CurePSP appoints Dr. Kristophe Diaz as the foundation’s chief executive
Aug 09, 2021 By Sabrina Da Rocha
A scientist with broad experience in life sciences will lead the organization’s research, programs, and fundraising initiatives.
NEW YORK, NY (August 9, 2021) /PRNewswire/ – CurePSP, the foundation for prime of life neurodegeneration, has named Kristophe Diaz, PhD, as its new executive director and chief scientific officer. In this planned succession, he succeeds David Kemp as head of the organization. Kemp will retain his title as president until the end of this year.
Dr. Diaz joined CurePSP in January 2020 as vice president–scientific affairs. In his new role, he will oversee the foundation’s operations, including research grants, patient and family advocacy and support, education and awareness, its Centers of Care, partnerships, and fundraising.
Prior to being hired by CurePSP, Dr. Diaz led multidisciplinary programs at Cohen Veterans Bioscience, Cambridge, Mass., a nonprofit organization focusing on trauma-related brain disorders. He received his PhD in molecular and cellular biology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston; his master’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology at Université du Québec, Montreal; and his Bachelor of Arts degree in molecular biology and genetics at Université de Montpellier (France), where he was an Erasmus Mundus Fellow.
In making the appointment, Bill McFarland, chair of the foundation’s board, said, “Dr. Diaz has the management capabilities, organizational experience, and scientific background to lead CurePSP into the future and build on the progress we have made over the last six years under Dave Kemp’s transformational leadership.”
Dr. Diaz said, “I am thrilled to have this opportunity to build on CurePSP’s eminent position in neurodegeneration research and programs. Solving neurodegeneration is the medical ‘moonshot’ of the 21st century. I look forward to positioning CurePSP as a powerful catalyst in finding treatment and cure while supporting the hundreds of thousands of families around the world who are devastated by these diseases.”
About CurePSP
CurePSP is the nonprofit advocacy organization focused on progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration, multiple system atrophy, and other prime of life neurodegenerative diseases, a spectrum of fatal brain disorders that often strike during a person’s most productive and rewarding years. Currently, there is no effective treatment or cure for these diseases, which affect more than 150,000 people in the U.S. alone. Since its founding in 1990, CurePSP has funded nearly 200 research studies and is the leading source of information and support for patients and their families, other caregivers, researchers and doctors, and allied healthcare professionals. CurePSP is based in New York City. Please visit www.curepsp.org for more information.
Contact:
David Kemp
802-734-1185