The International Neuromodulation Society Board of Directors
Executive Officers
INS President Marc Russo, MBBS DA (UK) FANZCA FFPMANZCA
A/Prof Marc Russo was born in Sydney, Australia and commenced medical studies at Sydney University graduating in 1989. He undertook training in anaesthesia, intensive care and pain medicine with postgraduate qualifications as a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and Fellow of the Faculty of Pain Medicine.
He set up in 1999 a large multidisciplinary pain clinic in Newcastle, NSW that now employs over 45 clinical/allied health/administrative and research individuals making it one of the largest such units globally. He has been involved in neuromodulation since 1999 with spinal cord, peripheral nerve, occipital, sacral nerve stimulation and intrathecal therapy for both pain and spasticity. He has conducted a number of first-in-man studies of novel neuromodulation implants as well as designing unique leads and waveforms in spinal cord stimulation (SCS).
He was the founding President of the Australian chapter of the INS, served as Secretary of the INS as well as Scientific Convenor of the INS 14th World Congress. He is a visiting Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong and Conjoint Associate Professor in the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Newcastle.
He established Genesis Clinical Research in 2005 and has conducted over 60 trials including device and analgesia trials for pain relief.
He has published over 60 papers as well as several book chapters, is a reviewer for multiple journals including Neuromodulation and has lectured nationally and internationally and led teaching courses in Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Singapore,Thailand and the USA.
His current interests are in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) pathology and treatment, exploring new frontiers in neuromodulation and supporting consensus guidelines and centres of excellence.
He enjoys music, skiing and wine but ideally not all at the same time.
INS Past President Robert M. Levy, MD, PhD
Dr. Robert Levy earned his medical degree at Stanford University, where he also received his Ph.D. in neurosciences and completed a postdoctoral fellowship. He performed a second postdoctoral research fellowship and his residency in neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, where his mentors included Dr. Howard Fields, Dr. Charles Wilson, and Dr. Yoshio Hosobuchi. He then moved to Northwestern University where he rose to the level of Tenured Professor of Neurological Surgery, Physiology, and Radiation Oncology at the Feinberg School of Medicine. During this period, he served as Acting Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery. He was then recruited to serve as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery and Co-Director of the UF Health Jacksonville Neuroscience Institute at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville, FL. He most recently served as the Founding Director of the Marcus Neuroscience Institute and Director of the Harvey Sandler Center for Neurosurgery in Boca Raton, FL. Dr. Levy has authored several textbooks and published 300 peer reviewed journal articles. He has been the recipient of many national and international honors and awards and has been listed in the Best Doctors in America. His current research involves novel applications of neurostimulation and targeted drug delivery to the brain. He has assisted with the design and implementation of multiple new neuromodulation technologies and instruments.
INS Secretary Jan Vesper, MD, PhD
Department of Functional Neurosurgery and Stereotaxy University Hospital Duesseldorf Germany
Scientific Education and Employment
1987-1993 Medical School, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
1993 final practical training at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA and Kantonsspital Frauenfeld, Switzerland
1993–1995 Internship at the Neurosurgical Department, Friedrichshain Hospital, Berlin, Germany
1995-2000 Residency in Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosurgery, Benjamin Franklin Medical Center, Free University of Berlin (Director: Prof.Dr.med.Dr.h.c. Mario Brock)
1993 Doctoral degree (Dr.med.) by the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
2000 Board Certification for Neurosurgery
2000–2002 Board-certified Neurosurgeon, Department of Neurosurgery, Benjamin Franklin Medical Center, Free University of Berlin (Director: Prof.Dr.med.Dr.h.c. Mario Brock)
2000-2003 Associate Professor for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosurgery, Benjamin Franklin Medical Center, Free University of Berlin (Director: Prof.Dr.med.Dr.h.c. Mario Brock)
2003-2007 Associate Professor for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Department of Stereotaxy, Neurocenter, University Clinic Freiburg, (Director: Prof. Dr. med. C.B. Ostertag)
2004 venia legendi, (PhD) Charité, Berlin
2007-2012 Full Professorship for Functional Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery, University Clinic, Duesseldorf
Since 2012 Full Professorship for Functional Neurosurgery and Stereotaxy, University Clinic, Head of the Center of Neuromodulation, Düsseldorf, Germany
Membership: DGNC, ESSFN, German working group for Deep Brain Stimulation, Movement Disorder Society, ESSFN, DGNM
INS Treasurer Lawrence Poree, MD, PhD
Dr. Poree holds the position of Clinical Professor in the Department of Anesthesia at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) where he serves as the director of the Neuromodulation service. He started his neuromodulation career as a basic science researcher at UC Berkeley where he investigated the analgesic properties of CNS hormones. He continued his research at Johns Hopkins University in the department of Biomedical Engineering where he investigated the neural pathways involved in spinal cord stimulation. He decided to apply his research to medical practice and enrolled at Stanford University where he earned his medical degree and completed his residency in anesthesia while continuing to conduct research on new non-opioid based pain medications. He then completed an interventional pain fellowship at UCSF. He founded and served as medical director of a private practice comprehensive pain management clinic for the next 15 years. During this time, he was able to consult with neuromodulation companies and completed a pivotal multi-center trial for DRG stimulation. He returned to academia 2 years ago to help advance the use of neuromodulation technologies at the University of California San Francisco Pain Management Center. He continues his academic research on the investigation of novel spinal cord stimulation systems. For the past 8 years he has served on the North American Neuromodulation Society board of directors where his focus is on education and credentialing. He has co-authored several publications in the neuromodulation field including spinal cord stimulation and intrathecal therapy training guidelines.
