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1st Professor Edgar Housepian Clinical Neuroscience Symposium. Epilepsy

The International Center for Professional Development (ICPD) is cognizant of its duty to honor those who made substantial contributions to advancement of healthcare and medical education in Armenia.  The ICPD is proud to be the organizer of the 1st Professor Edgar Housepian Clinical Neuroscience Symposium on Epilepsy.

Professor Edgar Housepian was an internationally-renowned neurosurgeon at New York’s Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, whose daily activity was oriented to the creation for the sake of a human being, the community and the Country. He led the launch of still operating multiple Continuous Medical Education Programs designed for medical personnel of Armenia and Artsakh. His inexhaustible dedication and open-mindedness very much contributed to improvement of the health care system of Armenia.

Epilepsy surgery has proven to be very effective in treating refractory focal epilepsies in children and adults, by achieving seizure freedom or partial seizure control well beyond any other medical or dietary therapies. It still remains inaccessible in countries with limited resources for economic reasons and lack of well-organized epilepsy surgery centers. Starting in 2016 together with European colleagues the epilepsy surgery program has been initiated in the country. Since then a number of patients were operated successfully. We believe that sharing the knowledge and experience in 2 days virtual conference will further strengthen the field and promote international collaboration.

Symposium Chair: Dr. Biayna Sukhudyan, MD, PhD

Co-chairs: DrSevak Badalyan, MD; Dr. Samson Khachatryan, MD, PhD; Dr. Petia Dimova, MD, PhD

Target Audience 

Adult and pediatric neurologists, adult and pediatric neurosurgeons

Symposium Language

English with Armenian simultaneous translation

Duration

2 days, 4 hours per day

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Agenda

28-10-2022, 16:00 - 29-10-2022, 20:10

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Organizing/Scientific Committee

Dr. Biayna G. Sukhudyan, MD

Paediatric Neurology

Dr. Biayna G. Sukhudyan, MD, is the Chief of Pediatric Neurology and Epilepsy Service at the “Arabkir” Medical Center and the president of the Armenian League Against Epilepsy. Dr. Sukhudyan received her medical degree and completed her residency in Pediatric Neurology at the Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU). She has served as a faculty at the YSMU for six years. She was awarded the Honors certificate in the education course on EEG and holds the European Certificate in Epileptology (EUREPA). She has more than 50 publications in local and international journals.

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Dr. Niko Arzumanyan, MD

Neurosurgery

Dr. Niko Arzumanyan, MD is a neurosurgery senior resident at the University Clinic of Neurosurgery and Comprehensive Stroke Center of the Yerevan State Medical University after M. Heratsi. Since February 2022 he is doing a fellowship in Saint Ivan Rilsky hospital Neurosurgery Department in Bulgaria.

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Dr. Petia Dimova, MD, PhD

Neurology, Paediatric Neurology

Dr. Petia Dimova, MD, PhD is an Associate Prof. in Neurology. Education: Medical University Sofia 1991. Specialty: Neurology 1997, Pediatric Neurology 2005. Work mostly in epilepsy and EEG; 1993-2014 in Clinic of Child Neurology St. Naum Univ. Hospital; 2014 - present : at Epilepsy Center, Dpt. of Neurosurgery, St. Ivan Rilski Univ. Hospital, Sofia. Specializations: 1997/1998 - 10 months Neuropediatrics in Freiburg, Germany (DAAD); 2000 – 3 months Neuropediatrics at AKH, Vienna (OAD); 2005 – 3 months at Epilepsy Center, Freiburg (DAAD); 2009 - 3 months at Epilepsy Unit, Grenoble (EPODES grant); all 11 European SEEG courses (2010-2022), 4 San Servolo courses (2004, 2006, 2007; 2019 – as tutor and lecturer), many EPNS courses. 2006-present: starting the Bulgarian Epilepsy Surgery Program, now leading the LTM-video-EEG monitoring and epileptology unit [part of the epilepsy surgery team at the only epilepsy surgery center in Bulgaria]. 2015: president of the BG chapter of ILAE (Bulgarian Society Against Epilepsy)

