Denmark
Elena Gardella
Elena Gardella, MD, Ph.D., is an Italian neurologist and clinical neurophysiologist with more than 20 years of expertise in the field of research, diagnosis, and treatment of complex epilepsies. Currently, she is associate professor at the University of Southern Denmark, working at the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology and at the department of Epilepsy Genetics and Personalized Medicine at the Danish Epilepsy Centre “Filadelfia”, Dianalund (DK).
The principal aim of her research is the deep phenotyping of newly discovered genetic epilepsies, bridging the gap between gene discovery and the clinical practice, and putting the basis for personalized counseling and targeted treatment including new treatment options.
The clinical genetic team at the Danish Epilepsy center has a special interest in STXBP1 disorders and is leading a number of research projects in this field, including deep phenotyping and identification of EEG biomarkers.
Elena Gardella is a board member of the Danish chapter of the ILAE, a member of the commission on classification and terminology of the ILAE and part of the Italian chapter of the ILAE, a member of the American Epilepsy Society, and a member of EpiCARE, the European Reference Network for rare and complex epilepsies.
Denmark
Francesca Furia
I am a Neurologist with expertise in epilepsy and sleep disorders. I completed my graduation in Medicine and specialization in Neurology at a university hospital in Milano, where I also worked as a neurologist at the Epilepsy and Sleep Medicine Center for 7 years, reaching a very good expertise in epilepsy and sleep medicine. Since 2020, I started to work at the Danish Epilepsy Center on a research project about rare genetic epilepsies and genotype-phenotype correlations. In 2021, I started my PhD at University of Southern Denmark and at the Danish Epilepsy Centre and I am continuing to work on research projects about epilepsy and genetics. In particular, I am working on STXBP1 genewith a main focus on the deep phenotyping of this disorder. I created a deep phenotyping Scandinavian STXBP1 registry where I am collecting clinical and genetic data through interviews with families and contacts with their HCPs, taking advantage from the experience with the curation of the SCN8A registry that includes data of about 700 individuals worldwide.