Editor-in-Chief, Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface Robert M. Levy, MD, PhD
Dr. Robert Levy earned his medical degree at Stanford University, where he also received his Ph.D. in neurosciences and completed a postdoctoral fellowship. He performed a second postdoctoral research fellowship and his residency in neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, where his mentors included Dr. Howard Fields, Dr. Charles Wilson, and Dr. Yoshio Hosobuchi. He then moved to Northwestern University where he rose to the level of Tenured Professor of Neurological Surgery, Physiology, and Radiation Oncology at the Feinberg School of Medicine. During this period, he served as Acting Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery.
He was then recruited to serve as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery and Co-Director of the UF Health Jacksonville Neuroscience Institute at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville, FL. He most recently served as the Founding Director of the Marcus Neuroscience Institute and Director of the Harvey Sandler Center for Neurosurgery in Boca Raton, FL.
Dr. Levy has authored several textbooks and published 300 peer reviewed journal articles. He has been the recipient of many national and international honors and awards and has been listed in the Best Doctors in America. His current research involves novel applications of neurostimulation and targeted drug delivery to the brain. He has assisted with the design and implementation of multiple new neuromodulation technologies and instruments.
Staff
Executive Director & Managing Editor Tia Sofatzis
Tia Sofatzis graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, with a B.A. in American and English Literature. Tia has been the Managing Editor of Neuromodulation since its inception in 1998, and has worked in her role with the INS since 2001. She is perpetually inspired by the people who are working wonders in this field.
Public Education & Website Manager Nancy Garcia
Nancy Garcia received an honors bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a master’s in journalism from the University of Michigan, where she studied print and broadcast journalism. She joined the INS in 2011 as the public education and website project manager.
With a background in carrying out lab projects as well as science writing, she enjoys the international nature of research collaborations. Having served on an educational policy committee in high school, and received college credit for conducting patient education, then starting a professional association as a member of the news media, and finds the INS position merges many of those interests.
Editorial Assistant Mary Bockman Price
Mary Bockman Price graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor of science degree in business management, and a master of arts degree in counseling psychology from Argosy University. Mary has served as the Editorial Assistant of Neuromodulation since 2009. Mary currently resides in Huntsville, Alabama. She greatly enjoys working for the Society and the journal during this time of growth.
Regional Chapter Presidents
Argentina I Australia & New Zealand l Benelux Countries l Brazil l Canada l China l Colombia l France l Germany l India l Indonesia l Italy l Japan l Korea l Nordic l North America l Poland l Russia l SE Europe l Spain l Switzerland l Turkey l UK & Ireland
Argentina: Fabián Cremaschi, MD
 Dr. Fabián Cremaschi was born in Mendoza, Argentina. He is a Neurosurgeon, graduated from the National University of Cuyo (UNCuyo). He did his initial training in his hometown, and then completed a Fellowship at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also attended internships at Wayne University, and Freie Universität Berlin among others. He obtained a Master's degree in Neuroscience at the International University of Andalusia, Spain, on the physiopathology of Parkinson's disease. He is currently pursuing a second master's degree in Clinical Research, the subject of which is the application of virtual reality in stereotactic technique.
He is a professor of Clinical and Surgical Neurology at the School of Medicine of the UNCuyo and was Vice Dean of that institution in the period 2014 - 2018.
He is a Neurosurgeon at the University Hospital (UNCuyo) and the Santa Isabel de Hungría Hospital, and Coordinator of the Neuromodulation Unit.
He is an active member of numerous Argentine and international scientific societies, including the Argentine Association of Neurosurgery, Argentine Society of Bioengineering, Latin American Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, and the International Neuromodulation Society.
He has published dozens of research papers in national and international journals and has lectured in numerous national and international congresses on topics of Functional Neurosurgery, Neuromodulation and Image-Guided Neurosurgery.
His topics of interest are pain, movement disorders and the surgical treatment of psychiatric diseases. In addition, he carries out research work in machine learning and virtual reality applied to Neuromodulation.
He is an enthusiast of wine, drums, dogs and long distance running, having run almost 50 complete marathons and ultra-marathons, especially in high altitude, three times on Mount Aconcagua.
Australia & New Zealand: Nick Christelis, MBBCH, FRCA, FFPMRCA, FANZCA, FFPMANZCA
 Dr Nick Christelis is medical director and co-founder of Pain Specialists Australia, a multidisciplinary pain clinic, that is tier 1 college accredited for pain medicine specialist training.
He holds two specialist pain medicine qualifications: one from Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (FFPMANZCA), the other, from the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists in London, UK (FFPMRCA).
He completed his specialist training in pain medicine and anaesthesia at London’s Imperial School of Anaesthesia and worked as a pain consultant at The Chelsea & Westminster Hospital before moving to Melbourne in 2009 to take up appointments as Consultant in Pain Medicine, Head of Pain Service, and Anaesthetist at The Alfred Hospital.
Nick now practices 100% within the field of pain medicine. He is an interventional pain specialist combining a multidisciplinary team approach with advanced pain interventional techniques like nerve and joint blocks, epidural injections, radiofrequency ablation, pulsed radiofrequency, spinal cord stimulation and other advanced neuromodulation techniques.
He serves on the executive board of the Neuromodulation Society of Australia and New Zealand (NSANZ) as well as the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists Interventional Procedures Clinical Care Standard Working Group.
