Professor Lieven Lagae awarded the 2nd Aicardi Award Lecture 2019

The ICNA congratulates Professor Lieven Lage on being awarded the Aicardi Lecture 2019 for his contributions to child neurology.

The biennial Aicardi Award established by the European Paediatric Neurology Society (EPNS) in partnership with MacKeith Press  recognises a respected and admired doctor who has attained major achievements in child neurology.  Recipients of the award must practice in Europe using the countries in the WHO European region. The 2029 award presentation and lecture took at the EPNS Congress in Athens on 17 September 2019.

Professor Lagae gave the Aicardi Lecture on the " Miss Understanding is the Greek Goddess of Clinical Research" where he talked about the problems, challenges, successes and failures of clinical research in paediatric neurology.

Lieven Lagae is the current treasurer of the International Child Neurology Association and immediate past President of the European Pediatric Neurology Society He chairs the Taskforce on Medical Treatment of Childhood Epilepsy of the International League against Epilepsy (ILAE). From 2004 to 2015, he was the Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Paediatric Neurology. In 2017, he was the recipient of the ‘Cures within Reach patient impact Clinical Award’ and  the 2019 HonoraryAward of German speaking Pediatric Neurology Society.

Dr Lagae is well recognized within theICNA for his contributions to research in child neurology particularly in the area of early onset, drug resistant epilepsies, his strong supportof education and his advocacy of child neurology. He has extraordinary clinical acumen and has a very holistic approach to the management of epilepsies with particular attention to the comorbidities affecting cognition and behaviour.

Professor Lagae has exceptionally broad research interests including the genetic contributions to epilepty, novel treatments and management of comorbidities. He has published over 300 peer reviewed articles as well as numerous book chapters. He is also the editor the MacKeith Press (2017)Book on Cognition and Behaviour in Childhood epilepsy. He serves in many editorial boards of epilepsy and neurology journals including the Journalof the International Child Neurology Association (JICNA). He was also the recipient of the 2017 ‘Cures within Reach patient impact Clinical Award’.

Professor Lagae and his group were integral in evaluating fenfluramine in Dravet sydnrome. He is a very active participant in multicenter studies and has been an exemplary mentor for younger trainees. He has held numerous leadership roles and is a long standing member of the ICNA Executive Board. He has also been an active participant in working groups through the ILAE.

Current epilepsy research projects include the translational research in Zebrafish models of epilepsy, new anti-epileptic drugs in childhood epilepsy and especially in Dravet syndrome, brain stimulation in childhood epilepsy and preventive treatment of epilepsy in tuberous sclerosis complex.

Source: EPNS
With additional contribution from Elaine Wirrell MD