William Davis Gaillard, MD, has begun his term as President-elect of the American Epilepsy Society (AES), a medical and scientific society with 4,400 members. Dr. Gaillard's term started at the end of the society's recent annual meeting in New Orleans. Dr. Gaillard will become president of the society in 2020.
Dr. Gaillard is Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at the George Washington University, Professor of Neurology at Georgetown University, and Professor Adjunct of Hearing and Speech Sciences University of Maryland, 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 is a pediatric neurologist and epileptologist. His clinical research focuses on the use of advanced imaging to investigate the effect of childhood epilepsy on brain structure and function with a recent emphasis on cognitive systems. His group also develops and implements imaging strategies to improve epilepsy outcomes. In addition, he is an active member in national pediatric epilepsy consortia, including the pediatric Status Epilepticus Research Group and the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium. He is an associate editor for Epilepsy Research. He is past chair of the International League Against Epilepsy's Diagnostic Commission and Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Task Force and served on their Pediatric Commission.
An AES member for more than 25 years, Dr. Gaillard has been chair of the Clinical Investigators Workshop Committee and the Pediatric Content Committee. He has served 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. He is a Fellow of AES.
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 an epilepsy, neurophysiology, and imaging fellowship at NINDS, NIH.
Dr. Gaillard resides in Chevy Chase, Maryland. His wife, Dr. Adelaide S. Robb, is chair of Child Psychiatry at CNMC. Their son, Jonathan, is in his final year of medical school at Yale. Their daughter, Schuyler, a recent graduate of MIT, is working her Master's Degree at Tufts University. He is fond of reading history, long walks in mountainous woods, fine hot chocolate, and exploring the world with his family.