Nick’s areas of expertise include back pain, neuropathic pain, lumbar radicular pain and sciatica, neck, shoulder and arm pain, facial pains/headaches, trigeminal neuralgia, CRPS, male and female pelvic pain, post-surgical neuropathic pain syndromes like post laminectomy pain, failed back surgery syndrome, ilioinguinal pain, thoracic pain.
Benelux Countries: Maarten Moens, MD, PhD
 In 2008, Maarten Moens finished his residency in Neurosurgery and started as a half-time clinical researcher by a predoctoral mandate of Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO). This resulted in successfully defending his PhD thesis in 2013 about neuroimaging in chronic pain patients. From then on, he combined full-time clinical work at the neurosurgical department of UZ Brussel with personally initiated research projects.
Since 2015, 10 predoctoral students joined him and worked on their PhD thesis under his supervision. After an intense collaboration, up till now, 5 of the PhD students obtained the degree of PhD. Together with two post-doc investigators (Lisa Goudman and Ann De Smedt), he created an own research group at the Free University Brussels (VUB) (“STIMULUS”) under the research cluster of “Neuroprotection and Neuromodulation” (“NEUR”). The main focus of STIMULUS is clinical research and more specifically, optimalisation in assessment, treatment and predicting treatment outcome(s) in chronic pain patients. Since 2012, he is a member of the Benelux Neuromodulation Society (BNS) and is the past secretary of the BNS Board.
With a team of young researchers, neuromodulation nurses, brilliant clinicians and physicians, he is willing to give his best in order to let the BNS play an important role, locally and internationally.
Brazil: Arthur Cukiert, MD
 Arthur Cukiert was born in Santo Andre, Brazil in 1963. He graduated at Sao Paulo University in 1986 and finished his neurosurgical training at the Hospital das Clinicas of Sao Paulo University in 1991. He spent a year at the Montreal Neurologic Institute as a Clinical & Research Fellow. Back in Brazil, he worked at Sao Paulo Hospital das Clinicas, developed the Hospital Brigadeiro neurosurgical service and was a medical assistant at the ABC Faculty of Medicine in Sao Paulo. He received a PhD degree in Neurophysiology in 1996 from the Biological Sciences Institute of the Sao Paulo University. He is presently the Director of the Sao Paulo Epilepsy Clinic, and Head of its Epilepsy Surgery Program. He is part of the ILAE Pediatric Surgery Task Force and had organized several Epilepsy Surgery Techniques Meetings over the years. He was President of the Brazilian Functional Neurosurgery Society and of the Brazilian Congress of Update in Neurosurgery. He presented more than 400 lectures worldwide, attended to 350 meetings, presented 800 abstracts and published 150 peer reviewed papers and 9 books. His activities center on the surgical treatment of refractory epilepsy and pituitary tumors.
Published Books:
- Neuroendocrinology textbook. A Cukiert e B Liberman (Eds), Editora Lemos, São Paulo, 2002, 638 pp.
- Medical and surgical treatment of refractory epilepsy. A Cukiert (Ed), Editora Lemos, São Paulo, 2002, 394 pp.
- Advances in the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of partial epilepsy. A Cukiert, F Cendes, JC da Costa and FGM Naylor (Eds), Arquivos de Neuropsiquiatria, vol 61, suplement 1, 2003, 122 pp.
- Physiology and pathophysiology of growth hormone. Bernardo Liberman and Arthur Cukiert (Eds), Editora Lemos, São Paulo SP, 2004, 419 pp.
- Generalized Epilepsies. Arthur Cukiert (Ed), Segmento Pharma Editora, São Paulo SP, 2006, 220 pp.
- Quality of life in epilepsy. M Albuquerque e A Cukiert (Eds), Editora Alaúde, São Paulo SP, 2007, 350 pp.
- Neuromodulation. Arthur Cukiert (Editor), Editora Alaúde, São Paulo, Brasil, 488 pp.
- Functional Neurosurgery, Arthur Cukiert (Editor), Editora Alaude, São Paulo, 776 pp.
- Operative Techniques in Epilepsy Surgery, Thieme, New York, 2019, 259 pp.
Top Seven Papers:
- Frameless stereotaxy for surgery of the epilepsies: preliminary experience. Technical note. A. Olivier, I. Germano, A. Cukiert, T. Peters. J Neurosurg 81: 629-633, 1994.
- Results of surgery in patients with refractory extratemporal epilepsy with normal or non-localizing magnetic resonance findings investigated with subdural grids. A Cukiert, JA Burattini, E Machado, A Sousa, JO Vieira, M Argentoni, C Forster, C Baldauf. Epilepsia 2001; 42:889-894.
- Extended, one-stage callosal section for treatment of refractory secondarily generalized epilepsy in patients with Lennox-Gastaut and Lennox-like syndromes. Cukiert A, Burattini JA, Mariani PP, Camara RB, Seda L, Baldauf CM, Argentoni M, Baise-Zung C, Forster CR, Mello VA. Epilepsia 2006, 47:371-4.
- Outcome after corticoamygdalohippocampectomy in patients with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy and mesial temporal sclerosis without preoperative ictal recording. Cukiert A, Burattini JA, Mariani PP, Cukiert CM, Argentoni M, Baise-Zung C, Forster CR, Mello VA. Epilepsia 2006, 47:371-4.
- Centro-median stimulation yields additional seizure frequency and attention improvement in patients previously submitted to callosotomy. Cukiert A, Cukiert CM, Burattini JA, Mariani PP, Argentoni M, Baise-Zung C, Forster CR, Mello VA. Seizure 2009, 18: 588-592.
