Podcast Reporters
Anca Arbune, MD, PhD
Neurology physician and researcher, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest, Romania

Research/clinical interests: Epilepsy, invasive presurgical evaluation of epilepsy, epilepsy surgery, autonomic changes during seizures, women with epilepsy, wearable devices for epilepsy, epilepsy secondary to neuroinfections, autoimmune epilepsy, sleep disorders, rare neurological diseases
ILAE/YES activities: Pocket cards and the podcast team
Anything else you would like to share? The epilepsy field is dynamic and intriguing, with new insights into the occurrence, manifestation, and treatment of this disease coming nearly every day. It is just one of the reasons I became so interested in the subject and pursued a career in this direction. I hope that one day I can make a substantial contribution to the field. I also look forward to any collaboration and discussion on any of the above-mentioned subjects of interest: more brains are always better than a single one in brewing up ideas or solutions to old problems.
Podcast episodes:
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding: Dr. Page Pennell, 2 May 2022
- Managing epilepsy in older adults: Dr. Loretta Piccenna and Dr. Rebecca O'Dwyer, 10 April 2023
Emma G. Carter, MD
Pediatric Neurologist and Epileptologist, Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN, USA

Research/clinical interests: My clinical and research interests include drug-resistant pediatric epilepsy, pediatric epilepsy surgery, genetics of epilepsy, fetal and neonatal neurology, and residency and fellow education.
ILAE/YES activities: Sharp Waves Podcast team
Anything else you would like to share? My favorite part of the job is working in a multidisciplinary setting with learners in various stages of their education. The best way to learn is to teach, and I can certainly say I'm always learning from our students, residents, and fellows. Off the job, I love spending time with my family and enjoying the outdoors.
Podcast episode: An update on SUDEP and SUDEP counseling: Dr. Suvasini Sharma
Alina Ivaniuk, MD
Epilepsy research fellow, Cleveland Clinic's Charles Shor Epilepsy Center, Cleveland, OH, USA

Research/clinical interests: Genetics of epilepsy, focal lesional epilepsies, precision medicine in epilepsy
ILAE/YES activities: I am serving on the Technology Task Force and Emergency Response (Ukraine) Task Force of the ILAE. Within YES, I'm a part of the translation team and I'm also involved in the Education Task Force and Membership Task Force activities.
Anything else you would like to share? I am passionate about science communication and teaching. My favorite part of the patient encounter is educating people about their diagnosis and management options, and I just cannot let any younger colleague go without sharing some bits of professional or life knowledge with them. I have also been involved in a couple of popular science projects in the past.
Besides that, I am quite esthetically oriented. My favorite part of drafting a case presentation or scientific poster is selecting a color palette and fonts. If I am not in the clinic, gym, kitchen, or bed, you will likely find me either exploring the local art museum or at my desk busy with drawing or graphic design.
Podcast episodes:
- Career development profile: Dr. Fábio Nascimento, 8 August 2022
- Career development profile: Dr. Meriem Bensalem-Owen, 19 September 2022
- Career development profile: Dr. Caroline Neuray, 29 November 2022
- Epilepsy care in Ukraine: Dr. Olha Tychkivska, 27 February 2023
- Artificial intelligence and epilepsy: Dr. Christian Bosselmann, 5 June 2023
- Cerebral amyloid angiopathy, seizures, and epilepsy: Dr. Brin Freund, 25 September 2023
Maryam Nabavi Nouri, MSc, MD, FRCPC
Pediatric epileptologist; assistant professor at Western University, Ontario, Canada

Research/clinical interests: My clinical and research interests include autoimmune epilepsy, advanced presurgical diagnostics such as multimodal neuroimaging, machine learning and global burden of epilepsy.
ILAE/YES activities: Active member since 2020
Anything else you would like to share? I am an avid biker and snowboarder and believe in efficiency and speed, all of which I need to get better at!
Podcast episodes:
- Autoimmune-associated epilepsy: Dr. Claude Steriade, 7 September 2022
- NORSE/FIRES: International recommendations for diagnosis and treatment, 14 November 2022
- Multi-centre Epilepsy Lesion Detection (MELD) Project: Dr. Konrad Wagsty, 13 December 2022
Bruna Nucera, MD
Neurologist, Epilepsy Centre of the Department of Neurology, Franz Tappeiner Hospital, Meran, Italy

Research/clinical interests: My clinical research is focused on the cognitive aspects of the disease, the study of alternative treatments of medication-resistant epilepsy, and the management of women with epilepsy, including pregnancy.
ILAE/YES activities: I have been a leader of the Education and Career Development Task Force in the Italian YES chapter since 2019. I am a member of the Gender and Epilepsy Task Force of the Italian League Against Epilepsy, and a member of ILAE’s Pregnancy and Women Task Force.
Anything else you would like to share? I’m the author or co-author of scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals and carry out congresses and research activities in the field of epileptology. In 2021, I taught at the first Evidence-Based Epilepsy School in Meran.
Podcast episodes:
- Sex hormones and epilepsy: Dr. Andrew Herzog, 5 July 2022
- Research Recap: Medication effects on infant development, 18 October 2022
- “Living with epilepsy should not be a secret”: Jessie Nyirenda, 12 February 2023
- Addressing epilepsy stigma from the ground up: Mary Secco, 12 February 2023
- Postpartum morbidity and mortality in women with epilepsy: A 28-year study, 27 March 2023
- Statins and epilepsy: Dr. Emilio Russo and Dr. Tony Marson, 14 August 2023
Laurent Sheybani, MD, PhD
Post-doctoral fellow of the Swiss National Science Foundation, Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, University College London, London, United Kingdom

Research/clinical interests: My focus in research is epileptology, and in particular the link between slow oscillatory activity, neuronal activity and occurrence of epileptic activity, including interictal discharges and seizures. To address these questions, I use advanced neurophysiological tools to probe slow oscillations together with multi- and single unit activity in the human brain. In clinic, I am interested in epileptology and somnology. I am particularly interested in how seizures are modulated by the sleep-wake cycle.
ILAE/YES activities: I am a member of the YES Interactive Media Task Force.
Anything else you would like to share? I like hiking, skiing, and race biking. I also play the piano and saxophone.
Podcast episodes:
- Deep brain stimulation for epilepsy: Dr. Robert Fisher, 21 February 2022
- Sleep and epilepsy: Dr. Birgit Frauscher, 31 January 2023
- Circadian rhythms and epilepsy Part I: Dr. Mark Quigg, 5 July 2023
- Circadian rhythms and epilepsy, Part II: Dr. Maxime Baud, 17 July 2023
Past Reporters
Patricia Saletti, MSc, PhD
Program officer, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, New York City, USA

Research/clinical interests: Interested in the identification of biomarkers to diagnose epilepsy post-trauma, and potential preventive pharmacological treatment for post-traumatic epilepsy
ILAE/YES activities: Head of YES Interactive Media Task Force
Podcast episodes (2021 - 2022):
- Discovering new drugs for epilepsy: Dr. Karen Wilcox, 15 March 2022
- Alzheimer’s and epilepsy: Dr. Andrew Cole and Dr. Alice Lam, 4 October 2022
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