Professor Alexis Arzimanoglou is, since 2019, the elected Coordinator of the European Reference Network for Rare and Complex Epilepsies, ERN EpiCARE. Since October 2023, he is also the Director of the Epilepsy Program at the Barcelona Children's Hospital San Juan de Dios, Universitat de Barcelona, and of the Epilepsy and Movement Disorders Research team at the IRSJD, Barceolna, Spain. Born in in Athens, Greece, he received his MD degree from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He trained in neurology and paediatric neurology in London (Great Ormond Street Hospital) and Paris (University Hospitals of Salpêtrière and Necker-Enfants Malades). He developed and chaired (1998-2008) a paediatric epilepsy unit at the Paediatric Neurology Dpt. of the University Hospital Hôpital Robert Debré, in Paris, France. Moved to Lyon, France, in 2008, to develop and serve as Head of the Department of Paediatric Epileptology, Clinical Neurophysiology and Sleep disorders (2008-2023) at the University Hospitals of Lyon. In 1999, together with an international group of colleagues, he launched the first epilepsy journal, Epileptic Disorders, that included video material, since 2014 recognized as the official educational journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). He served the journal as Editor-in-Chief for more than 20 years. Scientific Societies: Pr. Arzimanoglou served as President of the French League Against Epilepsy chapter (FLAE), as Chair of the Scientific Committee of the European Paediatric Neurology Society (EPNS) and as Associate Editor of its journal and as President of the French speaking Société Européenne de Neurologie Pédiatrique (SENP). He is an active member of several Commissions, Councils and Task Forces of the ILAE and a twice elected member of the ILAE-Europe Executive Committee. Awards: For his global contribution to epilepsy care he received in 2007 the “ILAE-Epilepsy Ambassador award” and in 2022 the “ILAE-Europe Education award”. In 2017, the EPNS honored him with the "Aicardi award for excellence in Paediatric Neurology”. He is an Honorary member of the Academia Iberoamericana de Neurologia Pédiatrica (AINP). Ongoing other missions:
- Assessing a policy roadmap towards an EU and Global Action Plan for Rare Diseases (GAPRD)
- How will the WHO UN Resolution impact rare diseases in 2026 and what progress has been made?
- How can regions come together to harmonise, collaborate and put patients’ needs at the forefront of decision making?
- Assessing a policy roadmap towards an EU and Global Action Plan for Rare Diseases (GAPRD)
- How will the WHO UN Resolution impact rare diseases in 2026 and what progress has been made?
- How can regions come together to harmonise, collaborate and put patients’ needs at the forefront of decision making?