- Long-term outcome after callosotomy or vagus nerve stimulation in consecutive prospective cohorts of children with Lennox-Gastaut or Lennox-like syndrome and non-specific MRI findings. Cukiert A, Cukiert CM, Burattini JA, Lima AM, Forster CR, Baise C, Argentoni-Baldochi M. Seizure 2013, 22:396-400.
- Seizure outcome after hippocampal deep brain stimulation in patients with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy: A prospective, controlled, randomized, double-blind study. Arthur Cukiert,†Cristine Mella Cukiert, †Jose Augusto Burattini, †Pedro Paulo Mariani, and *Daniela Fontes Bezerra. Epilepsia,58(10):1728–1733,2017.
Canada: Dr. Keith MacDougall, MD, FRCSC
 After earning his BSc with first class honours in 1997 from the University of Calgary, Dr. MacDougall completed medical school at the University of Alberta in 2002 and neurosurgical training at Western University in 2008 in London, Ontario. After a year in Calgary as a general neurosurgeon, Dr. MacDougall returned to Western for a year of fellowship training in Pain Surgery and Deep Brain Stimulation. Subsequently, Dr. MacDougall spent another fellowship year performing Epilepsy Surgery abroad at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. He has published and presented on outcomes following epilepsy surgery, specifically after invasive intracranial recordings. Ongoing research interests include the effectiveness of neuro-modulation for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain and headache and the application of novel stimulation techniques. Dr. MacDougall is an Associate Professor at Western University and the Program Director for the Residency training program in London. His clinical practice is focused on Functional Neurosurgery and he is the current President of the Canadian Neuromodulation Society.
China: Guoming Luan, MD, PhD
Prof. Guoming Luan is the Vice-President of Beijing Sanbo Brain Hospital of the Capital Medical University, established in Beijing in 2004. He achieved the Medical Degree in 1982 and studied under the guidance of Zhongcheng Wang, considered to be the founder of modern neurosurgery in China, at the Capital University of Medical Science, Beijing culminating in a PH.D in 1989. He gained professional research experience for two years in the University of California, Los Angeles, USA (UCLA). Afterward he devotes himself to clinical and research work about Functional Neurosurgery and focuses on the therapy of Epilepsy. In 2002, he created a technique, which is to use bipolar electrocoagulation to burn superficial cortex when treating refractory epilepsy. The latter was approved by the President of International Functional Neurosurgery later that year. This unique technique has now been adopted worldwide.
Prof. Luan is currently acting editor and sub-editor for more than 9 medical journals including 'Journal of the INS', 'The Chinese Journal of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery' and 'The Chinese Journal of Minimal Invasive Neurosurgery'. He has published more than 100 articles both in national and international journals. He is the ‘Editor in Chief’ of 8 books and has been published in over 10 National and Government led scientific publications. Furthermore, he has worked on 10 national, civic and ministry scientific research programs. He is not only the President of Chinese Neuromodulation Society, but also a vice-chairman of China Association Against Epilepsy and the Secretary-General of Asian Epilepsy Surgery Congress.
 Colombia: William Omar Contreras Lopez, MD, PhD
Neurosurgeon from the Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá; with Fellowship AO in Spine Surgery from the Pontifical University of Paraná in Curitiba, Brazil; Fellowship in Functional and Stereotaxic Neurosurgery at the University of Sao Paulo (USP), Brazil; and Fellowship in Surgical Microanatomy at Hospital de la Beneficence Portuguesa in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Doctor med "Summa Cum Laude" from Albert Ludwig’s University in Freiburg, Germany, and Post-doctorate in Neurology from the University of Sao Paulo (USP) Brazil.
His main interests are in the field of Neuromodulation, Molecular Neurosurgery, Cloning, Bioengineering and Trans-humanism.
He also performs translational research in DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation), VBS (Visual Brain Stimulation), ABS (Auditory Brain Stimulation), BWE (Brain Wave Entrainment), Virtual and Augmented Reality, as well as Neurogaming (Video Games).
Guest editor of BMC Cancer; Clinical Neurology & Neurosurgery; Journal of Psychotherapy, Frontiers in Psychiatry and Psychological Disorders
Co-author of two Apps for smartphones to help patients with Parkinson's Disease: Listenmee and Parkinsounds.
Co-author of important original works such as: The cloning of the world's first river buffalo, the creation of virtual reality glasses for Parkinson's, the use of augmented reality to treat phantom limb pain; a prospective, randomized, double-blind study on: Stimulation of the motor cortex in chronic neuropathic pain.
Author and Co-author of important original works such as: Neural transplant protocol in humans with Parkinson's and Huntington's Disease (22 transplant patients). The description and original publication of two new surgical techniques: 1. Endoscopic cordotomy for chronic intractable pain. 2. Simultaneous bilateral deep brain stimulation (awarded in the Netherlands at the ESSFN Congress). The first and largest case series in Colombia of fetoscopic repair of myelomeningocele.
Co-author of Utility Model Patent No. 12 169719, Resolution No. 4221 of 02/10/2015. Rhythmic external auditory and visual device in the form of glasses to control gait in Parkinson's patients.
Co-author of the Book Geniuses in the Mind: Neurosciences of Creativity; “Genios en la mente”.
Contributor to two winning Cannes Lions Health Awards in France in 2016
Contributor to three winning Clio Awards in 2016
Young Neurosurgeon Award from the Minimal Invasive Society in Florence, Italy and from the World Federation of Neurosurgery Society WFNS in Rome, Italy.
CEO of NEMOD Neuromodulation Center.
