This Week in Epilepsy

This week the neurology community gathered in Washington, D.C. at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting. I attended the meeting in my role as Director of Education and Membership for the American Neurological Association (my day job). While I was there, I had several opportunities to discuss the state of epilepsy around the world. Halfway through the meeting I found myself a little disheartened with the state of neurology.

World leaders in neurology

While I was there I was invited to attend a meeting with the World Federation of Neurology leadership. I was the only skirt at the table. If any of you know me at all, you know that I am not a shrinking violet. Around the table there were several people from the International League of Epilepsy, one from the US, and one from Africa. As a person with epilepsy, an advocate for those living with epilepsy and a dedicated administrator in the neurology community, I walked away from that meeting with my energy restored. The people around that table showed their commitment to making a difference in the lives of people like you and me.

#LivingWellChat in May

I also spent time this week talking with the people from Self Care Catalysts, who developed the Epilepsy Storylines app. People are continuing to download the app at higher rate than I ever anticipated. To keep the momentum going, we are in the process of scheduling a live twitter chat for anyone who is using the app or thinking about using the app. A chat like this will be a great way to ask others who are already using the app how they like it. I have to say though, the feedback has been amazingly positive. Just check out the testimonial on our homepage.

If you have not participated in one of our #LivingWellChats yet check out the transcript from our most recent chat with Dr. Rosalind Picard the chief scientist behind the Embrace Watch. You can find the transcript at http://twubs.com/livingwellchat. I will be sure to keep you in the loop when the date is set. We are thinking early May.

Follow Jessica Smith on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jessicaksmith

Jessica K. Smith Founder and CEO; Executive Director

Jessica Keenan Smith is a patient advocate and epilepsy community leader with more than 15 years of experience. As Founder and CEO of Living Well With Epilepsy and Executive Director of ASENT she bridges the gap between the scientific and patient communities, with a particular focus on the needs of the epilepsies. Jessica Keenan Smith is Founder and CEO of Living Well With Epilepsy, an award winning online resource for people affected by epilepsy to share stories and access in-depth information on the disease. Since 2009, Living Well With Epilepsy (https://livingwellwithepilepsy.com) has been featured in Forbes, Wired, NBC, NPR and the cover story of Epilepsy Advocate Magazine and has partnered with companies such as UCB, Lundbeck, Sunovion, Eisai, and more. Ms. Smith is also the Executive Director of the American Society for Experimental Neurotherapeutics (ASENT) (https://asent.org), an organization that brings together leaders from industry, academia, government and advocacy who are engaged in bringing drugs and devices to market across all neurologic disease states. In this role she is responsible for leading a successful scientific journal and annual scientific conference with speakers from all over the world.

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