Yale-New Haven Hospital and he was selected as Chief Resident in Neurology for 1994-1995. Over the years, he has directed a number of basic scientific studies related to dopaminergic brain function for over a decade. He has been an active participant in the Parkinson Study Group and served as an investigator in multi-site clinical trials of Parkinson’s disease. In 2007, he expanded his role in clinical trials of neurodegenerative disorders by joining IND. Dr. Russell’s research and clinical interests include investigations of the mechanisms, detection, and potential prevention of neuronal dysfunction, as well as development of early molecular and biomarker indicators of loss or alteration of function of specific brain systems. He has published widely in important neuroscience journals and spoken at numerous national and international meetings.
Jack Mariotti, CPA. Executive Director
Mr. Mariotti has served as Executive Director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders since 2018. Mr. Mariotti received his BA from the University of Michigan in 1982 and his certification as a Public Accountant (CPA) in 1984. He worked in finance at Merrill Lynch Realty and Prudential Home Mortgage before helping found the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in 1988, where he then served in a number of capacities including as the Chief Financial Officer. He was a founding management team member of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders in 2001 and served for 16 years as Chief Financial Officer for Molecular NeuroImaging, LLC (MNI) and for Invicro LLC as Chief Commercial Officer.
Kim Fabrizio, BA. Chief Operating Officer
Mrs. Fabrizio joined the Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders in April 2021 as Chief Operating Officer. Mrs. Fabrizio has 20+ years of experience in clinical research and drug development and held numerous executive leadership roles in both small and mid-size pharmaceutical research organizations, including Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Clinical Data, Molecular NeuroImaging, Invicro and most recently On Target Laboratories. She received her BA from Quinnipiac College and has focused her career within the Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance arenas, which has included experience in multiple therapeutic areas including neuroscience, radiopharmaceuticals, oncology, anti-infective and CNS. Mrs. Fabrizio has regulatory leadership and strategy experience in early clinical research (Pre-IND) through to commercialization. She has successfully brought over 75 novel compounds into human investigation and led over 11 NDA/sNDA teams to successful review of marketing applications with the FDA CDER Division, as well having in depth experience in 21 CFR Part 11 and GDPR compliance. Her leadership breadth has spanned leading teams in GMP, GCP and System Validation Compliance areas to support clinical research. Her Quality Assurance leadership has included the implementation of Quality Management Programs at several startup companies, and she has successfully hosted health authority inspections from regulators of the FDA, DEA, NRC, and DEA.
Emily Flagg, BA. Director, Project Management
Ms. Flagg joined the team at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorder in April 2019. Ms. Flagg received her BA from Gettysburg College in 1996, at which time she started her career in research administration at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA working in the Institutional Review Board (IRB) office. In 2000, Ms. Flagg returned to her roots in western NY and pursued a new opportunity to expand her role in research at the University of Rochester as a project manager for multi- site clinical trials, primarily focused on Parkinson’s disease. Ms. Flagg then joined the IRB office to manage policies and procedures, as well as the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP) ongoing certification for the University. After 18 years, Ms. Flagg departed the University of Rochester and is now the global project manager for an international, in particular, through researching signs or symptoms that might be identified prior to clinical diagnosis.
Board of Directors
IND relies on its Board of Directors to promote, support and maintain its mission.
- Michael Forte, Esq.
- Harvey Dann, Trustee, Helen I. Graham Charitable Foundation
- Rebecca Evans, Esq
- Kenneth Marek, MD, Co-Founder, Distinguished Scientist and Treasurer, IND
- John Seibyl, MD, Chairman and Co-Founder of IND
- Jack Mariotti, Executive Director, IND
- Cheryl Yanosy
- Danna Jennings, MD
