EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE:
Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019
8:30 AM EST
BALTIMORE – Douglas A. Coulter, Ph.D., begins his term as President-elect of the American
Epilepsy Society (AES) at the conclusion of the Society’s annual meeting in Baltimore (Dec. 6-
10, 2019). A medical and scientific society of 4,200 members, the AES is dedicated to
advancing research and education for preventing, treating and curing epilepsy. Dr. Coulter
will become president of the society in 2021.
Dr. Coulter is a professor of pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of
Pennsylvania and neurology researcher at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. For nearly 30
years, Dr. Coulter has directed NIH grant-funded research programs, first at Virginia
Commonwealth University in Richmond (1990-1999), then at the University of
Pennsylvania/Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (1999-present). Throughout his career, his
research interests have focused primarily on understanding the cellular and molecular
mechanisms of epilepsy and epileptogenesis, mechanisms of action of antiepileptic drugs, and
epilepsy therapies with the goal of facilitating development of enhanced therapeutic
strategies.
Dr. Coulter has been an active member of the AES for almost 30 years. He has served on a
wide range of committees and task forces across the research and education spectrum. Dr.
Coulter has served as chair of the following councils and committees: Scientific Program
Committee, Research and Training Council, Research Awards Committee, Basic Science
Committee, Year-Round Education Committee/Science Education Subcommittee, Basic
Science Taskforce (co-chair); and as member on the Nominations Committee, the Finance
Committee, the Council on Education, and the Continuing Medical Education Committee. For
the last three years, as co-chair of the Basic Science Taskforce, Dr. Coulter has provided
leadership on efforts to reinvigorate participation of the Basic Research community for the
Annual Meeting and the Society. Dr. Coulter is a well-published author and has served on
numerous editorial boards including as an Editorial Board member and a contributing editor of
Epilepsy Currents, AES’ open access commentary journal.
Dr. Coulter received his Ph.D. from the Boston University Marine Program in Woods Hole,
Massachusetts and conducted postdoctoral training in Dr. David Prince's laboratory at Stanford
University, California. In 2010, he was the recipient of the prestigious AES Epilepsy Research
Recognition Award for Basic Science.