Professor Jean Manson OBE, FRSE, FRSB is Head of the Neurobiology Division of The Roslin Institute and holds a personal chair in Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Edinburgh. She has conducted research in Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (prion diseases) for the last 26 years. Her focus has been to understand and prevent the spread of prion diseases in both animals and humans through the development and use of small and large animal models and the study of natural disease. Her research interests also extend to identifying the key mechanisms that preserve healthy brain function and those that contribute to neurodegeneration. She is a member of government and scientific advisory bodies in UK, Europe and Canada.