BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//132.216.98.100//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.20.4// BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20260522T014255EDT-84530rGJhg@132.216.98.100 DTSTAMP:20260522T054255Z DESCRIPTION:\nThe Neuro Epilepsy Day 2026: Epilepsy Across Multiple Scales  \n\nThe Neuro Epilepsy Day will be a full-day program\, exploring epilepsy research and treatment across all scales: molecular\, cellular\, circuit\ , and connectome.\n\n\nRegister Now\n\nTo watch online\, click here\n\n\nC all for Abstracts\n\nWe invite undergraduate\, graduate\, and postdoctoral trainees to submit abstracts for poster presentations at The Neuro Epilep sy Day 2026. \n\nWe encourage abstracts at any stage of a project’s develo pment—from literature reviews and research questions to pilot data and ong oing studies.\n\nSubmission deadline: March 30\, 2026\n\nTo submit an abst ract\, click here\n\nSelected abstracts will be featured in the poster ses sion\, and five outstanding posters will be invited to give a short oral p resentation during the program.\n\n\n\n \n Programme\n Speakers\n The Pierre G loor Lecture\n Location\n Sponsors\n Scientific Committee\n \n\n \n Thursday\, M ay 28\, 2026\n\n Preliminary Program \n\n \n \n \n 9:30\n \n Arrival & Registrati on\n\n  \n \n \n \n 10:45\n \n Welcome and Introduction\n\n Edward Fon\, MD\, FRCP (C)\n Scientific Director\, The Neuro\n\n Boris Bernhardt\, PhD\n Associate P rofessor of Neurology and Neurosurgery\n Epilepsy Group Leader (Research)\, The Neuro\n \n \n \n 11:00\n \n Keynote Lectures\n\n Improving Epilepsy Surgery Planning Using MR Fingerprinting\n\n Irene Wang\, PhD\n Research Director an d Staff Scientist\n Cleveland Clinic Epilepsy Center\n\n Advanced Brain Imag ing in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Semantic Mapping\, Multimodal DBS Mod eling\, and MRI Lesion Synthesis\n\n Seok-Jun Hong\, PhD\n Associate Profess or of Biomedical Engineering Department\, SKKU\n Sungkyunkwan University - 91ɬ\n\n Novel Methods in SEEG to Optimize Epileptogenic Zone Localization and Functional Mapping: Overcoming the Limitation of Spatial Coverage \n\n Roy William Dudley\, FRCSC\n Assistant Professor\, Department of Pediatric Surgery\, Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery\n Montreal Ch ildren's Hospital\n\n Targeting Epileptogenic Networks in Focal Cortical Dy splasia: From SEEG to Precision Surgery \n\n Alexander G. Weil\, FRCSC\, FA CS\n Associate Professor\, Neurosurgeon\, Researcher\, Director\n University of Montreal - Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Centre\n\n Radio-Frequency Thermo-Coaguation via Stereoelectroencephalography\n\n Jeffery Allan Hall\, FRCSC\n Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery\n Epilepsy Progra mme\, Neurosurgery Clinic\, Brain Tumour Clinic\n\n The Expanding Surgical Landscape of Focal Cortical Dysplasia: Integrating Focal and Network Appro aches \n\n Sami Obaid\, MD\, PhD\, FRCSC Clinical Assistant Professor\, Neu rosurgeon Department of Surgery\, Faculty of Medicine Centre hospitaliser de l'Université de Montréal\n \n \n \n 1:00\n \n Lunch and Poster Session 1\n \n \n \n 2:00\n \n Oral Presentations\n \n \n \n 3:00\n \n Coffee Break\n \n \n \n 3:15\n \n Pierre Gloor Lecture\n\n Brain Mosaicism in Epilepsies and Cortical Malform ations\n Stéphanie Baulac\, PhD\n Research director and Group Leader\n Inserm and Paris Brain Institute (ICM)\n \n \n \n 4:15\n \n Discussion Panel\n\n Alexan der Weil\, MD\n\n Irene Wang\, PhD \n\n Stéphanie Baulac\, PhD \n\n Andrea Be rnasconi\, MD  \n\n Neda Ladbon-Bernasconi\, PhD    \n\n Olivier Aron\, PhD  \n\n Sara Larivière\, PhD\n \n \n \n 5:00\n \n Cocktail Reception and Poster Sess ion 2\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n Speakers\n\n Keynotes:\n\n Irene Wang | Epilepsy Center \, Neurological Institute\, Cleveland Clinic\n\n Dr. Irene Wang is the Rese arch Director and Full Staff at the Cleveland Clinic Epilepsy Center and a n Associate