Roberto Caraballo awarded "Ambassador for Epilepsy" by ILAE

Roberto Caraballo graduated from Medical School of the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and received his training in pediatric neurology at the Pediatric Hospital Pedro de Elizalde in Buenos Aires under the mentorship of Dr. Natalio Fejerman. In 1988-1989 he did a visiting fellowship at the Reparto di Neurosichiatria Infantile of the Ospedale Borgo Roma, University of Verona, Italy, under Prof. Bernardo Dalla Bernardina with whom he has a continued close scientific collaboration. He did a further training at the Seizure Unit of Miami Children's Hospital, Miami, USA directed by Dr. Michael Duchowny and in refractory epilepsy at the Reference Center for Refractory Epilepsy at Ghent University Hospital, Belgium directed by Prof. Dr. Paul Boon. He started working as a pediatric neurologist/epileptologist at the Pediatric Hospital J.P. Garrahan in Buenos Aires in 1990 and is currently chairman of the Division of EEG and Video Monitoring and Coordinator of the Refractory Epilepsy Clinic at the Department of Neurology at the same hospital. 

Dr. Caraballo has published more than 120 peer-reviewed articles and 46 book chapters and was coauthor of 6 books contributing to the knowledge on and recognition of many different epileptic syndromes, mainly benign focal epilepsy in infancy, childhood and adolescence focusing not only on electroclinical features, treatment, and outcome, but also on genetic aspects. He has also participated in consensus groups on the ketogenic diet, on the electroclinical definition and therapeutic management of epileptic encephalopathies, and on the global management of refractory epilepsy, such as Rasmussen encephalitis, mesial temporal lobe epilepsy secondary to hippocampal sclerosis, and focal cortical dysplasia. 

Among his teaching activities, Dr. Caraballo is in charge of the practical works in the course of pediatric neurology at Medical School of the University of Buenos Aires and was a faculty member of at the Venice International School of Neurological Sciences for the international course on epilepsy and for the Latin American Summer School of the ILAE. 

Dr. Caraballo worked for the Panamerican Health Organization (PAHO) as an advisor on epilepsy in 1999 and as a local investigator in Argentina for International Program "Epilepsy out of the Shadows", of the WHO-PAHO, ILAE, and IBE between 2001 and 2003. Within this latter framework he carried out a pilot project in Gualygualchú, Argentina, to raise awareness of epilepsy among the general population through the education of priests and teachers. He was a member of the Commission on Pediatrics of the ILAE between 2001 and 2005 and currently participates in the commissions on Neurophysiology and on Autism of the ILAE. 

He has been a member of the editorial board of Epilepsia since 2010 Currently, Dr. Caraballo is president of the Argentine League against Epilepsy for a second term and member of the ICNA Executive Board.