Kurupath Radhakrishnan

He started his professional career in PGIMER, Chandigarh as a neurologist. Later he also worked as faculty at the Medical University, Benghazi, Libya, where he got interested in neuroepidemiology, which culminated in getting advanced training in neuroepidemiology under Leonard T. Kurland at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA, who is considered to be the father of neuroepidemiology.^[6][7] Subsequently, he also got trained in EEG and epilepsy from Donald Klass at the Mayo Clinic. He returned to India in 1994 as Professor and Head of Department of Neurology at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, where he established R Madhavan Nayar Center for Comprehensive Epilepsy Care using philanthropic funding in 1998.^[8] This was one of the pioneering centers in India which contributed for the paradigm shift in comprehensive epilepsy management. The center was mainly involved in 1) medical, surgical, psychosocial and occupational management of individual patients with epilepsy; 2) educating the primary and secondary care physicians about the current trends in the management of epilepsy, and enhance public awareness about epilepsy in order to dispel the prevailing misconceptions; and 3) undertake clinical, applied and basic science research and evolve cost-effective investigative and treatment strategies. This center performs almost 100 epilepsy surgeries annually.^[2][9]

Prof. Radhakrishnan is a life member of the Neurological Society of India, Indian Academy of Neurology and Indian Epilepsy Association. He is a past president of the Indian Academy of Neurology. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences India (FAMS), American Academy of Neurology (FAAN) and American Neurological Association (FANA). He was awarded the prestigious Mayo Clinical Award in 1994, and the ‘Outstanding Achievement Epilepsy Award’ at the Asian Ocean Epilepsy Congress (AOEC), March 2012.^[5] He has served in the editorial board of Epilepsia, Neurology India and Indian Academy of Neurology. Recently, he has been appointed as Associate Editor of Epilepsy and Behavior Case Reports. He has over 300 scientific publications, several book chapters, with more than 12,000 citations, h-index of 57 and i10-index of 174.^[10] He is also a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of Madras Neuro Trust.^[11]