Orrin Devinsky, MD, delivers 2018 John Kirker memorial lecture

Posted on: 09 October 2018

The 2018 John Kirker Memorial Lecture, named in honour of the pioneering epileptologist and Trinity graduate Dr John Kirker, was delivered on 28 September 2018 by Orrin Devinsky, Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. The lecture entitled ‘Medicinal Cannabis for Epilepsy’ was presented on as a keynote talk of the meeting of the Irish Chapter of the International League against Epilepsy.

Orrin Devinsky received his B.S. and M.S. from Yale University, M.D. from Harvard Medical School and interned at Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital. He completed neurology training at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and his epilepsy fellowship at the NIH. His epilepsy research includes cannabidiol, SUDEP, phenome-genome correlations, precision genetic therapies, ataluren, healthful behavioral changes, autism, therapeutic electrical stimulation, quality-of-life, cognitive and behavioral issues, and surgical therapy. He was lead investigator in several of the randomized controlled trials of cannabidiol in Dravet Syndrome and Lennox Gastaut Syndrome.  He is the Principal Investigator for the North American SUDEP Registry and for the SUDC Registry and Research Collaborative.  He founded Finding A Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures (FACES) and co-founded the Epilepsy Therapy Project and epilepsy.com.  He has written more than 400 peer-reviewed scientific papers. He remains committed to helping bridge the gap between basic and clinical science.  Outside interests include behavioral neurology, evolutionary biology and history of neuroscience.

The John Kirker Memorial Lecture series started in 2013. Dr Kirker (1922-2011) was a Trinity graduate and Consultant Neurologist in Sir Patrick Dunn and Beaumont Hospitals. He was a founder of the Irish Epilepsy Association (now Brainwave), and was instrumental in the development of proper clinical services for people with epilepsy in Ireland, including instituting and managing the first lectroencephalographic (EEG) equipment in the country. Dr Kirker cared deeply about Trinity and its reputation throughout his life. He left a bequest to fund an annual lecture in epilepsy, aiming to inspire interest in the study of this condition.

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