Valery L. Feigin
I am a professor of neurology and epidemiology and director of the National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neurosciences at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand. I am also a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand; an affiliate professor of the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington (U.S.); visiting professor of Capital Medical University (China); a member of the WHO Technical Advisory Group on NCD-Related Research and Innovation; founder and ex-officio co-chair of the GBD Stroke and Neurology Groups; editor-in-chief of Neuroepidemiology (IF 5.7) and co-chair of the Global Policy Committee of the World Stroke Organization (WSO) where I also served as a member of the Board of Directors, co-chair of the Research Committee, Guidelines Committee, Member-at-Large, and Executive Committee.
I have been working with the WFN for more than a decade as an active neurology advocate (including the Soriano Award Lecture and other public lectures and interviews), and served as a member of the Neuroepidemiology Speciality Group. Together with seven other WHO Stroke Advisory Group members for ICD-11, we justified and argued successfully for the reclassification of stroke as a neurological disease, which was endorsed for global use by the U.N. in 2020.
My 500-plus journal publications (h-index 136) have been cited more than 330,000 times, and used for evidence-based guidelines, health-care planning, priority setting, and resource allocation across the globe.
My motivation to become a trustee of the WFN is to enhance the role of the WFN in the global awareness of neurological disorders and implementation of evidence-based prevention and management strategies, workforce development, and organization of neurological services to reduce the burden of neurological disorders, with strong emphasis on low- and middle-income countries. Given my position on the Global Burden of Disease Study, I would also like to ensure that more WFN members are involved as co-authors/lead authors in the GBD Study collaboration. •
