Eli M. Mizrahi, MD, has been elected President of the American Epilepsy Society, a medical and scientific society with 4,000 members. Dr. Mizrahi assumed the presidency at the end of the society’s annual meeting, December 2-5, in Houston, Tex.
“Those with epilepsy face many challenges throughout their lives and the American Epilepsy Society is dedicated to research, education and best practices of care which will improve their lives. We have made good progress but there is much to be accomplished,” Dr. Mizrahi said. “I am proud to have this opportunity to serve the epilepsy community as we work to prevent, treat and cure this disorder.”
Dr. Mizrahi is Chair of the Department of Neurology, Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, and James A. Quigley Endowed Chair in Pediatric Neurology at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Tex. He also serves as Chief, Neurophysiology Section, Neuroscience Service Line, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, Houston, Tex. He is internationally recognized for his work in the field of epilepsy. His areas of interest include pediatric and neonatal neurology, including neonatal seizures, pediatric epilepsy, medically refractory childhood seizure disorders, pediatric epilepsy surgery and clinical neurophysiology.
Dr. Mizrahi has been an active member of the American Epilepsy Society since 1981. For more than 20 years he has served on committees, including Childhood Epilepsy, Research Advisory, and Postdoctoral Training. Most recently, he served as Second Vice President and President-Elect on the AES Board of Directors. He is also active in the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), serving as a long-standing member of the Commission on Pediatrics and on several task forces addressing practice guidelines for diagnosis and management of seizures in neonates and infants. In 2011, he was named an Ambassador for Epilepsy by the ILAE and International Bureau for Epilepsy. In 2012, he was honored for excellence in epilepsy care with the Epilepsy Foundation’s World Changers Award. He was recently named Fellow, American Epilepsy Society (FAES), and previously named Fellow, American Academy of Neurology (FAAN), and Fellow, American Clinical Neurophysiology Society (FACNS).
He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University, Atlanta, Ga., medical degree from University of Miami, Miami, Fla. and completed a residency in pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, N.Y. and a residency in neurology at Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, Calif. After completing a clinical fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine, he joined the faculty in 1981.
He has previously served in other national leadership roles including President, American Clinical Neurophysiology Society; Chair, Professional Advisory Board, Epilepsy Foundation of America (EF); and Board of Directors and Senior Vice-President, EF.
At Baylor, he has directed the Baylor Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, the Peter Kellaway Section of Neurophysiology, Department of Neurology and the neurophysiology laboratories at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, Ben Taub General Hospital and Texas Children’s Hospital.