Martha J. Morrell

Seminars in Neurology is delighted to provide its readers with an outstanding collection of articles pertaining to epilepsy and the use of its therapy. Dr. Martha Morrell is Professor of Clinical Neurology at Columbia University, and has graciously tapped her time and organizational skill in preparing a balanced and very current overview of selected topics in epilepsy. Dr. Morrell is well known to neurologists around the world for her highly respected position in the field of epileptology.

By way of background; Dr. Morrell was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, received her undergraduate degree from Barnard College in New York City, attended medical school at Stanford University, and received her residency training at the University of Pennsylvania. She then performed a clinical fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania and Graduate Hospital. Following training she joined the faculty at Stanford University where she was director of the Stanford University Hospital EEG laboratories and the Stanford Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. In 1998 she became Professor of Clinical Neurology at The College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, in New York City where she is Director of the Columbia Comprehensive Epilepsy Center.

Dr. Morrell is active in the American Academy of Neurology and is responsible for a variety of topics dealing with epilepsy at the annual AAN educational meeting, including the course on "Issues in the Care of Women with Epilepsy." She is a member of the American Neurological Association. Her research has centered around women's health as it relates to epilepsy. She has authored numerous papers, book chapters, and reports dealing with the field of epilepsy and health issues for women with epilepsy.

She has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Epilepsy Foundation of Northern California. Dr. Morrell has been consistently listed in "Best Doctors in America" publications. She previously received the Lysia Forno Award for teaching excellence awarded by the residents in Neurology at Stanford University Medical School. Dr. Morrell has served on the Editorial Board of Epilepsia, is currently a member of the Editorial Board of Epilepsy Research and Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, and is an ad hoc reviewer for all of the major neurology and epilepsy journals. She served as Epilepsy Advisor to the National Institutes of Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is Past Chairman of the Epilepsy Foundation 1999-2001, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Epilepsy Society.

If you ever have the chance to hear her give a lecture you should take advantage of that opportunity. Dr. Morrell is an outstanding teacher. We are grateful to Dr. Morrell and her colleagues for providing us with such a relevant overview of a timeless topic in this issue of Seminars.