I am approximately 40 days into my two-year CNS presidency term. When I look back at my stated goals as President-Elect of the CNS in December 2024, I clearly had no idea what 2025 would bring. A few words come to mind right now:
HOPE
Annual Meeting:
Charlotte, North Carolina, proved once again to be a wonderful location for our CNS Annual Meeting. Our Scientific Selection and Program Planning Committee (SSPPC) selected a variety of offerings to encourage learning, mingling, and cross-pollination; a testament to the value the CNS brings us all. Highlights included interactive workshops, industry sponsorship of meeting room AV for your Special Interest Groups, the inaugural CNS Genetics Summit, and moving from the previously ticketed Kenneth F. Swaiman CNS Legacy Luncheon to the new Kenneth F. Swaiman Opening Address and Awards Ceremony, where all were invited at no cost.
The 55th Annual Meeting will be held Wednesday, October 14, through Saturday, October 17, 2026, at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, Québec, Canada. We look forward to increased international presence from our Canadian colleagues and others worldwide.
Committee Appointments:
CNS had an overwhelming response yet again to our call for committee members. Revamped governance in 2022 resulted in longer terms, limiting the number of open slots for new members this year; however, our newly formed Child Neurology Community Panel Program offers another way for members to engage.
PATIENCE
Many of us have learned to be patient, to count to ten, and to not react to the daily barrage of US news headlines meant to distract us from other endeavors. As an action-oriented person, I felt we needed to engage in a few focused priorities:
VAX-YASK:
In August 2025, we formed the CNS Vaccine Action Task Force. Working with our lobby partner Lobby It, we have met with key political leaders to underscore the importance of protecting our already neurologically vulnerable patients from vaccine-preventable illnesses.
The Vaccine Statement Workgroup drafted a brief letter stating our position, and some of us attended the two-day virtual CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting in September. Thankfully, changes made to the US vaccine schedule were minimal. The next ACIP meeting is in December, and we are strategizing on how best to position ourselves, as there may be renewed efforts to alter the vaccine schedule.
The Webinar Planning Workgroup created instructional videos to educate medical professionals on recognizing conditions like influenza A related acute necrotizing encephalopathy and measles/SSPE. The videos will be available to CNS members in Q1 of the new year. Key stakeholders from the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society have approached us to partner with them for broader distribution of our vaccine-focused educational materials.
Lastly, we will develop a one-page handout, so that clinicians can speak confidently with patients, caregivers/families, colleagues, and the public about the data regarding the risk benefit of vaccine side effects of vaccines with the neurologic complications of vaccine-preventable illnesses.
Autism Spectrum Disorder:
CNS released an official statement regarding the lack of data regarding Tylenol (acetaminophen) as a cause of ASD and have assembled a small task force to address the use of leucovorin in patients with ASD. More to come in 2026.
Research:
As mentioned in an earlier presidential summary, the dismantling of research infrastructure has resulted in the shuttling of precious resources away from scientific initiatives. CNS will develop research initiatives in 2026, which may include sessions on guidance from experts for those whose funding was disrupted. I am interested in developing proposals for the 2026 Annual Meeting around this topic.
PROMISE
We’ve started planning for the 55th CNS Annual Meeting, and I’m excited that the SSPPC is coming together to organize another event. My presidential symposium, Survivorship in Child Neurology, will bring together my oncology and neurology hats. As a neurology resident in the 1990s, I never imagined therapies for SMA and Rett Syndrome. As a neuro-oncology fellow, targeted therapies for NF-associated tumors seemed unimaginable. We will need to focus on transition of care when patients with previously lethal conditions survive into adulthood. Survivorship of our workforce will also be addressed. As an early-career child neurologist, I was hopeful about my future. I never imagined a pandemic that would upend our lives and lead to many physicians leaving medicine and others from URM communities running towards medicine to tackle the gross inequities in healthcare access. And no, I never thought about burnout and wellness as much as I do now.
So, I end this piece wishing you well for the holidays and for 2026. See you soon!