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Dr. Sevak Badalyan, MD

Neurosurgery

Dr. Sevak Badalyan earned his medical degree at Yerevan State Medical University, and completed his clinical residency in neurosurgery at YSBU "Heratsi" hospital complex #1. He passed a training in general neurosurgery at the Georgia Institute of Neurosurgery, Macon, GA, USA. He worked as a senior resident and neurosurgeon at the Trauma department of Stepanakert military hospital. Since 2016 to date, he works at the "Heratsi" No. 1 University Neurosurgery and Cerebral Palsy Surgery Specialized Center and the Arabkir Medical Center as a neurosurgeon, a lecturer at the Department of Neurosurgery of the Yerevan State Medical University. He was trained in epilepsy and functional neurosurgery at St. Ivan Rilski University Clinic, Sofia, Bulgaria, and training in skull base microsurgery at Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University, New York, USA.

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Speaker

Dr. Aline Herlopian, MD

Neurology

Dr. Aline Herlopian, MD has earned her MD degree from the American University of Beirut. She completed neurology residency at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and a two-year clinical neurophysiology and epilepsy fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is currently one of the faculty members at Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at Yale University.

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Dr. Ani Gevorgyan, MD

Paediatric Neuorlogy

Dr. Ani Gevorgyan, MD received her medical education at Yerevan State Medical University. She studied General Pediatrics for 3 years and did residency Pediatric Neurology at Yerevan State Medical University practicing in ARABKIR Medical Center. Since the beginning of her practice she was recruited as pediatrician (night shifts) and continued in Neurology and Neurosurgery department in the same hospital as a pediatric neurologist. Actually Dr. Gevorgyan is the Head of the Pediatric Neurology Unit.

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Dr. Berge Minassian, MD

Neurology

Dr. Berge Minassian, MD grew up in Lebanon. Undergrad: American University of Beirut (1984-1987). Medical School: McGill University (Montreal, Canada) (1988-1992). Adult Neurology Residency: UCLA (Los Angeles, California, USA) (1993-1996). Pediatric Epilepsy fellowship: Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto, Canada) (1996-1997). Molecular Genetics Research fellowship: Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto, Canada) (1997-1998). Clinician-scientist faculty at the Hospital for Sick Children, growing through the ranks to Professor (1998-2017). His research was in gene discovery, with approximately 20 gene discoveries with his name attached. Dr. Minassian research is on Lafora disease, a fatal epilepsy of teenagers. He has discovered its genes and focus on uncovering the basic mechanisms of disease. Since 2017, he is head of Pediatric Neurology at UT Southwestern, Dallas, Texas, USA. He has 30 faculty. He moved to Dallas in part to build the nation's leading Gene Therapy program. Child neurology consists for the most part of monogenic diseases. Has 30 different diseases in the pipeline toward gene therapy.

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Dr. Biayna G. Sukhudyan, MD

Paediatric Neurology

Dr. Biayna G. Sukhudyan, MD, is the Chief of Pediatric Neurology and Epilepsy Service at the “Arabkir” Medical Center and the president of the Armenian League Against Epilepsy. Dr. Sukhudyan received her medical degree and completed her residency in Pediatric Neurology at the Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU). She has served as a faculty at the YSMU for six years. She was awarded the Honors certificate in the education course on EEG and holds the European Certificate in Epileptology (EUREPA). She has more than 50 publications in local and international journals.

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Dr. Demitre Serletis, MD, PhD

Neurosurgery

Dr. Demitre Serletis, MD, PhD is an accomplished epilepsy neurosurgeon-scientist in the Charles Shor Epilepsy Center, within the Neurological Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto in Canada, where he completed his Neurosurgery residency and PhD graduate training in Neuroengineering. He subsequently completed formal epilepsy surgery fellowship training at the Cleveland Clinic. Over the past decade, he has worked at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas, followed by the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, where he developed two consecutive epilepsy surgery programs in underserviced regions, for adult and pediatric patients with refractory epilepsy. For his efforts, he was recently awarded the Provincial Medal of Excellence from Doctors Manitoba, as a lifetime achievement award for his advancement of epilepsy care, including epilepsy surgery, in Manitoba, Canada. Most recently, Dr. Serletis joined the prestigious epilepsy team at the Cleveland Clinic, where he operates on adult and pediatric patients with epilepsy, and also directs the Brain Dynamics Laboratory. His research interests are in nonlinear dynamics and intracranial EEG signal processing, and he is cross-appointed to the Department of Biomedical Engineering, within the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. He sits on the Scientific Committee of the American Epilepsy Society, and is a long-standing member of the American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and the Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation.

