Keynote Speakers

KEYNOTE: "WHAT COULD THE FUTURE OF CP TREATMENTS LOOK LIKE?" 

Developing novel preventative/therapeutic approaches for CP will require integrated approaches incorporating unbiased medium-to-high throughput screens that leverage small as well as large animal models. Here, Dr. Emin Maltepe will detail his experience developing therapeutics for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy for the low- and middle-income country setting using such an approach.  Dr. Maltepe will describe the unique aspects of this approach and how they can be leveraged for therapeutics development for other drivers of CP including intraventricular hemorrhage or genetic disorders.  Additionally, Dr. Maltepe will outline our experience leveraging such a platform to develop novel prognostic biomarkers that can help guide clinical decision making.

Dr. Emin Maltepe  -  University of California, San Francisco

Dr. Emin Maltepe is a Professor of Pediatrics, Biomedical Sciences, and Developmental and Stem Cell Biology at UCSF. His research laboratory studies mechanisms whereby hypoxia signaling pathways regulate normal development, contribute to the origins of pregnancy complications, and drive disease processes such as pulmonary hypertension and retinopathy of prematurity in newborn infants.

Additionally, Dr. Maltepe is a co-founder of the Initiative for Pediatric Drug and Device Development (www.ipd3.org), a multi-institutional collaborative comprised of leaders in pediatrics and pharmaceutical sciences that functions as a ”one-stop-shop” to advance drug and device development for pediatric indications. In this capacity, we have been working with non-profit and industry sponsors on multiple fronts, including neurotherapeutics for birth asphyxia, novel oxygen delivery biotherapeutics for treatment of hemorrhagic shock, as well as cardioprotective agents for infants undergoing repair of congenital heart defects.


KEYNOTE: "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR ENHANCING CARE IN CP" 

Discover how state-of-the-art advances in artificial intelligence are improving care for individuals with cerebral palsy.

This keynote will showcase clinically-driven innovations supporting earlier diagnoses, more personalized interventions, and smarter long-term management, offering a glimpse into the future of care for individuals with CP.

Dr. Alexis Mitelpunkt  -  Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center

Dr. Alexis Mitelpunkt, M.D., B.Sc. is a pediatric neurologist, physiatrist, and computer scientist. He is the director of the pediatric rehabilitation divison at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center and a Senior Lecturer at The Gray Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University. His work integrates clinical care, artificial intelligence, and data science to enhance pediatric neurorehabilitation.

Dr. Mitelpunkt has led pioneering research in medical big data analytics, machine learning applications in neurodevelopmental disorders, and precision rehabilitation medicine. His collaborative efforts at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center brought together specialists from Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Occupational and Physical Therapy, and biomedical informatics to develop data-driven models for personalized patient care.

His innovative contributions include predictive modeling for early diagnosis of prematurity complicaitons and motor function in cerebral palsy, redefining Cerebral Palsy and Alzheimer’s disease subtypes using computational approaches, and advancing brain-computer interface and virtual reality applications in pediatric rehabilitation. As a principal investigator on multiple national and international grants, he continues to drive forward the intersection of medicine and technology to improve clinical outcomes for children.


International Speakers

  • Dr. Cathy Morgan  -  Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute, University of Sydney


Workshop Speakers

  • Dr. Lauren Ayala  -  University of Utah

  • Kanishka Baduni  -  University of Georgia, Emory University

  • Dr. Robert Bruce  -  Emory University

  • Dr. Joanna Burton  -  Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital

  • Daniela Castro  -  Emory University

  • Dana Dinet  -  Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

  • Dr. Andrea Duncan  -  Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

  • Dr. Eileen Fowler  -  UCLA

  • Dr. Gwendolyn Gerner  -  Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital

  • Dr. Jill Heathcock  -  The Ohio State University

  • Dr. Simon Keep  -  The Ohio State University

  • Dr. Rachel Kempfert  -  Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

  • Dr. Salathiel Kendrick-Allwood  -  Emory University

  • Dr. Caitlin Kjeldsen  -  Emory University

  • Dr. Jacob Lepard  -  Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

  • Dr. Lisa Letzkus  -  University of Virginia

  • Dr. Enoch Leung  -  Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

  • Jennifer Lyman  -  Cerebral Palsy Foundation

  • Dr. Nathalie Maitre  -  Emory University

  • Dr. Larken Marra  -  Emory University

  • Allison McIntyre  -  Emory University

  • Megan Moran  -  Emory University

  • Dr. Melissa Murphy  -  Emory University

  • Dr. Mary Lauren Neel  -  Emory University

  • Dr. Betsy Ostrander  -  University of Utah

  • Dr. Mark Peterson  -  University of Michigan

  • Dr. Colleen Peyton  -  Northwestern University

  • Valerie Pieraccini  -  United Cerebral Palsy of Central Arizona

  • Dr. Nicole Pouppirt  -  Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

  • Dr. Laura Prosser  -  Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

  • Paige Ryals  -  Emory University

  • Dr. Barbara Sargent  -  University of Southern California

  • Dr. Paulo Selber  -  Hospital for Special Surgery

  • Dr. Durga Shah  -  Emory University

  • Dr. Theresa Sukal-Moulton  -  Northwestern University

  • Dr. Josh Vova  -  Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

  • Dr. Seth Warchausky  -  University of Michigan

  • Dr.  Sarah  Winter  -  University of Utah

  • Louise Wulfsohn  -  Children's Hospital of Philadelphia