Professor of Neurology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. Her research advances surgical treatments for MRI-negative ep ilepsy patients through innovative imaging and neurophysiology techniques. As a trained biomedical engineer with a strong foundation in clinical neu rophysiology and neuroimaging\, Dr. Wang has pioneered the integration of advanced imaging into clinical practice to enhance patient care. She has a uthored over 120 peer-reviewed papers and serves as Associate Editor for E pilepsia. Dr. Wang has received continuous support from the National Insti tute of Health and serves as a charter member of the NIH Imaging Technolog y for Neuroscience study section. Dr. Wang also chairs the MRI Data Task F orce of the ILAE Big Data Commission and serves on the Imaging Task Force of the ILAE Diagnostic Methods Commission.\n \n Improving Epilepsy Surgery P lanning Using MR Fingerprinting\n\n This talk will focus on MR Fingerprinti ng (MRF)\, a novel quantitative MRI technique that enables simultaneous ac quisition of multiple tissue parameters within a single\, time-efficient a cquisition\, providing a comprehensive multiparametric characterization of brain tissue properties. The talk will include clinical examples and stud ies demonstrating the added value of MRF for detection and subtype charact erization of focal cortical dysplasia\, including cases with subtle or non lesional findings on conventional MRI. The talk will further explore the p otential of MRF-derived tissue metrics to inform in vivo epileptogenicity in more complex malformations of cortical development\, such as periventri cular nodular heterotopia and polymicrogyria. Together\, these examples il lustrate how MRF can enhance presurgical localization\, optimize SEEG impl antation\, and improve prognostication for epilepsy surgery candidates.\n \n  \n\n Stéphanie Baulac | Pierre Gloor Lecture\n\n Stéphanie Baulac is a Re search Director at Inserm and Group Leader at the Paris Brain Institute (I CM) of the MOSAIC Team « Genetic Mosaicism in Epilepsy and Neurodevelopmen tal Disorders » Her team implements a comprehensive translational approach spanning from the identification and characterization of somatic mutation s in brain tissues obtained from patients undergoing epilepsy surgery to i n-depth functional analysis\, combining functional testing on patient-deri ved brain organoids\, and mouse models. \n \n Brain Mosaicism in Epilepsies and Cortical Malformations\n Focal cortical dysplasia type II (FCDII) is a cortical malformation causing refractory epilepsy\, resulting from develop mental somatic mutations in mTOR pathway genes. To understand how these mu tations create a mosaic pattern of affected cells and lead to cortical dys lamination\, we performed comprehensive single-nucleus analyses of surgica l samples from genetically-characterized FCDII patients. By combining geno typing and transcriptomics at single-cell resolution\, we revealed that mu tations predominantly affect glutamatergic neurons and astrocytes\, creati ng distinct transcriptional programs in both mutated and non-mutated cells . This mosaicism drives cell-type-specific dysregulation of synaptic and n eurodevelopmental pathways that likely contribute to epileptogenesis. Nota bly\, our analysis of cytomegalic cells uncovered pronounced alterations i n mitochondrial metabolism pathways and cellular senescence. We uncover a signature associated with cellular senescence in abnormal FCDII cells and further provide evidence in preclinical FCDII mouse models that senolytic agents could offer a novel therapeutic strategy for this disorder.