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Dr. Irina Tovmasyan, MD

Developmental Paediatrics

Dr. Irina Tovmasyan, MD has been working at Arabkir Medical Center since 1999, first as a general pediatrician, then as the head of developmental pediatrics and neonatal screening services. 2000-2001 worked as a clinical fellow in general pediatrics at the Olga Children's Hospital in Stuttgart (Germany), and in 2002-2005 as a clinical fellow in developmental pediatrics in at the University Children's Hospital in Zurich (Switzerland).
Working in the newly introduced field of developmental pediatrics in Armenia since 2005, she has collaborated in Yerevan and the regions with the primary care pediatricians, child development and rehabilitation centers, which contributed to the recognition and dissemination of the profession. The service is now in the process of being actively expanded to include new pediatricians in the profession.
In 2005 thanks to the long-term cooperation program between the University Hospital of Zurich with Arabkir MC, the Neonatal Screening Program for congenital hypothyroidism and phenylketonuria on national level has been introduced, which is till now leaded by her.


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Dr. Kaloyan Gabrovski, MD, PhD

Neurosurgery

Dr. Kaloyan Gabrovski, MD, PhD is a neurosurgeon working in the Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital St. Ivan Rilski, Sofia and assistant professor at Medical University, Sofia, Bulgaria. His work and scientific interests are mostly focused in the fields of intraoperative neuromonitoring, stereotactic and functional neurosurgery, epilepsy surgery and neurosurgical oncology.

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Dr. Krasimir Minkin, MD, PhD

Neurosurgery

Dr. Krasimir Minkin, MD, PhD, did his residency in Bulgaria and in France. He works a sa neurosurgeon from 2007. Associated Professor of Neurosurgery from 2021. Principle interests: epilepsy surgery, movement disorder surgery, neurooncology, pediatric neurosurgery and AVM treatment. Co-founder of epilepsy surgery program, movement disorder surgery and awake surgery in Bulgaria. Part of the team starting epilepsy surgery, DBS and awake surgery in Armenia. Publication activity: first author in 8 papers in leading neurosurgical journals, co-author in other 32 papers in PubMed.

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Dr. Niko Arzumanyan, MD

Neurosurgery

Dr. Niko Arzumanyan, MD is a neurosurgery senior resident at the University Clinic of Neurosurgery and Comprehensive Stroke Center of the Yerevan State Medical University after M. Heratsi. Since February 2022 he is doing a fellowship in Saint Ivan Rilsky hospital Neurosurgery Department in Bulgaria.

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Dr. Pavel Kršek, MD, PhD

Paediatric Neurology

Dr. Pavel Kršek, MD, PhD is paediatric neurologist and epileptologist, Professor of Neurology at Charles University in Prague, head of Department of Paediatric Neurology, 2nd Faculty of Medicine and Motol University Hospital in Prague, and current chair of Czech Society of Paediatric Neurology. His fields of clinical and research interest include drug-resistant epilepsy in children, epilepsy surgery (with special focus on focal cortical dysplasia and tuberous sclerosis), genetic causes of epileptic encephalopathies and malformations of cortical development, intraoperative monitoring, and quality of life of children with epilepsy. He has authored or co-authored over 120 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals and participated in more than 30 grant projects including 3 international projects.

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Dr. Petia Dimova, MD, PhD

Neurology, Paediatric Neurology

Dr. Petia Dimova, MD, PhD is an Associate Prof. in Neurology. Education: Medical University Sofia 1991. Specialty: Neurology 1997, Pediatric Neurology 2005. Work mostly in epilepsy and EEG; 1993-2014 in Clinic of Child Neurology St. Naum Univ. Hospital; 2014 - present : at Epilepsy Center, Dpt. of Neurosurgery, St. Ivan Rilski Univ. Hospital, Sofia. Specializations: 1997/1998 - 10 months Neuropediatrics in Freiburg, Germany (DAAD); 2000 – 3 months Neuropediatrics at AKH, Vienna (OAD); 2005 – 3 months at Epilepsy Center, Freiburg (DAAD); 2009 - 3 months at Epilepsy Unit, Grenoble (EPODES grant); all 11 European SEEG courses (2010-2022), 4 San Servolo courses (2004, 2006, 2007; 2019 – as tutor and lecturer), many EPNS courses. 2006-present: starting the Bulgarian Epilepsy Surgery Program, now leading the LTM-video-EEG monitoring and epileptology unit [part of the epilepsy surgery team at the only epilepsy surgery center in Bulgaria]. 2015: president of the BG chapter of ILAE (Bulgarian Society Against Epilepsy)

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Dr. Rafi Avitsian

Anesthesiology

Dr. Rafi Avitsian M.D. FASA, is a Professor of Anesthesiology in Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University and the program. He is the current president elect of Medical Staff Office of Cleveland Clinic, and the director for the neurosurgical anesthesiology fellowship program. He has served as the Vice Chair for Professional Development in the Department of General Anesthesiology and also the Section Head for the Neurosurgical Anesthesiology in Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. He is one of the founders, as well as executive board member, of International Council for Perioperative Neuroscience Training (ICPNT). He is the immediate past president of Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care (SNACC). He is an American Board of Anesthesiologists’ Applied Senior Examiner, as well as a member of the Association of University Anesthesiologists & recipient of ASA-SEA Distinguished Education Award. His academic interest is mostly in brain tumors, anesthetic methods for seizure surgery, brain protection and outcomes of spine surgery as well as Difficult Airway Management. His clinical studies are mostly directed to finding ways to improve the outcome of surgery after neurosurgical procedures. He is also interested in medical innovations with already filed as well as published patents. Dr. Avitsian is on the executive board of International Center for Professional Development (ICPD) in Armenia. More than 40 published peer reviewed manuscripts, two book chapters and many abstract presentations also highlights his academic achievements. He is on the editorial board of Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology and Journal of Anesthesiology Clinical Pharmacology and an ad hoc reviewer for Anesthesiology, Anesthesia Analgesia, World Neurosurgery journal and International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS) annual meeting abstracts.

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Dr. Samson Khachatryan

Neurology

Dr. Samson Khachatryan is a neurologist, Chairman, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, National Institute of Health, Armenia, Neurology Advisor to Ministry of Health, Armenia, Director, “Somnus” Neurology Clinic, Armenia. After completing his neurology residency program at the Department of Neurology, Erebouni Medical Center (YSMU), Dr. Samson Khachatryan successfully defended his candidacy research work in 2008. He passed fellowships, observerships and trainings in the USA and Europe at different neurological clinics, e.g. New-York Cornell Medical Center (2006), Cleveland Clinic Foundation Neuroscience Institute (2006), EFNS Department-to-Department program at InselSpital Medical Center, Bern, Switzerland (2007), Innsbruck Medical University, Austria (2014), Lugano Regional Hospital Neurology Center, Switzerland (2014). Samson Khachatryan’s PhD project was dedicated to epilepsy and done at Armenian Republic Epilepsy Center (“Quantitative assessment of Quality of Life in Epilepsy”). In 2010 he founded “Somnus” Neurology Clinic (with Center for Sleep and Movement Disorders), where he runs scientific research in the frames of his doctoral thesis (Role of sleep disorders in epilepsy) and other projects together with extensive practical work. His interests include epilepsy\/EEG, sleep disorders, movement disorders, dementia, headache, chronic pain, etc. From July 2019 Dr. Samson Khachatryan became the Chairman of the newly reopened Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at Armenian National Institute of Health. He helps shaping adult and pediatric neurology residency programs alongside with different length CME programs for practicing neurologists. Also, international scientific collaborations with UCL Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery Department of Neurogenetics, ENIGMA-PD, and others are underway.

