LECTURERS

We are happy to share the Nordic Stroke Society Congress speakers here!
The information on this page is updated continuously.

 

Aleksandra Ekkert

Aleksandra Ekkert is a neurologist with special interest in stroke, especially posterior circulation stroke, vertigo, and vascular ultrasound. Her PhD thesis was dedicated to posterior stroke reperfusion therapy strategies. Aleksandra has a particular interest in non-medicamental stroke prevention strategies, including lifestyle medicine and health coaching. She is a certified health coach, as well, thus helping the patients to achive sustainable healthy lifestyle strategies to prevent cardiovascular disease.

 

Agnethe Eltoft, MD, PhD


Agnethe Eltoft is a specialist in neurology with expertise in stroke care, clinical stroke research, and cardiovascular disease epidemiology. She holds a PhD focused on biomarkers and atherosclerosis as predictors of cardiovascular disease, based on data from the population-based Tromsø Study. Eltoft works as a senior consultant at the Neurology Department, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, and as an associate professor at the Department of Clinical Medicine, UiT The Arctic University of Norway. She is affiliated with the Brain and Circulation research group.

Her clinical and research interests include acute stroke care, neuroimaging, and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to support clinical decision-making. Eltoft has contributed to national and international randomized controlled stroke trials and is involved in several regional initiatives. These include projects focused on integrating AI into stroke diagnostics and treatment workflows, as well as implementing remote-controlled CT scanning combined with telestroke-guided assessment and treatment to improve decentralized stroke care in rural areas. She also leads a project evaluating the potential benefits of atrial fibrillation screening in the general population.

Through interdisciplinary collaboration, her efforts are aimed at advancing diagnostic and treatment strategies to better serve patients and address challenges in stroke care delivery.

Dorte Damgaard

Dorte Damgaard is senior consultant at Department of Neurology, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. She is working with treatment of acute stroke and stroke rehabilitation. Her research is focusing on cardioembolic stroke and secondary prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation including trials with LAAO.

Petra Ijäs

Petra Ijäs, MD, PhD, MSc, is a stroke neurologist and researcher based in Helsinki, Finland. She holds MD, PhD from the University of Helsinki and a Master of Science in Stroke Medicine from Danube University Krems. She currently serves as Head Physician at Helsinki University Hospital and Adjunct Professor of Neurology at University of Helsinki. With over two decades of clinical and academic experience, Dr. Ijäs has specialized in stroke medicine, neurosonology, and neurovascular disorders. She currently leads a research group at the Neurological Research Unit, Biomedicum Helsinki where her major research interests are carotid stenosis and maternal stroke. She has supervised several doctoral and master's theses and actively contributes to scientific peer review and editorial boards.

 

Prof Peter Kelly MB BCh MSc MD FRCPI FESO

After completing training in Dublin, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Prof Kelly returned to Dublin where he is Professor of Neurology and Stroke Service Co-Director at Mater University Hospital/University College Dublin. He is immediate Past President of the European Stroke Organisation, and has served in a leading role in multiple ESO initiatives, including the Executive Committee, Stroke Action Plan for Europe, European Stroke Organisation Conference, ESO Trials Network Committee, and ESO Trials Alliance (ESOTA).

 

His research focus is on clinical trials and risk prediction for secondary prevention after stroke, with a particular focus on inflammation. He was Chief Investigator on the CONVINCE trial and several other large multi-centre studies, and Lead Investigator for the Health Research Board Stroke Clinical Trials Network Ireland. He has been awarded approximately €15 million in research funding, over €10 million as principal investigator. He has published widely in leading journals, contributed to national and international stroke guidelines, edited a book on stroke prevention and served on the editorial boards of leading international journals. From 2010-16, he was Neurology Clinical Lead for the Irish National Stroke Programme, a national quality improvement programme which led modernisation of clinical care for stroke in Ireland.

 

 

 

 

 

Liisa Kõrv

Liisa Kõrv is a neurologist at the North Estonia Medical Centre in Tallinn, Estonia. Her primary area of interest is cerebrovascular disorders, with a particular focus on stroke in young adults. Her PhD research explores the epidemiology of stroke in this age group, as well as the metabolomics of ischemic stroke. In addition to her clinical and academic work, Liisa Kõrv is an active member of the Nordic Stroke Society, where she currently serves as Secretary.

Perttu J. Lindsberg

Perttu J. Lindsberg is Professor in Neurology (2007-25), Chairman of the Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Helsinki, as well as Chief Physician in Department of Neurology, Helsinki University Hospital (HUH)(2019-25). He is Research Director in the Neurological Research Unit, Biomedicum Helsinki (2002-) in Clinical Neurosciences at the Academic Medical Center Helsinki, Finland.

Perttu Lindsberg is a founding Fellow of ESO and has been a scientific board member, plenary speaker and session chair in numerous European stroke conferences since 1999. He has acted as the Treasurer of the Nordic Stroke Society and been an organizer of Stroke Summer Schools by ESO. He is a Fellow of AHA and Foreign Associate of AAN.

