EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE:
Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019
8:30 AM EST
BALTIMORE - William D. Gaillard, M.D., FAES, begins his term as president 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. Gaillard is a professor of pediatrics and neurology at The George Washington University,
professor of neurology at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and adjunct professor of
Hearing and Speech Sciences University of Maryland in College Park. He is the chief of the
divisions of Child Neurology, Epilepsy and Neurophysiology, as well as director of the
Comprehensive Pediatric Epilepsy Program at the Children's National Medical Center (CNMC)
in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Gaillard’s clinical research focuses on the use of advanced imaging to investigate the
effect of childhood epilepsy on brain structure and function with an emphasis on cognitive
systems. His group also develops and implements imaging strategies to improve epilepsy
outcomes. In addition, Dr. Gaillard is an active member in national pediatric epilepsy
consortia, including the Pediatric Status Epilepticus Research Group and the Pediatric
Epilepsy Research Consortium (PERC). He is the past chair of the International League Against
Epilepsy's (ILAE) Diagnostic Methods Commission and Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Task Force
and served on its Pediatric Commission.
An AES member for more than 25 years, Dr. Gaillard has served as chair of the Clinical
Investigators Workshop Committee and the Pediatric Content Committee. He has been on the
AES Board of Directors and is the immediate past treasurer of the AES. He is an active
participant in mentoring activities, including the Junior Investigators Mentoring program and
past co-chair of the AES Research and Training Grant Review Study Section.
Dr. Gaillard is a graduate of Yale College and the Yale University School of Medicine. He
completed his pediatric training at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, his neurology training at
Johns Hopkins, and his epilepsy, neurophysiology and imaging fellowship at National Institute
of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).