\n\n  \n \n Seok-Jun Hong | Associate Professor\, Department of Biomedical Engineeri ng\n\n - Seok-Jun Hong\, PhD is an associate professor in the Department o f Biomedical Engineering\, and Brain Science and Engineering at Sungkyunkw an University (SKKU) and also affiliated with the Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research\, IBS in S. Korea. Before joining to SKKU\, he was a post doctoral research fellow in Child Mind Institute at New York\, working wit h Drs. Michael Milham and Adriana Di Martino\, and before that\, in MNI wi th Dr. Boris Bernhardt. Dr. Hong’s previous research has focused on advanc ed in-vivo multimodal magnetic resonance imaging of typical and atypical b rain development (epilepsy and autism)\, especially targeting a large-scal e brain network organization. Building upon expertise in computer science\ , statistics and neuroinformatics\, he has developed original approaches t o quantitatively describe connectome principles and its developmental proc ess in the human brain. These days\, his interest is how to inform biologi cal inductive biases learned from the human brain to build up large-scale biophysical neural network models.\n \n Advanced Brain Imaging in Neurodevel opmental Disorders: Semantic Mapping\, Multimodal DBS Modeling\, and MRI L esion Synthesis\n The recent integration of advanced computational neuroima ging with AI and biophysical modeling is catalyzing a paradigmatic shift i n the clinical management of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. T his evolution spans the entire translational continuum—from early diagnosi s and mechanistic understanding to personalized therapeutic interventions. In this talk\, I will discuss three distinct yet interconnected proof-of- concept cases that illustrate the power of these approaches. First\, to un cover the neurobiological principles underlying clinical behaviors in Auti sm Spectrum Disorder (ASD)\, I will discuss our recent findings using natu ralistic movie-viewing fMRI to construct high-dimensional semantic maps. I will demonstrate how these maps reveal age-dependent distortions in ASD\, their correlation with symptom severity\, and their utility in parsing ph enotypic heterogeneity into distinct neurobiological subtypes. Second\, I will present ongoing research regarding Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in ep ilepsy. We demonstrate how multimodal MRI can be leveraged to predict DBS efficacy by modeling the structural and functional pathways associated wit h the seizure focus. Notably\, we investigate the specific network mechani sms that dictate the success or failure of these neuromodulatory intervent ions\, providing a framework for optimized surgical targeting. Third\, I w ill explore the emerging role of Generative AI in medical imaging\, specif ically through the lens of MRI lesion synthesis. This section highlights h ow synthetic data can augment epilepsy research and improve diagnostic inf erence\, particularly in clinical scenarios where high-quality data is spa rse. Finally\, I will conclude by outlining how these advanced computation al frameworks are accelerating the realization of precision medicine in ne urodevelopmental conditions and offer my outlook on the future landscape o f the field.\n\n  \n\n Sami Obaïd | MD\, PhD\, FRCSC\n\n - Dr. Sami Obaïd\, M.D.\, Ph.D.\, is a neurosurgeon specializing in epilepsy at the Centre ho spitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) and a Clinical Assistant Prof essor in the Department of Surgery at the Université de Montréal. He is al so a principal investigator at the CHUM Research Centre (CRCHUM)\, where h e leads the ONSET lab. His surgical practice is dedicated to epilepsy surg ery\, and in 2024\, he was awarded the prestigious FRQS Junior 1 Researche r status. He underwent specialized training\, including a fellowship in ep ilepsy surgery at Yale University and a Ph.D. in structural neuroimaging a pplied to focal epilepsy. Dr. Obaïd focuses his clinical and scientific ac tivities on the identification\, selection\, presurgical evaluation\, oper ative and postoperative management of patients with drug-resistant epileps y through innovative neuroimaging techniques. Recognized early for his con tributions to research\, an asteroid was named in his honor: the minor pla net Obaïd (21712). He has also been named a Distinguished Citizen of Canad a for his scientific