Prof. Elena Moro, Professor of Neurology at the Grenoble Alpes University, in the Department of Psychiatry, Neurology, Neurological Rehabilitation, and Forensic medicine of the Grenoble CHU in France, officially took on the presidency of Europe’s largest neurology society, the European Academy of Neurology (EAN), on Tuesday, 2 July, 2024, as the 10th Annual Congress of the European Academy of Neurology drew to a close in Helsinki, Finland.
Prof. Moro, who has occupied the role of President-Elect on the EAN Board for the last two years, has also served as on the board as Treasurer (2018-20) and Secretary General (2020-22), as well as previously fulfilling the role of Editor of EANpages (now eanNews).
Speaking to EAN TV on the final day of the congress, the new president had the opportunity to outline some of her aims for the EAN during her presidency, while also discussing her personal journey within the EAN structure, and declaring her love for the EAN.
Addressing key priorities for her presidency, Moro began with the subject of diversity, equity and inclusion in neurology, an area she has championed for a number of years, starting with the establishment of the Task Force on Gender and Diversity in 2020, which was later transformed into the Coordinating Panel on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Neurology.
“Since I was secretary General of the EAN, one of my missions has been diversity, gender and equity in neurological disorders. So, we started the taskforce two years ago. I am proud to see that it has become a very successful and active coordination panel,” said Moro. “I want in the next two years to give more strength, to give more power to this area and really to develop this field. Just to give you an example, in the area of stroke, some risk factors are much different in women compared to men; in Parkinson’s disease, non-motor symptoms are much different in women compared to men. If we miss this diversity, we can’t shape treatment in the proper way; we fail in some way.”
Furthermore, Prof. Moro went on to raise several concerns about the future of neurology over the coming decade, noting the increasing pace of changes in technology, genetic research, and new discoveries in general.
“All this impacts on the strategy that we have in the hospital. Should we have more outpatients or increase bed numbers? Which kind of health plan should we suggest to governments?” she said. “We are also heading towards a desertification of students doing medical studies, residents doing neurology. We have to start thinking now about how we face this. There is artificial intelligence. What does that mean for neurologists? These are all steps that I would like to address – really with the help of everybody, because it’s not an easy task – over the next two years”.
The new EAN President was also asked how her experience within the EAN Board will help her in her new role.
“I started a long time ago, before joining the board, as the editor of EAN Pages, which is now eanNews. This got me in touch with the society, then I became the treasurer and then the secretary, then president-elect and now the president. For me, it was a fantastic journey. I learned a lot. I know the society, I love the society, and I really have the passion inside to bring this society to other horizons and to increase the success of the society. We have to reduce the burden of neurological disorders; we have to serve the neurological community in Europe and outside Europe, and the patients.”
On the subject of current EAN initiative that she plans to develop further, Prof. Moro identified three key areas: the Brain Health Mission, the Strategic Research Agenda, and the new EAN Environmental Influences in Neurology Task Force.
“The previous EAN Presidents have done an outstanding work in shaping the frame where to go in the next years. Notably, they have set the EAN Health Bain Mission plan and the EAN Research Strategic plan as framework. And we have just started the EAN environmental taskforce to study the impact of environment and climate change on neurological disorders. This is a massive amount of work. Now, it will be my job to start and consolidate their implementation together with the new fantastic EAN Board within the next two years.”
Watch the full interview with Prof. Elena Moro on our EAN TV Farewell Show from EAN 2024: EAN TV 2024: Farewell Show Tuesday on Vimeo