Lindsberg started his scientific career in 1987 in Bethesda, United States with basic studies of stroke. As the Chief of Emergency Room (ER) neurology services (2000-2007) in HUH, Lindsberg undertook a key role in the streamlining the chain of survival in stroke, which eventually took more than an hour off the in-hospital thrombolysis delay. Lindsberg has been an active investigator in numerous international clinical trials of neuroprotection and thrombolysis. His investigations on basilar occlusion revealed that intravenous thrombolysis is at least as effective as any intra-arterial approach.

Ellisiv B. Mathiesen

Ellisiv B. Mathiesen is Professor of Neurology at the Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Tromsø The Arctic University of Norway (UiT), and Senior Consultant, Dept. of Neurology, University Hospital of Northern Norway, Tromsø, Norway. She is Head of the Brain and Circulation Research Group at UiT.

Her main research interests are acute stroke treatment and epidemiology of stroke and pre- and intracerebral artery disease.

 

 

 

Atte Meretoja

Associate Professor Atte Meretoja, MD, PhD, MSc, MBA, FRACP was trained by stroke unit and thrombolysis pioneer Prof Markku Kaste, and has medical specialist degrees in Neurology and Public Health Medicine. He graduated from the first class of the European Master in Stroke Medicine (MSc) at the Donau University Krems, Austria, supervised by past European (ESO) and World Stroke Organization (WSO) president Prof Michael Brainin. He joined past WSO presidents Prof Stephen Davis and Prof Geoffrey Donnan in Melbourne, Australia, for 2011-2015 and has worked at the Helsinki University Hospital, Finland after that. He is a board member of the WSO and the editorial boards of International Journal of Stroke and European Stroke Journal. With 200+ original publications at average impact factor of 26 and 140 000+ citations, his research interests are in streamlining acute ischaemic stroke reperfusion therapies, epidemiology and economics of stroke, and developing acute therapies for intracerebral haemorrhage.

 

Bo Norrving

Bo Norrving is senior professor in neurology at Lund University, Sweden. He has published >700 papers, >190 K citations and has a H-index of 130.

He is a founder of the Swedish Stroke Register (Riksstroke), the world’s 1st national stroke registry. He chaired the Action Plan for Stroke in Europe 2018 to 2030 organized by the European Stroke Organisation.

He chaired the cerebrovascular disease group for revision of ICH-11 at the World Health Organisation. Under his initiative, a single block of all cerebrovascular diseases under diseases of the nervous system was created.

Bo Norrving was President of the World Stroke Organisation from 2008 to 2012. Bo Norrving has served as stroke representative at WHO and the UN for many years. He has played an important leadership role in raising the profile of stroke globally. He currently co-chairs the Global Stroke Action Coalition.

He has received several awards including the AHA/ASA Sherman Award, the ESO Presidential Award, the EAN Romberg award, the Nordic Stroke award, Karolinska Stroke award, Monrad Krohn award, and World Stroke Organization Leadership and Services for Stroke awards.

Bo Norrving was the inaugural Editor-in-Chief for the European Stroke Journal from 2015 to 2021.  

 

 

 

 

Kateriine Orav

Kateriine Orav works as a neurologist in the Neurology Department of North-Estonia Medical Centre in Tallinn, Estonia. From 2020-2022 she was a member of the European Stroke Organization Young Stroke Physicians and Researchers Committee. Currently, she is a board member of the Nordic Stroke Society and president of the Estonian League Against Epilepsy. Her research interests are status epilepticus, acute symptomatic seizures and epilepsy imaging. 

Hege Prag Øra

Hege Prag Øra is a Medical Doctor and specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Since 2010, she has been employed at Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital, where she currently serves as the Head Physician of the Stroke Department. Additionally, she holds the position of associate professor at the University of Oslo. She has clinical experience in the rehabilitation of patients with acquired brain injuries, with a particular focus on aphasia research. Her doctoral thesis explored telerehabilitation for patients with aphasia following stroke. She is also an active member of the Collaboration of Aphasia Trialists (CATs) and participated as a research fellow in the core group responsible for the new Aphasia Rehabilitation Guideline by the European Stroke Organisation (ESO).

 

Dr. Martinez-Majander

Dr. Martinez-Majander is a neurologist at the Department of Neurology, Helsinki University Hospital. He’s chairing the ESO Membership Committee and is a member of the ESO Guideline Board. In 2019, Dr. Martinez-Majander also graduated from the ESO European Master in Stroke Medicine Programme (Danube University Krems, Austria) and in 2023 from the Evidence-Based Health Care Programme (University of Oxford). His PhD focused on risk factors and long-term outcome in early-onset cryptogenic stroke. 

Evija Miglane

Evija Miglane, MD, PhD is a current president of Latvian Stroke Society and Latvian Society of Neurologists. She is the Head of the Department of Neurology in P.Stradins Clinical University hospital and associated professor in Riga Stradins University, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery.

The main research areas are cerebrovascular disease, stroke and neurodegenerative diseases.