achievements\, listed among the “Top 20 Under 20”\, a nd one of his articles was awarded Discovery of the Year 2022 at the CRCHU S. He recently had the honor of serving as a guest co-speaker alongside as tronaut Chris Hadfield\, reflecting the reach of his work and his commitme nt to science communication. A few months ago\, he also signed the Golden Book of the King of Morocco in recognition of his academic and scientific accomplishments. At the ONSET laboratory\, Dr. Obaïd currently supervises 22 graduate students and two research assistants\, actively contributing t o the training of the next generation of neuroscientists.\n\n The Expanding Surgical Landscape of Focal Cortical Dysplasia: Integrating Focal and Net work Approaches\n\n Focal cortical dysplasias (FCDs) are a leading cause of drug-resistant epilepsy and a major indication for surgical treatment. In some patients—particularly early in the disease course—the seizure onset zone may remain relatively confined to the lesion\, supporting the use of highly targeted\, lesion-centered interventions such as laser ablation. Ho wever\, with increasing disease duration\, the seizure onset zone may exte nd beyond the lesion\, involving distributed networks that are not fully a ddressed by strictly focal approaches. In these cases\, broader strategies —including larger resections\, white matter disconnections\, or neuromodul ation—may be required to effectively target the epileptogenic network. In this talk\, I will discuss how disease evolution influences the balance be tween focal and network-oriented strategies in FCD-related epilepsy. I wil l highlight how advanced preoperative neuroimaging can be leveraged for co nnectomic analyses to characterize patient-specific networks beyond the vi sible lesion. Combined with stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) analyses\, these approaches enable a more precise delineation of the seizure onset z one and its associated networks\, and support more individualized surgical planning.\n\n  \n\n Roy Dudley | Associate Professor\, 91ɬ He alth Centre\n\n - Roy Dudley MD\, PhD is a an Associate Professor at McGil l University and a Pediatric Neurosurgeon at the Montreal Children's Hospi tal and the Montreal Neurological Hospital. He did his undergraduate studi es in Biology and Mathematics at Memorial University of Newfoundland\, and his PhD in Experimental Medicine at 91ɬ and the MNI with the late Geor ge Karpati. He returned to Newfoundland for Medical School and came back t o the MNI for Neurosurgery residency under the epilepsy surgery tutelage o f Jeffery Hall and Andre Olivier. He then did his Pediatric Neurosurgery F ellowship at the University of Colorado in Denver. Dr. Dudley specializes in epilepsy surgery and is an FRSQ-sponsored clinical investigator with re search program focused on optimizing the presurgical evaluation of focal e pilepsy patients using advanced neuroimaging and electrophysiology\, impro ving the intraoperative localization of malformations of cortical developm ent\, such as focal cortical dysplasia\, and overcoming the limitation of spatial coverage with SEEG.\n\n Novel Methods in SEEG to Optimize Epileptog enic Zone Localization and Functional Mapping: Overcoming the Limitation o f Spatial Coverage\n\n Surgical treatment of refractory focal epilepsy can be curative and should be considered as early as possible\, particularly i n children. In challenging (usually MRI-negative) cases\, an intracerebral investigation via stereo-EEG (SEEG) is often necessary to localize the ep ileptogenic zone (EZ). Despite advanced neuroimaging/electrophysiology tec hniques and robotic technology\, the outcome of SEEG has improved little i n 70 years\, the main drawbacks being the often-ill-informed pre-implantat ion hypotheses and the sparse coverage of the brain\, resulting in under-s ampling or completely missing the EZ and/or its borders\, and suboptimal s timulation for functional mapping. Our ongoing research aims to overcome t hese drawbacks of SEEG by (1) improving the pre-implantation hypothesis us ing novel methods in magnetoencephalography (MEG)\, such as virtual electr odes\, (2) optimizing SEEG signal analysis via simultaneous MEG/SEEG\, and (3) refining SEEG-based functional mapping via novel analysis (i.e.