Neurosurgeon at: International Foscal Clinic Bucaramanga; Clínica Centro, Clínica General del Norte, Clínica la Merced Barranquilla.
Full Professor of medicine at the Autonomous University of Bucaramanga, Professor of master’s degree in Neuropsychology for Simon Bolivar University.
France: Denys Fontaine, MD, PhD
Prof. Denys Fontaine, MD, PhD, University Hospital of Nice, France
Germany: Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Dirk Rasche
India: Paresh Doshi, MBBS, MS (General Surgery), MCh (Neurosurgery)
 Prof. Paresh Doshi is the Director of Neurosurgery and Stereotactic and Functional neurosurgery at the Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai. He has been a pioneer in functional neurosurgery in India. He had been trained in stereotactic and functional neurosurgery at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London and the Maudsley hospital, London. He further obtained selective functional neurosurgical experience from Prof. Benabid, Prof. Marwan Hariz, Prof. Marc Sindou and others. He established the first dedicated department of Functional neurosurgery in India in 1997.
The functional neurosurgical program at his institute has several firsts to its credit, e.g. first deep brain stimulation surgery (DBS) in India (1997), first surgery for obsessive compulsive disorder (2010), first DBS surgery for depression in Asia and Australia (2013), first occipital nerve stimulation for migraine (2012) etc. It offers functional neurosurgical fellowship for a period of one year. This is one of the few centres around the world where comprehensive functional neurosurgery training for all subspecialties of functional neurosurgery is available, i.e. movement disorders, pain, epilepsy, spasticity and psychiatric disorders. It also has the widest spectrum of surgical procedures being performed, ranging from rhizotomies to lesional surgeries to neuromodulation.
Prof. Doshi, has been on the board of several organizations, academic and non-academic. He has recently served as the President of the Indian Society For Stereotactic And Functional Neurosurgery (ISSFN). He is on the board of WSSFN and AASSFN societies. He is the trustee of Parkinson’s care trust, a non-governmental organization catering to Parkinson's disease patients. He has been awarded several awards, including the Indo-American young achiever’s award and Medscape India award for excellence in neurosciences. He has published extensively and is on the editorial board of many journals. He has been invited in numerous national and international meetings to deliver lectures.
Prof. Doshi is passionate about functional neurosurgery. His aim is to empower every neurosurgical department in his country to perform some part of functional neurosurgery. He is the founding President of The Neuromodulation Society (India).
Indonesia: Alif Noeriyanto Rahman, MD, SpOT, FIPP, CIPS
Italy: Giovanni Frigerio, MD
Japan: Hidehiro Hirabayashi, MD, PhD
Korea: Pyung Bok Lee, MD
Dr. Pyung Bok Lee, a renowned pain medicine specialist, is an active clinician and researcher. He works as a professor of the department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University School of Medicine and a director of a pain management center at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital.
Nordic: Kliment Gatzinsky, MD, PhD
 Dr. Kliment Gatzinsky holds a full time position as Senior Consultant at the Department of Neurosurgery, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. He graduated from the Medical School at Gothenburg University, where he also received his PhD degree in neurosciences. After completing a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at The Royal Free Hospital in London, he did his neurosurgical residency at Sahlgrenska University Hospital where he was appointed as Consultant after finishing his neurosurgical training. He has served as head of the Functional Neurosurgery Pain Unit at the hospital since 2004. Since 2005 he is also working as Visiting Consultant on permanent basis at the Department of Neurosurgery, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway, where he started up the neuromodulation unit. Dr. Gatzinsky’s main interest is in neurosurgical treatment of chronic pain disorders. Having more than 20 years of experience in the field of neuromodulation, he has developed a strong expertize in this therapy for treatment of pain. This knowledge is raised on a transdisciplinary vision in order to optimize outcomes, which has contributed to the build-up and development of the neuromodulation units at the University Hospitals in Gothenburg and Stavanger. Dr. Gatzinsky uses most neuromodulation techniques on a regular basis, including spinal cord, dorsal root ganglion, peripheral nerve, repetitive transcranial/epidural motor cortex, and sacral nerve stimulation. He has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, reviews and book chapters and has ongoing international teaching and advisory board assignments in the field.
Dr. Gatzinsky serves as expert advisor for SBU (The Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care) for evaluation of neurosurgical techniques in the treatment of chronic pain disorders. He has served on various medical and professional boards both in Sweden and internationally and is a reviewer for several scientific journals.
Dr. Gatzinsky is keen to advance the field of neuromodulation for chronic pain from both a practical and scientific point of view, and he tries to push the boundaries based on the rapid technical development that is taking place in this field at the moment. He continuously strives to broaden his skills and to motivate his collaborators in order to create optimal conditions for good outcomes. A collaboration between disciplines is crucial in this context.
North America: Salim Hayek, MD PhD
 Professor, Dept. of Anesthesiology
Case Western Reserve University
Chief, Division of Pain Medicine
University Hospitals, Cleveland Medical Center
Cleveland, OH
Poland: Dr. Witold Libionka
Russia: Emil Isagulyan, MD
 Candidate of medical sciences (PhD), Neurosurgeon-algologist (specializes in interventional and surgery treatment of chronic pain) of the Group of Functional Neurosurgery, the N.N. Burdenko Neurosurgery Institute, Chief expert in neuromodulation pain syndrome in the Russian Federation. Currently holding the post of President of National Neuromodulation Society in Russia (NNSR), Vice-President of the Society of Interventional Pain Treatment and Russian Society for Functional and Stereotactic Neurosurgery (RSFSN). He studied at Yerevan State Medical University, residency at Armenia Republican Medical Center. Graduated study at Group of Functional Neurosurgery, the N.N. Burdenko Neurosurgery Institute, where his mentor was Prof. Shabalov V.A. He participated in International onsite training: 1) Faculte De Medecine, University Center for Neurological and Neurosurgical Disorders, Toulouse, France; 2) Hodgkin Building, King’s College London, Guy’s Campus, London. Member of nine scientific societies: International Neuromodulation Society (INS), International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), National Neuromodulation Society in Russia (NNSR), European Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (ESSFN), World Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (WSSFN), Russian Society for Functional and Stereotactic Neurosurgery (RSFSN), Society of Neurosurgeons of Russia, Society of Interventional Pain Treatment, Russian Association for the Study of Pain. Member of numerous international program committees. Actively has been taking part in international and Russian conferences. Author of books and articles about treatment of chronic pain. Spheres of interest is interventional and surgery treatment of chronic pain syndromes. Author of study courses in neurosurgery and algology. Often speaks on media in Russia, promoting treatment chronic pain syndromes and methods of neuromodulation.
South Eastern Europe: Damianos Sakas, MD
Professor of Neurosurgery and Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Athens, Evangelismos General Hospital, Athens, Greece (2000 –). Graduate of Ionnidios School of Piraeus (1972) and Medical School, University of Athens (1978). Certificate of Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates USA (1979). Military service in the Greek Navy (1979 -1981).
Specialty Training: Department of Surgery, General Hospital of Mytilene (1981-1982), Department of Neurology, University of Athens, Eginition Hospital (1981-1982) and Department of Neurosurgery, Evangelismos General Hospital, Athens (1983-1986). Completion of Specialty Training in Neurosurgery, Athens (1986). Neurosurgical Fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA (1986 -1989) M.D. Thesis, University of Athens (1988). Neurosurgical Registrar, Institute of Neurological Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland (1990-1991). Neurosurgical Registrar, National Centre for Neurosurgery, Dublin, Ireland (1991-1993).
Senior Appointments: Consultant Neurosurgeon Walsgrave Hospital, Coventry, England (1993), Midland Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University of Birmingham, England (1994), and University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, England (1995-1999). Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, University of Warwick, England (1995-1999). Lead Clinician, Dept. of Neurosciences, University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, England (1997-1999).
Editorial Work: Associate Editor, Yearbook of Neurology and Neurosurgery (1997-). Associate Editor, Yearbook of Medicine (2003-), Reviewer in Neuromodulation (2003-) and Acta Neurochirurgica, The European Journal of Neurosurgery (2003-). Editor of the textbook: An Introduction to Neurosurgery, Parissianos Medical Publishers (in Greek), Athens, (2003).
Membership of Societies: President, Hellenic Neurosurgical Society (2001-2003). President, South East European Chapter, International Neuromodulation Society (2004-). Member, Executive Committee, European Society for Functional & Stereotactic Neurosurgery (2000-). American Congress of Neurological Surgeons (1995-). Society of British Neurological Surgeons (1995-), Society for Research into Higher Education (1995-), Training Committee, European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (2003-).
Special Neurosurgical Interests: epilepsy surgery, movement disorders surgery, vascular surgery, neurotrauma, skull base surgery and neuromodulation.
Spain: Carlos Tornero Tornero, MD, PhD
Dr. Carlos Tornero Tornero is an anesthesiologist and is currently head of the Anesthesiology-Resuscitation and Pain Therapeutics service at the University Hospital of Valencia. Its main areas of activity focus on pain treatment and fundamentally on neuromodulation. He has a Master in Pain Pathophysiology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. The Pain unit of the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia that he directs, won the award for best Pain unit in Spain in 2014.
He is currently president of the Spanish Society of Neuromodulation (Spanish chapter of INS). He is director of the Chair of Pain of the CEU-Vithas Foundation University, which has the functions of dissemination and research on issues related to pain. He is president of the Pain Commission of the University Hospital of Valencia. He has written different chapters of books and scientific articles, focusing his attention on research related to the anatomy of pain.
Switzerland: Christophe Perruchoud, MD
Turkey: Prof. Dr. Gül Köknel Talu
Prof.Gül Köknel Talu,MD, FIPP
Chair of the Department of Algology, Medical Faculty of Istanbul University
Editor-in Chief of the journal of the Turkish Society of Algology, AGRI (pain)
EDUCATION:
Medical Graduate of İstanbul University, 1991
University anesthesiologist degree from Anesthesiology Department of İstanbul University Medical Faculty, 1997; working in Department of Algology of İstanbul University Medical Faculty since then
Pediatric intensive care unit fellowship at Childrens Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 1994
Pain fellowship at the Department of Algology as a member of the İstanbul University medical faculty, 1997-2002
World Institute of Pain pain fellow (FIPP), 2002, Budapest
Associate professorship in anesthesiology 2003
Pain fellowship at Spinal Diagnostics and Treatment Center, 2004-2005
Professorship in anesthesiology 2009
Chair of the Department of Algology, İstanbul University Medical Faculty, since 2011
MEMBERSHIPS:
National:
Turkish Pain Association (Faculty Member)
Turkish Anesthesiology and Reanimation Association
Turkish Regional Anesthesiology Association
Turkish Palliative Care Association (Founder and Faculty Member)
Turkish Pain Board (Founder and Faculty Member)
Turkish Pain Board, Exam Committee (chair)
International:
World Institute of Pain (Faculty member 2007-2011)
International Neuromodulation Society
European Federation of the International Association for the Study of Pain Chapters
Former president of the Turkish Chapter of the IASP, former president of the Turkish Chapter of the WIP, former president of the Turkish Chapter of the EFIC
PROFESSIONAL SKILS
Regional anesthesia
Pain therapy
Interventional pain therapy
ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES
Editor in-Chief of the Journal of AGRI (pain)
Editor of 10 Turkish medical books on pain, more than 40 Turkish pain chapters, two pain chapters in International Pain (Interventional Spine – an algorithmic approach), SAUNDERS, Interventional Pain Management, SAUNDERS.
National and international (SCI and SCI-Expanded) publications on acute and chronic pain management
United Kingdom and Ireland: Dr Ashish Gulve, FFPMRCA, FFPMCAI, FRCA, FCARCSI, MD
Dr. Gulve is a Consultant in Pain Management at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough since 2006. He earned his medical degree from Amravati University, India. Thereafter, in the UK, he completed anaesthesia and pain fellowship training in the Northern Deanery. Dr Gulve worked as an Instructor in Pain Medicine and Anaesthesia at Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis in 2004-2005.
Dr. Gulve continues to be active in research, serving as the principal investigator on a number of clinical trials in neuromodulation. He has a keen interest in teaching and is well-published with his work appearing in a number peer-reviewed journals. He has written book chapters as well.
He is currently the Regional Advisor in Pain Medicine for the Faculty of Pain Medicine at the Royal College of Anaesthetists and also teaches in various courses nationally and internationally.
Directors-at-large
Magdalena Anitescu, MD, PhD
Magdalena Anitescu, MD, PhD, professor of anesthesia, and pain medicine, is the program director for the multidisciplinary pain medicine fellowship and the section chief of pain management services at the University of Chicago Medicine. She completed a surgical internship at the University of Iowa, an anesthesia residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a pain medicine fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic; following her training, she joined the faculty at the University of Chicago. She is an accomplished national and international educator, author of numerous textbook chapters and scientific papers, and a member of many professional organizations and scientific committees that review the academic curriculum for various pain medicine meetings. As pain program director, Dr. Anitescu created novel educational experiences for the curriculum by organizing and hosting interdisciplinary and multi-institutional meetings. Among them are the annual Chicago Pain Summit, the bi-annual Regional Collaborative Case Conference, and multi-disciplinary rounds. The aim is to give pain fellows access to the practices at other institutions, to exchange ideas, or to present scholarly work or clinically challenging cases. She is the President-Elect for Anesthesiologists Subspecialty Program Directors in the US Association of Academic Anesthesiologists and of the Pain Program Directors. As Women in Neuromodulation chair, Dr Anitescu has been involved in introducing novel neuromodulation techniques in clinical practice. She is actively involved in teaching neuromodulation techniques to trainees and at meetings. Her research focuses on improving treatment outcomes in patients suffering from cancer pain as well as patient neuromodulation treatment outcomes.
 Steven Falowski, MD
Director Functional Neurosurgery, Neurosurgical Associates of Lancaster
Senior Advisor to the Board, North American Neuromodulation Society
Prior Annual Meeting Chair, North American Neuromodulation Society Prior Secretary, North American Neuromodulation Society
Secretary/Treasurer-Executive Pain Committee, Congress Neurological Surgeons/American Association Neurological Surgeons
Executive Officer of the Board, American Society Pain and Neuroscience.
I underwent neurosurgical residency training at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia with a focus on SCS and Pain management, complex spinal procedures, and treatment for movement disorders such as deep brain stimulation. I completed a functional neurosurgical fellowship at Rush University in Chicago. My major focus revolves around education, integration of specialties, research, and practice management. Roles include implementing and directing the resident-fellows section and mentorship program through NANS. I was also course director of the annual NANS SCS/neuromodulation workshop that is the largest training course available. I also serve as course director for the International cadaver workshops with INS. I am co-chair of education and chair of the certification committee for NANS to ensure the proper and safe training of new physicians. I am also a senior advisor for education and strategy to NANS. My latest publications and specialty interest deals with utilizing intra-operative neuromonitoring for the asleep placement of SCS, as well as developing new technologies and stimulation platforms. I have worked hard to establish a track record for dedication to society and the neuromodulation space, and established a nationally recognized functional neurosurgery program that included a Pain Center, Movement Disorder Center, and neuroscience research division.
Julie Pilitsis, MD, PhD
Julie G. Pilitsis MD, PhD is the newly appointed Dean and Vice President of Medical Affairs at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. Previously, she served as Chair of the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics and a Professor of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience at Albany Medical College. Dr. Pilitsis developed functional neurosurgery practices at two institutions and was one of five female neurosurgeons to chair a department. Additionally, she acts as a national leader across multiple organizations including North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) and ASSFN. With the support of the NANS and International Neuromodulation Society (INS) board of directors, she began the NANS and INS Women in Neuromodulation section, where she was the first chair. Over the course of her career, she has mentored over 150 students through translational research projects and has published 200 articles. She acts as a specialty editor for the journal: Frontiers in Pain Research: Neuromodulatory Interventions, is on the editorial board of Neuromodulation, and has been recognized with Pain Paper of the Year by Neurosurgery for three past years. Dr. Pilitsis maintains significant diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and obtained an MBA with concentration in bioinformatics in December 2021.
Regional Directors-at-Large
Julie Pilitsis, MD, PhD - United States
Julie G. Pilitsis MD, PhD is the newly appointed Dean and Vice President of Medical Affairs at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. Previously, she served as Chair of the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics and a Professor of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience at Albany Medical College. Dr. Pilitsis developed functional neurosurgery practices at two institutions and was one of five female neurosurgeons to chair a department. Additionally, she acts as a national leader across multiple organizations including North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) and ASSFN. With the support of the NANS and International Neuromodulation Society (INS) board of directors, she began the NANS and INS Women in Neuromodulation section, where she was the first chair. Over the course of her career, she has mentored over 150 students through translational research projects and has published 200 articles. She acts as a specialty editor for the journal: Frontiers in Pain Research: Neuromodulatory Interventions, is on the editorial board of Neuromodulation, and has been recognized with Pain Paper of the Year by Neurosurgery for three past years. Dr. Pilitsis maintains significant diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and obtained an MBA with concentration in bioinformatics in December 2021.
Daniel Benzecry Almeida, MD - Latin America Regional Director-at-Large
 MAIN PROFESSIONAL DATA:
- Medical Doctor graduated by the Federal University of Para - 1985-1990
- Residency Program at the Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP-EPM) - 1991-1995
- One year Post-residency specialization in Pain and Functional Neurosurgery at Hospital de Clínicas at USP - 1995-1996
- Further one year Post residency specialization in Pain and Functional Neurosurgery at Hospital A.C. Camargo, São Paulo-SP – 1996-1997
- Fellow in Functional Neurosurgery at Hôpital Neurologique Pierre Wertheimer - Lyon, France - 1999
- Master's degree in Neurosurgery at the Federal University of São Paulo in 2006
- Past vice-president of the Brazilian Chapter of the International Neuromodulation Society (INS) 2017-2019
- Actual president of the Brazilian Chapter of the International Neuromodulation Society (INS) 2019-2021
- Currently working at the Department of Neurosurgery at the Institute of Neurology in Curitiba where coordinates the Gamma Knife Service and the Pain Treatment Group
- Preceptor of the Medical Residency at the Institute of Neurology of Curitiba
- Fields of interest in Functional Neurosurgery, developing special work in treatment of chronic pain, surgery of abnormal movements, spasticity surgery, spine surgery and Gamma Knife Radiosurgery
CURRICULUM VITAE
Philippe Rigoard, MD, PhD - Europe, Canada, and Africa Regional Director-at-Large
Prof. Philippe Rigoard is senior surgeon and coordinator of the Spine & Neuromodulation Unit within the Neurosurgical Department at the Poitiers University Hospital in France. He is also an Honorary Consultant in the pain clinic of Guy's and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust hospital in London, UK; an Anatomy Conference reader at the Human Morphology Institute, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Poitiers; a researcher at Inserm CIC (Clinical Investigation Center) 802; and the research program director of the N3Lab (Neuromodulation & Neural Networks Lab) in Poitiers. He has expended a lot of effort to rebuild the INS French chapter (Société Française de NeuroModulation, SFNM), which is now represented again in the global community.
While studying anatomy and morphology at National Art Institute, Beaux-Arts, Paris, from 1994-1996, Prof. Rigoard decided to enter into medicine. He received his medical degree as 1st Laureate of the Faculty of Medicine in Poitiers in 2006 and completed postgraduate medical training in spine surgery in 2008 and a fellowship in functional neurosurgery in 2009.
From 2002-2007 he also completed his PhD of Sciences in Poitiers, as well as several degrees including in neuromuscular diseases, acute pain, chronic pain and pain management in emergency conditions, microsurgical techniques and surgical robotics.
His main research interests are neuromodulation and spine biomechanics. He has been involved in intensive scientific collaborations with several researchers worldwide, e.g., Prof. Krishna Kumar (Canada); Dr. Mehul Desai, Prof. Richard North, and Prof. Konstantin Slavin (USA); and Dr. Adnan Al-Kaisy (UK).
Prof. Rigoard is a reviewer for several scientific journals. He is also a member of professional societies, including the International Association for the Study of Pain, International Neuromodulation Society, European Association of Neurosurgeons, French and North American Society of Spine Surgery.
Prof. Rigoard has also published dozens of journal articles, abstracts, and book chapters, and has lectured at more than 100 conferences and symposia worldwide.
Richard Sullivan - Asia, Australia and New Zealand Regional Director-at-Large
 Richard Sullivan, MBChB, FANZCA, FFPMANZCA - Asia, Australia and New Zealand Regional Director-at-Large
Dr Richard Sullivan is a Pain Physician at Precision Brain Spine and Pain Centre, where he has practiced for the past decade. He prides himself in adopting a holistic, contemporary, interdisciplinary and patient-centred approach to chronic pain, integrating patient education, functional restoration, intervention and neuromodulation in his day to day practice.
He heads an Australasian Faculty of Pain Medicine accredited Fellowship Training Unit based in Melbourne and also practices in Queensland. He is the immediate past president of the Neuromodulation Society of Australia and New Zealand and has succeeded in helping cement the society’s world renown for exceptional quality scientific meetings.
He is a Faculty Examiner and sits on the Procedural Pain Steering Committee for the Australasian Faculty of Pain Medicine.
He is an avid and active researcher in the field of neuromodulation authoring and co-authoring peer-reviewed publications on new indications, functional outcomes and novel therapies. He is a passionate teacher and mentor for trainees in pain medicine and for clinicians learning the art of neuromodulation and is often invited to lecture and teach to international audiences.
He sits on numerous advisory boards for medical device and pharma companies. He is also a respected local expert in chronic pain diagnosis and management in the medicolegal world.
Previously he was the clinical lead of Pain Services at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and completed his Pain Medicine training at Royal Melbourne Hospital.
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