William Davis Gaillard, M.D., has been elected Second Vice President of the American Epilepsy Society (AES), a medical and scientific society with 4,000 members. Dr. Gaillard’s term started at the end of the society’s annual meeting, December 1-5, in Washington, D.C. He will serve three years in the society’s presidential line, ultimately becoming president of the society in 2020.
“It is a great honor to serve the American Epilepsy Society and help to lead our society’s efforts to eradicate epilepsy and its sequelae,” Dr. Gaillard said.
Dr. Gaillard is Professor 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 Co-Chair of the AES Research and Training Grant Review Study Section. He is a Fellow of AES and serves on the Residents Training Committee.
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 a fourth-year medical student at Yale. Their daughter, Schuyler, a recent graduate of MIT, is working in an MIT cognitive neuroscience laboratory. He is fond of reading history, long walks in mountainous woods, fine hot chocolate, and exploring the world with his family.