Epilepsy & Treatment

Raffaele Pilla, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Doctor Europaeus, received his Master’s degree in Pharmacy at G. d’Annunzio University in Chieti-Pescara, Italy in 2005, where he also served internships at the Cell Physiology Laboratory and Molecular Biology Laboratory. Prior to his degree, he was an Erasmus Student at Faculté de Pharmacie de Reims in Reims, France. He received his Doctor Europaeus in 2010 from Pitié-Salpétrière Institute in Paris, France. Also in 2010, he received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Physiology, and Pathology of Muscle at G. d’Annunzio University in Chieti-Pescara, Italy. He was hired as a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida in Tampa, on two research grants respectively funded by the Office of Naval Research (US Navy) and Divers’ Alert Network. He has written and lectured widely on his experiences. Dr. Pilla has been involved in ongoing research at the University of South Florida with the use of Ketone esters. The initial work, funded by the Office of Naval Research, focused on using ketone esters to prevent CNS oxygen toxicity. Dr. Pilla is working to coordinate efforts in the United States and Italy to expand the ketone ester research to other conditions such as epilepsy and cancer and its use as an alternative metabolic fuel. Dr. Pilla has also served extensively in various international medical missions, orphan and homeless programs, emergency medicine rescue and training, and animal rescue and fostering.

Natalia Rodríguez Álvarez is the Postdoctoral research Scientist in the department of Physiology and Medical Physics in the Epilepsy Research Group at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Combining the principles of molecular biology and neurobiology, electroencephalography, pharmacology and genetics at both undergraduate and postgraduate level has led to a broad knowledge base in a multidisciplinary field with additional experience in drug discovery and biomarkers.

Joseph I. Sirven, M.D., is a professor of neurology and editor-in-chief of Epilepsy.com. He is currently chair of the AAN Education Meeting Subcommittee and he is on the board of directors for the American Brain Foundation and the editorial board of Neurology Now. Previously, he served as director of education for Mayo Clinic's Arizona campus with oversight over all educational activities at the Arizona campus, including medical student rotations, residencies, fellowships, Ph.D. candidates, nursing, allied health and continuing medical education programs. He was the previous chair of Neurology at Mayo Clinic's campus is Arizona and the previous vice chair of the Epilepsy Section of the American Academy of Neurology, chair of the Communication Council for the American Epilepsy Society and former chair of the Professional Advisory Board for the Epilepsy Foundation.

Marco Carotenuto graduated from Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli. He is Senior Researcher from 2011 to November 2017in Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry at the Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitell. In December 2017 he was appointed as the Associate Professor of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry at the Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitell. He was awarded with Best scientific contribution oral presentations from X Congress Italian Society of Orthopedics And Medicine, Florence, Best Oral Communication Award from Napule é Congress and he is one of the Honorary member of the New Medical School Salernitana. He had published totally 114 articles in reputed journals.