N20 Program
Outline

Dr. Dana Adyani Fard founded ADYANI Consulting to support medical-device manufacturers, nonprofit organizations and academic institutions. The firm provides guidance on study design, protocol development, clinical research, scientific affairs and regulatory strategy, with an emphasis on connecting medical and dental healthcare.

UCLA’s Executive Programs in Health Policy and Management featured her in 2025 as an MHA candidate and co-founder and managing director of Blissandmore. The university profile describes how her clinical experience informed the development of the Blessand gum-care product and her interest in prevention and population health.

Attorney specializing in Tax Law from the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), and partner alongside her husband, Dr. Rafael Vitorino, at Esteves & Vitorino Advogados Associados. The firm has extensive legal experience and has received consecutive National Reference Awards for Law and Justice from ANCEC.

Following her experience as the mother of Benjamin, who was diagnosed with ASD, and subsequently supporting her husband’s late diagnosis, she redirected her practice to defending the rights of autistic individuals and people with disabilities. She has become a leading national figure in inclusion, accessibility, and public policy.

She is President of the Instituto Nacional de Direitos da Pessoa com Deficiência Oceano Azul (Blue Ocean National Institute for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), an Autism Reference Center developing projects with national social, scientific, and legal impact. She also chairs the Special Commission on the Rights of Autistic Individuals and Their Families of the OAB Niterói.

Her work includes strategic class-action and constitutional litigation in defense of the public interest, including actions before the Superior Courts and the Supreme Federal Court. She has also spoken at Neuroscience20 (N20), is a member of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SBMT), and participates in international programs at the interface of neuroscience, ethics, law, and public policy.

Throughout her career, she has coordinated congresses including the TEA Global Congress, building bridges among Law, Science, Health, education, public management, civil society, universities, public agencies, and international organizations.

Dr. Shervin Molayem earned his Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Dental Surgery degrees at UCLA, followed by a three-year specialty program in Periodontics at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC. He has lectured and published on periodontics, dental implants and the relationship between oral and systemic health.

He is co-founder of Pair Dental, formerly Synergy Specialists, and founder of the UCLA and USC Journals of Dental Research. His professional work combines periodontal care, implant surgery, research and collaboration among dental specialists.

Priscila Reis will represent her work with child development and autism at the N20/G20 Annual Neuroscience Meeting in Miami. Her practical experience brings together playfulness, connection and movement as ways to favor development and learning.

Throughout her career, Priscila has developed her own way of working with children on the autistic spectrum, based on an essential principle: before teaching, it is necessary to connect. Through play, movement and the interests of each child, she seeks to create bonds, arouse interest and transform moments of interaction into opportunities for learning and development.

Her participation highlights the importance of looking at each child individually, respecting their time, particularities and sources of motivation. For Priscila, playing is not just fun: it is a powerful tool for connection, communication, learning and development.

By bringing her experience to an international neuroscience meeting, Priscila reinforces the importance of bringing knowledge, practice and welcoming closer together, showing that playfulness, connection and movement can open paths to new possibilities in the development of the autistic person.

Prof. Maria Emilia Andraus is a neurologist and clinical neurophysiologist and a Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of UFRJ. She is a member of the BSTM and a researcher of the Core Team of the Centre for Global Epilepsy at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

She has served as a speaker at Neuroscience20 (N20) in Rio in 2024, Johannesburg in 2025, and Miami in 2026.

Dr. Kletzien holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard University. Her Kletzien Lab studies mechanisms underlying age-related tissue dysfunction, stem-cell aging and head and neck cancer using integrative, translational and multi-omics approaches.

Dr. Finn has held academic and clinical appointments in neurosurgery and has published extensively on spinal biomechanics, cervical fusion, occipitocervical stabilization and spinal cord injury. His professional affiliations include the University of Colorado and major Minnesota health systems.

Dr. Wachtel’s work combines behavioral strategy, commercialization, narrative psychology and strategic partnerships across health, mental health, technology and social-impact ventures. Her current focus includes health, resilience and AI.

Dr. Juliana Fernandes is a Brazilian physician with training in Dermatology and Nutrology, dedicated to the study of neuroscience, emotional self-regulation, and the connection between the brain, heart, and autonomic nervous system. She received international training from the HeartMath Institute in California and is certified in the Coherence Advantage program.

Her work focuses on the application of heart coherence techniques, conscious breathing, and heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback to support stress management, emotional health, and resilience.

She is the founder of the Coherent Mother Project, a research initiative investigating the effects of heart coherence on stress, emotional self-regulation, and quality of life among mothers and caregivers of neurodivergent children. She is currently conducting her research project with mothers of neurodivergent children at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), investigating the use of heart coherence and HRV biofeedback as tools to support autonomic nervous system regulation.

Her work integrates medicine, neuroscience, and biofeedback technologies, with the goal of translating scientific knowledge into accessible strategies for promoting health, emotional balance, and well-being.

Dr. Kevan Moshayedi, MD, FACS, leads Moshayedi Investment Group, a private investment firm focused on early-stage to growth investments, from Seed through Series D, in cutting-edge technologies.

His investment focus includes healthcare and MedTech, AI and advanced technology, and next-generation telecommunications and infrastructure. The group co-invests alongside established venture capital firms.

His work brings together clinical insight, deep technical expertise and an operator’s experience to back exceptional founders and help bring transformative technologies to market.

Dr. Patient Tibamwenda is a Congolese medical doctor from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He has been based in South Africa since 2014 and is married with three children.

He completed medical school in the DRC in 2008 and worked there as a medical doctor and surgical registrar from 2009 to 2014, with rotations in general surgery, orthopedics and neurosurgery.

He relocated to South Africa in 2014 for academic and personal reasons. After completing the South African Medical Board examination, he began working as a general practitioner. His specialization studies in neurosurgery are ongoing. He has been a member of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SBMT) since 2025.

A survivor of severe traumatic brain injury in 2009, Dr. Tibamwenda plans further training and research in neurotrauma after completing his neurosurgery specialization, with particular interest in brain trauma and injuries.

He hopes to advocate internationally for stronger funding, research and care for people affected by brain and other neurological trauma, supporting patients, healthcare professionals, stakeholders and medical institutions. He also aims to build contacts and collaboration with and between associations of people who have experienced brain or neurological injuries.