MICHAEL-PREIS

[Laudatio nur in englischer Sprache]

Maxime Baud is a neuroscientist and neurologist who is currently professor and head of the Epilepsy Unit at the University of Bern, Switzerland. He was trained as a neuroscientist at the Swiss Institute of Technology (EPFL), obtaining a PhD under the supervision of Professor Magistretti. He then trained to become a neurologist at the University of California in San Francisco and did a post-doctoral fellowship with Professor E. Chang also at UCSF. He worked in Geneva for a few years before establishing his research and clinical work in Bern.

His main contributions to epilepsy research are in the field of chronobiology, the study of cycles influencing the occurrence of epileptic seizures and interictal EEG discharges. Whereas patients often report that their seizures occur with some temporal regularity, it has been very difficult to make scientific observations about such cycles. Dr. Baud took advantage of EEG recordings lasting several months and even years in patients having an implanted responsive stimulation device designed to reduce seizure frequency, which recorded the EEG for very long periods. Making use of these unique data and performing sophisticated statistical analyses specially designed to reveal periodicities, he was able to demonstrate that the epileptic activity in many patients follows several rhythmic patterns within a day and across many days. These studies, published in prestigious journals such as Lancet Neurology, JAMA Neurology and Annals of Neurology, have demonstrated that patients go through periods of enhanced susceptibility to seizures, that this susceptibility can be assessed with interictal epileptic discharges and that the cyclicity is patient-specific.

At the beginning of this century, there was much hope that it was possible to predict the occurrence of seizures a few minutes or seconds ahead of time. It rapidly became clear that our hopes were based on insufficiently strong statistical tests and that we were really not able to predict seizures. The work of Dr. Baud has shifted the emphasis from precise seizure prediction to the search for periods when seizures are more likely, i.e. periods of enhanced seizure susceptibility. In his most recent research, Dr. Baud is using experimental animal models to reproduce and explain the long-term cycles he has observed in humans.

One of the most debilitating effect of epileptic seizures has always been their unpredictability. Dr. Baud’s research has reduced the level of unpredictability of seizures, thus making a fundamental contribution to our understanding of epilepsy.

[Laudatio nur in englischer Sprache]

We proudly honor Dr. Sophie Adler and Dr. Konrad Wagstyl as joint recipients of the Michael Prize 2025 in the "Imaging" category for their exceptional contributions to epilepsy neuroimaging and artificial intelligence.

Dr. Adler, a graduate of University College London with a PhD in Neuroimaging of Epilepsy, has held significant roles including Research Fellow at UCL’s Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Academic Clinical Fellow at Whittington Hospital. Her pioneering work in AI-driven lesion detection and automated diagnostics has greatly advanced the field, particularly in relation to focal cortical dysplasias and hippocampal sclerosis. Her contributions have transformed diagnostic approaches worldwide.

Dr. Wagstyl, with an MBPhD from Cambridge, is currently a Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London and Honorary Associate Professor at UCL. Previously, he was a Sir Henry Wellcome Fellow at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging and has conducted research at institutions like McGill University and the National Institutes of Health. His expertise in neuroimaging, combined with his innovations in artificial intelligence, has driven forward clinical applications for epilepsy diagnosis.

Together, Dr. Adler and Dr. Wagstyl co-founded the Multicentre Epilepsy Lesion Detection (MELD) project, where they developed the world’s largest MRI dataset for focal epilepsy. Their algorithms, now integrated into over 65 MRI scanners globally, have significantly improved diagnostic accuracy. Their work, published in Brain, JAMA Neurology, and Annals of Neurology, has demonstrated how AI can bridge the gap between research and clinical practice, improving outcomes in both well-resourced and resource-limited settings.

In addition to their research, they have made invaluable contributions to global initiatives, including ILAE and EpiCARE, advancing international collaboration in epilepsy care.

Through their trailblazing work, Dr. Adler and Dr. Wagstyl embody the essence of the Michael Prize. We congratulate them on this well-earned recognition and look forward to their continued impact on the field.