\, vid eo/SEEG correlates) of spontaneous movements and optimizing the stimulatio n parameters used to illicit ictal versus normal responses.\n\n  \n\n Jeffer y Allan Hall | Epilepsy Neurosurgeon MNI-H\, Associate Professor 91ɬ\n \n - Dr. Hall completed undergraduate and graduate degrees in Neuropsychol ogy and Cognitive Neuroscience before medical training. His Neurosurgical Residency and Fellowship in the Surgery of Epilepsy were completed at McGi ll/MNI-H. He has been an Attending on the Epilepsy Service at the MNI-H fo r more than 20 years. Dr. Hall is fascinated by the introduction of new te chnology to foster novel treatment options. Over the past decade\, he has become interested in the strengths and limitations of Radio-Frequency Ther mo-Coagulation via implanted electrodes (SEEG) as a potential therapeutic intervention.\n\n Radio-Frequency Thermo-Coagulation via Stereoelectroencep halography\n\n This presentation will briefly review the history of Stereoe lectroencephalography (SEEG) as initially proposed and the relevant advanc es with new materials and techniques. For more than two decades\, commerci al electrodes have been used to create lesions via Radio-Frequency Thermo- Coagulation (RF-TC). Lesion generation will be demonstrated ex vivo. Facto rs which influence lesion size and geometry will be discussed. Patient cas es will be shown with the view that some pathologies underlying intractabl e epilepsy may be more amenable to RF-TC.\n\n  \n\n Alexander G. Weil | Epil epsy Neurosurgeon\n\n - Alexander G. Weil\, MD\, FRCSC\, is a pediatric ne urosurgeon and epilepsy surgeon at CHU Sainte-Justine and CHUM in Montreal \, and Associate Professor at the Université de Montréal. His clinical pra ctice is dedicated to the surgical management of drug-resistant epilepsy i n children\, with a focus on stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG)\, resect ive and disconnective surgery\, and minimally invasive approaches. His res earch centers on epileptogenic networks\, connectomics\, and artificial in telligence–driven approaches to precision epilepsy surgery aimed at improv ing outcomes for children with complex epilepsy. Dr. Weil has led and coll aborated on national and international studies advancing epilepsy surgery and the integration of neuroimaging\, electrophysiology\, and computationa l tools into clinical care.\n\n Targeting Epileptogenic Networks in Focal C ortical Dysplasia: From SEEG to Precision Surgery\n\n Focal cortical dyspla sia (FCD) is one of the most common causes of drug-resistant focal epileps y\, yet it is increasingly recognized as a network disorder rather than a purely focal lesion. A network-based understanding of FCD is critical to i mproving surgical outcomes\, as the epileptogenic process often extends be yond the MRI-visible abnormality. This talk will show how stereo-electroen cephalography (SEEG) helps define the epileptogenic network by identifying seizure onset\, propagation pathways\, and the relationship between epile ptogenic\, symptomatogenic\, and eloquent cortex. I will discuss how this framework can guide more precise resection\, disconnection\, and minimally invasive ablation\, and how advanced connectomics can further refine indi vidualized strategies to improve seizure freedom while minimizing function al risk.\n\n \n \n\n \n The Pierre Gloor Lecture\n\n The Pierre Gloor Lecture c elebrates the life and legacy of Pierre Gloor (1923–2003)\, who joined The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) in 1952 as a fellow in e lectroencephalography and neurophysiology. He trained under Wilder Penfiel d and Herbert Jasper and earned his PhD from 91ɬ in 1957. Gl oor collaborated closely with clinical and research teams at The Neuro in advancing the understanding and treatment of epilepsy\, gaining internatio nal recognition for his contributions to the field.