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Dr. Sevak Badalyan, MD

Neurosurgery

Dr. Sevak Badalyan earned his medical degree at Yerevan State Medical University, and completed his clinical residency in neurosurgery at YSBU "Heratsi" hospital complex #1. He passed a training in general neurosurgery at the Georgia Institute of Neurosurgery, Macon, GA, USA. He worked as a senior resident and neurosurgeon at the Trauma department of Stepanakert military hospital. Since 2016 to date, he works at the "Heratsi" No. 1 University Neurosurgery and Cerebral Palsy Surgery Specialized Center and the Arabkir Medical Center as a neurosurgeon, a lecturer at the Department of Neurosurgery of the Yerevan State Medical University. He was trained in epilepsy and functional neurosurgery at St. Ivan Rilski University Clinic, Sofia, Bulgaria, and training in skull base microsurgery at Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University, New York, USA.

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Dr. William Bingaman, MD

Neurosurgery

Dr. William Bingaman, MD is a Neurosurgery Specialist in Cleveland, OH since 1997. Dr. Bingaman has extensive experience in Cranial Neurosurgery. He received his medical degree from Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University in 1990. He currently also directs the fellowship program at Cleveland Clinic and is the Vice Chair of their Neurological Institute.

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Mr. Garnik Nanagoulian

Diplomacy

Mr. Garnik Nanagoulian is a former diplomat who served as Armenia’s Ambassador to Canada, and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Armenian Embassy in Washington D.C. He was also Armenia’s Minister of Industry and Trade in late 90s. Following his tenure in public service, Garnik was a Fellow and an Associate at the Harvard University Center for International Affairs. He holds a Masters in International Relations, as well as a Masters in Science. He has been with the Fund for Armenian Relief since 2004. As the Executive Director of this preeminent relief and development organization in Armenia, he has been committed to strengthening and diversifying the scope of FAR projects with emphasis on supporting opportunities for younger generation of Armenia to empower them to build a prosperous democratic country.

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Prof. Ara BABLOYAN, MD, PhD

Pediatric Surgery, Public Health

Prof. Ara BABLOYAN, MD, PhD, is a public health expert in Armenia. He is the Chairman of the Department of Pediatric Surgery of Yerevan State Medical University since 1997. Dr. Babloyan is the founder and the Scientific Director of ARABKIR Medical Center-Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, which is the largest pediatric multidisciplinary institution in the country. After graduation from the faculty of Pediatrics of Yerevan State Medical Institute he continued his postgraduate education in pediatric surgery in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where he got his PhD degree. Thanks to continuous training in renal transplant in Belgium and Switzerland he founded the organ transplantation program in Armenia. He was the President of the National Assembly/Parliament of the Republic of Armenia after leaving the Chairman position of its Standing Committee on Health Care, Maternity and Childhood. He was the Minister of Health of Armenia from 1991 to1997. Prof. Babloyan has a long experience working with World Health Organization (WHO) being a member of the Standing Committee of the Regional Committee for Europe (WHO); a member of the Technical Steering Committee on Child and Adolescent Health (WHO) and a member of the WHO Executive Board. He is the author and co-author of 3 scientific discoveries, 8 monographs and over 235 publications.

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Prof. Dr. Kees Braun

Paediatric Neurology

Prof. Dr. Kees Braun is professor and head of child neurology at the University Medical Center Utrecht. He leads the epilepsy research program of the UMC Utrecht Brain Center. Braun was trained as an adult and child neurologist in Utrecht, where he also obtained his PhD. He is the former president of the Dutch Association of Paediatric Neurology, organizer and president of the 2016 Amsterdam ICNA world congress of child neurology, current and past member of several ILAE task forces and editorial boards. He is a member of the steering committee and research council of the European Reference Center (ERN) for rare epilepsies “EpiCARE”. His group currently counts 9 paediatric neurologists, with expertise in epilepsy, stroke, neuromuscular disorders and neuro-oncology. Braun’s research interests are pediatric epilepsy surgery, prediction modeling, antiepileptic drug withdrawal, and precision medicine in epilepsy. His group initiated and coordinated several multicenter European research projects (e.g. the TimeToStop study and Rescue ESES trial) and developed invidualized prediction models – with online available calculation tools – for seizure recurrence risks after antiepileptic drug withdrawal, for the diagnosis of epilepsy after a first event in children, and for cognitive outcome following paediatric epilepsy surgery (www.EpilepsyPredictionTools.info ).

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