Nicolas Deconinck is Professor and Deputy Head of Neurology at Hôpital Universitaire des Enfants Reine Fabiola, Belgium, where he leads the pediatric neuromuscular unit. He is also head of the clinical research programme at the Neuromuscular Center at Ziekenhuis University, Gent Belgium. Prof Deconinck is currently involved in several important new treatment development programmes in spinal muscular atrophy and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. He is actively involved in national and international research networks, with particular interest in the multidisciplinary aspects and the dissemination of standards of care.

Nathalie Goemans is a paediatrician and child neurologist, with certification in rehabilitation medicine.  She is head of the Neuromuscular Reference Centre for Children at the University Hospitals, Leuven, Belgium. Her research activities involve translational and clinical research in various neuromuscular disorders, the development of new therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophies and the research and development of outcome measures to assess interventions in these diseases. She has contributed to over 80 journal articles on neuromuscular disorders.