Professor Jo Wilmshurst is Head of Paediatric Neurology at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, University of Cape Town, in South Africa. She is a member of the executive board of the Paediatric Neurology and Development Association of Southern Africa (PANDA-SA) and the African Child Neurology Association (ACNA). She is the current President (2018-2022) of the International Child Neurology Association. She is chair of the Commission on Paediatrics for the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) (2013–2016) and Education officer for the Commission on African Affairs.

She is director of the African Paediatric Fellowship Program – a training program under the auspices of the University of Cape which aims at developing skills in paediatric disciplines of doctors from across Africa. She is an associate editor for Epilepsia and on the editorial board for the JICNA, the Journal of Child Neurology, Epileptic Disorders, Seizure and is a regional co-Editor for Epileptology. 

She has interests in rare neurological disorders, such as neuromuscular diseases and neurocutaneous syndromes, and common high impact diseases, such as epilepsy and neuroinfections. Her work ethos is aimed towards developing improved care for children with neurological diseases in South Africa through the specialist services in her centre, training of health care specialists, the development of rational management templates which are viable in the African context, and the adaption of international recommendations.