Two doctors appointed as chairs of International League Against Epilepsy
Recently, members of the Jane and John Justin Institute for Mind Health Divisions of Neurology and Neurosciences Research were appointed to committee leadership positions within the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). Christos Papadelis, Ph.D., Assistant Vice President of Neurosciences Research, has been selected to serve as the next Chair of the Magnetoencephalography (MEG) Task Force within the ILAE’s Diagnostic Methods Commission for the 2025–2029 term. This nomination underscores his status as one of the world’s leading experts in the field.
The MEG Task Force aims to promote and standardize the use of MEG as a neuroimaging tool in the presurgical evaluation of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. MEG is a noninvasive technique that measures the tiny magnetic fields generated by neuronal activity with millisecond temporal resolution and high spatial accuracy, enabling precise mapping of brain function.
Cook Children’s Health Care System houses a dedicated MEG laboratory delivering cutting-edge functional brain mapping for infants and children with neurological disorders, with a particular emphasis on epilepsy. Equipped with a 306‑channel whole-head MEG system and advanced simultaneous high-density EEG capabilities, the lab supports both clinical presurgical evaluation and translational research to improve the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric drug-resistant epilepsy.
M. Scott Perry, M.D., Head of Neurosciences, has been appointed to chair the ILAE’s Rare Epilepsy Big Data Task Force, a subcommittee of the AI + Big Data Commission for the 2025-2029 term. In this role, Dr. Perry will lead efforts to centralize large clinical, genetic and electroencephalogram (EEG) datasets from rare epilepsy groups, making them more accessible to the broader research community.
In addition, Dr. Perry has recently been appointed as Associate Editor of Epileptic Disorders, the educational and clinical research journal of the ILAE. In this role, he will help manage submissions to the journal, soliciting reviews of submitted clinical research and finalizing acceptance for publication.
The International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) is the leading global organization dedicated to advancing the understanding, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of epilepsy, with the vision that no person’s life should be limited by the disease. Through its network of national chapters, commissions and task forces, it develops clinical classifications and guidelines, promotes education and training, supports research and advocates for epilepsy as a public health priority worldwide.