\n\n Brain Mosaicism in Epilepsies and Cortical Malformations\n\n Speaker: Stéphanie Baulac\, PhD\n Research director and Group Leader\n Inserm and Paris Brain Institute (ICM) \n\n Focal cortical dysplasia type II (FCDII) is a cortical malformation ca using refractory epilepsy\, resulting from developmental somatic mutations in mTOR pathway genes. To understand how these mutations create a mosaic pattern of affected cells and lead to cortical dyslamination\, we performe d comprehensive single-nucleus analyses of surgical samples from genetical ly-characterized FCDII patients. By combining genotyping and transcriptomi cs at single-cell resolution\, we revealed that mutations predominantly af fect glutamatergic neurons and astrocytes\, creating distinct transcriptio nal programs in both mutated and non-mutated cells. This mosaicism drives cell-type-specific dysregulation of synaptic and neurodevelopmental pathwa ys that likely contribute to epileptogenesis. Notably\, our analysis of cy tomegalic cells uncovered pronounced alterations in mitochondrial metaboli sm pathways and cellular senescence. We uncover a signature associated wit h cellular senescence in abnormal FCDII cells and further provide evidence in preclinical FCDII mouse models that senolytic agents could offer a nov el therapeutic strategy for this disorder.\n\n  \n\n \n \n\n \n Location\n\n The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital is at 3801 University Street \, north of Pine Avenue West\, on the 91ɬ campus opposite th e former Royal Victoria Hospital.\n\n Montreal is served by highway Routes 10\, 15\, 20 and 40\, and by Greyhound Bus\, Via Rail and the P-E-Trudeau airport. In the city\, bus and metro service is provided by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM).\n\n Wheelchair access\n\n A wheelchair accessi ble entrance is on University Street north of the main entrance. Another w heelchair accessible entrance is in the loading area behind the building: to enter the loading area\, turn into the driveway south of the main entra nce. Please note\, there is no parking in the loading area.\n\n Parking\n\n Parking near the MNI is sometimes difficult. There are parking meters on U niversity Street and a parking lot north of the main entrance. To enter th e lot\, turn right into the driveway toward Molson Stadium.\n\n Information about parking fees\n\n Taxi Stand\n\n There is a taxi stand on University S treet across from the main entrance. You may call a cab from the free taxi phone in the main lobby near the Security Desk.\n\n Access by Public Trans portation (STM website)\n\n Bus\n\n There are four bus stops within walking distance:\n\n \n Bus 144 stops at Pine Avenue and University Street\n Bus 356 stops at Sherbrooke Street and University Street (Nightbus)\n Bus 107 stop s at Pine Avenue and Docteur Penfield\n Bus 24 stops at Sherbrooke Street a nd University Street\n \n\n Metro\n\n Take the Metro Green Line to the 91ɬ station. Walk north on University Street and cross Pine Avenue. The main entrance is on the right\, past the flags.\n\n Jeanne Timmins Amphitheatre \n\n \n Enter the main lobby\, turn left\, and go down the hallway to the en d.\n Turn right and go down the second hallway until you see another hallwa y on the left.\n This hallway leads to the Jeanne Timmins Foyer.\n On your r ight are the Jeanne Timmins Amphitheatre entrance doors.\n \n \n\n \n Sponsors  \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n Scientific Committee\n\n Sam Audrain\n\n Alexander Barnett \n\n Boris Bernhardt\n\n Sara Larivière\n\n Raluca Pana\n\n Myriam Srour\n\n   \n\n \n \n\n DTSTART:20260528T131500Z DTEND:20260528T210000Z LOCATION:Jeanne Timmins Amphitheatre\, The Neuro SUMMARY:The Neuro Epilepsy Day 2026: Epilepsy Across Multiple Scales URL:/medhealthsci/channels/event/neuro-epilepsy-day-20 26-epilepsy-across-multiple-scales-368975 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR