Pediatric Epilepsy Pioneers and Educational Programs in Kuwait Asma Abdullah Al Tawari 1 Milen Vladimir Pavlovic 2 1 Pediatric Neurology Unit, Department of Pediatric, AL Sabah Hospital, Kuwait City, Kuwait 2 Neurology Unit, Department of Pediatric, AL Sabah Hospital, Kuwait City, Kuwait J Pediatr Epilepsy 2019;8:29–30. Address for correspondence Asma Abdullah Al Tawari, MD, Pediatric Neurology Unit, Department of Pediatric, AL Sabah Hospital, Kuwait City, Kuwait (e-mail: asmatawari@yahoo.com). Asma Al Tawari is a consultant pediatrician, neurologist, and epileptologist. She graduated from Cairo University, continued the postgraduate training, and earned a diploma in child health from Dublin. She then secured the membership and a fellow- ship of the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom. In the 1990s, she joined the pediatric neurology unit which provides services of in-patient and out-patient clinics as well as neurophysiological studies. This was initiated in the 1970s and covers the whole state of Kuwait. She underwent pediatric neurology training at The New Children Hospital, Sydney, Australia in 1998. In 2013, she received the certificate of the epilepsy and EEG fellowship from the King Faisal Specialty Hospital and Research Center, Saudi Commission for health specialties. She became the first epilepsy specialist and started running the first pediatric epilepsy service at the pediatric department AL Sabah Hospital. The modern digital technology was introduced for long-term video-EEG monitoring as part of presurgical evaluations for drug-resistant cases of epilepsy; however, surgical cases are boarded to a recognized epilepsy surgery center. The plan is to introduce the epilepsy surgery soon in Kuwait. She is a member of the Kuwait Medical Association (KMA), International League against Epilepsy (ILAE), Asian Ocean Child Neurology Association (AOCNA), Kuwait League against Epilepsy (KLAE). Milen Vladimir Pavlovic, MD, PhD, graduated from the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He underwent training in pediatrics at the Institute for Mother and Child Health Care in Belgrade, Serbia. He gained further expertise in the fields of child neurology and epileptology at the Hospital for Neurol- ogy and Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, University of Belgrade, during his clinical fellowship and academic research program under the mentorship of late professor Dr. Nebojša Jović. He earned his academic PhD degree on the thesis: Prob- ability of seizure recurrence after withdrawal of antiepileptic drugs in developmental age. His entry into the world of pediatric epileptology started in the Pediatric Department of Krusevac Medical Center, Serbia, which then continued at the department of Pediatric Epilep- tology and Developmental Neurology, Institute for Health Care of Children and Adolescents, Novi Sad. Among regular clinical and academic activities, he participated in the clinical trial: Efficacy and safety of Eslicarbazepine Acetate (BIA 2-093) as an adjunctive therapy for refractory partial seizures in children, a double-blind randomized placebo controlled parallel group multicenter clinical trial (trial center 211). Since 2011, he has been working in Kuwait, thus further expanding his professional experience in the broad field of child neurology. He is at present a member of the consultant team of pediatric neurologists at tertiary level, Al Sabah Hospital, Pediatric Neurology Unit, headed by Dr. Asma al Tawari. He is also involved in clinical and academic activities of the pediatric neurology ward of the pediatric department, EEG laboratory, consultations in other hospitals and outpatient services of general pediatric –neurology clinic and specialized clinics, cerebral palsy clinic, and ketogenic diet clinic. He was one of the contributors to the Pediatric Department Clinical Guidelines, Al Sabah Hospital, Kuwait, in 2014. He is also the member of the ILAE, European Pediatric Neurology Society (EPNS), International Child Neurology Association (ICNA), Association of Clinical Neurophysiology of Serbia and Montenegro, Association of Child Neurologist of Serbia, KLAE, Kuwait Medical Association, and Serbian Medical Chamber. His clinical research has been published and cited in several international peer-reviewed journals (1–8). His main professional interests include: semiological and neurophysiological aspects of epileptic seizures, prognosis of epilepsy after drug withdrawal, and new treatment options in refractory childhood epilepsy. Conflict of Interest None declared. received May 7, 2019 accepted May 7, 2019 published online July 1, 2019 Issue Theme Pediatric Epilepsy Pioneers and Educational Programs Worldwide; Guest Editors: Vincenzo Salpietro, MD, and Stephanie Efthymiou, MSc Copyright © 2019 by Georg Thieme Verlag KG, Stuttgart · New York DOI https://doi.org/ 10.1055/s-0039-1692415. ISSN 2146-457X. Historical Vignette 29 Downloaded by: Karolinska Institutet. Copyrighted material. Published online: 01.07.2019