She has published 17 SCOPUS indexed publications as well as many conference papers and theses. In 2020 Evija Miglane won the ESO Angels Spirit of Excellence Award for Commitment to Excellence in Stroke Care

 

Juhan Reimand

Juhan Reimand is a neuroradiologist at North Estonia Medical Centre. After completing his medical degree at the University of Tartu in 2012, he went on to pursue a combined residency in radiology and nuclear medicine. In 2021, Dr. Reimand defended his PhD, a joint program between Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Tallinn University of Technology, focusing on amyloid diagnostics in Alzheimer’s disease. He has been awarded the European Diploma in Neuroradiology and is currently undergoing the studies for the European Diploma in Pediatric Neuroradiology. His clinical and research interests are centered on advanced neuroimaging techniques, with a particular focus on stroke, dementia and epilepsy.

Associate Professor Melinda B. Roaldsen MD 

Melinda B. Roaldsen is an Associate Professor and Vice Head of the Department of Clinical Medicine at UiT, The Arctic University of Norway. 

A medical doctor, Dr. Roaldsen has dedicated her career to advancing stroke research, care, and clinical practice.

With clinical experience in the fields of neurology, neurosurgery, and ophthalmology and over a decade experience in stroke research Roaldsen has led major research initiatives, is a lead author of several Cochrane reviews and holds key leadership roles as Chief Operations Officer of the Stroke Action Plan for Europe (SAP-E), Ambassador for the Global Stroke Action Coalition and serves on the European Stroke Organisation’s guideline committee.

 

In 2023, Dr. Roaldsen experienced a stroke herself. This life-altering event has added a deeply personal dimension to her professional mission. Since then, she has become a passionate advocate for stroke awareness, prevention, and patient-centered care - sharing her journey to inspire change and foster empathy within healthcare systems.

 

Ainars Rudzitis

Ainars Rudzitis is an Associate Professor at Riga Stradins University and a cardiologist at Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital, Latvian Centre of Cardiology (Riga, Latvia). He holds a PhD in Medicine and is Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC). He has extensive training in cardiology, including echocardiography and cardiac catheterization, with experience from institutions in Latvia, Switzerland, France and Germany.

Dr. Rudzitis is the Chairman of the Board of the Rare Diseases Research Fund (Latvia) and a member of the Latvian Society of Cardiology. He serves as a proctor in the Baltic States for Abbott Structural and CARDIA devices. His current research is related with cardio-embolic stroke prevention (device based left atrial appendage occlusion, PFO closure). He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and is recognized for his contributions to research on pulmonary hypertension and structural heart disease.

Jori Ruuskanen

Jori Ruuskanen, MD, PhD, is a Finnish neurologist and associate professor (Docent) of neurology at the University of Turku, specializing in neurology and clinical pharmacology. He serves as an acute neurologist at the Neurocenter, Turku University Hospital, and as a medical specialist at Medbase, Turku. In 2024, he was appointed Head of the Stroke Section of the Finnish Neurological Society.

Dr. Ruuskanen has contributed to numerous clinical studies in acute stroke treatment and stroke secondary prevention. His own line of research focuses particularly on ischemic stroke and cerebral venous thrombosis, with collaborations extending to pharmacological aspects of traumatic brain injury. His research has been widely published in high-impact journals such as Stroke, Neurology, and J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. His recent work also addresses outcomes and statin use after ischemic stroke.

He is fluent in Finnish, English, Swedish, and French, and actively contributes to the European Stroke Organisation, Finnish Pharmacological Society, and Finnish Neurological Society.

 

Kristina Ryliskiene

Kristina Ryliskiene, MD, PhD is an associate professor at Vilnius University. Her clinical and research interests include headache, vertigo and dizziness, and stroke in the young. In 2008, her PhD thesis explored migraines, PFO, and stroke links. Currently she is a practicing neurologist at Vilnius University Hospital Santariskiu klinikos, where she is actively involved in heart and brain team work. Additionally, she leads the headache centre at the private hospital Meliva Kardiolitos Klinikos.

 

 

 

 

Anders Sode West

Work 

I work full time as a Stroke doctor at the acute stroke unit at University Hospital Rigshospitalet.  

where I also handle IVT and EVT patients. I am also involved in post stroke neurorehabilitation, where I also have my research interest. 

I live in Copenhagen, Denmark and I have 4 children and a wife who is an anesthesiologist. 

Research interests: 

I am interested in post stroke complications, why they occur and the multiple effects it can have on the human body mentally and physiologically.  

I have been involved in research during the last 10 years on post stroke complications, especially regarding sleep disturbances after stroke, circadian disturbances in relation to stroke, post stroke depression + anxiety, and post stroke fatigue. In our group we are also focused on the impact strokes have on our metabolism, including the coagulation system. 

 

One of our achievements was to demonstrate that circadian light during admission for post stroke rehabilitation, seems to improve post stroke complications regarding depression, fatigue, anxiety and levels of melatonin and cortisol.