Ambassador for Epilepsy Award 2025

Patrick Kwan is Professor of Neurology in the Department of Neuroscience, and Co-Director of the Monash Institute of Medical Engineering at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He is the Past Director of Epilepsy at Alfred Health where he remains a Consultant Neurologist. His research portfolio encompasses both translational and clinical science with the aim of improving the treatment outcomes of epilepsy using a personalised medicine approach. He has published more than 400 peer-reviewed articles that have been cited for more than 38,000 times. His paper published with Martin Brodie in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2000 is one of the most-cited research articles in epilepsy.

Over the past 20 years, he has served in various capacities within the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). He chaired the Medical Therapies Commission Task Force (2005–2009) that formulated the first consensus definition of drug-resistant epilepsy. He subsequently served as Treasurer (2009–2013) and Chair (2013–2017) of the Commission. As a Core Member of the Commission (2017–2021), he contributed to several key initiatives, including a critical review on treatment for epilepsy in the elderly. He is currently a member of the Big Data Commission (2021–2025). In 2023 he was elected to the Steering Committee of the Neurotechnology Section. Most recently he was appointed to the ILAE-AES Drug Resistant Epilepsy Task Force.