Professor Ingrid Scheffer has received the L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science Award for her outstanding research into epilepsy.

 

Professor Scheffer holds a chair at the University of Melbourne, is a senior principal research fellow at Florey Neurosciences Institutes and is a paediatric neurologist and epileptologist at Austin Health and the Royal Children’s Hospital.

 

She has devoted the last 20 years to clinical research focused on epilepsy. She has identified many new forms of epilepsy and, together with molecular collaborators, discovered multiple genes that cause seizures.

 

Professor Scheffer has been awarded the title of Laureate for the Asia-Pacific region, and is only one of three Australians to have ever received the award.

 

Her expertise in defining epilepsy syndromes has led to her leadership role as Chair of the Commission for Classification of the Epilepsies by the International League Against Epilepsy. While she has received significant recognition in the past, her latest award is considered exceptional.

 

“This is a true honour,” Prof Scheffer said. “I am thrilled to be recognised for my work in epilepsy as a clinician and scientist. Women in science face additional challenges juggling a career and family but if they are passionate about science, life can be incredibly rewarding. Of course I could not have done this without the contributions of my patients and their families, my many collaborators worldwide and my research team.”