Louis J. Papa, M.D.
Primary Care Physician
Partner, Olsan Medical Group, Strong Health, Rochester, NY

Louis J. Papa M.D., FACP is board certified in Internal Medicine and is a primary care physician and partner at Olsan Medical Group.  He is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Rochester, where he helps educate internal medicine residents on primary outpatient care.  He is also an attending physician at Strong Memorial Hospital. In 1989, Dr. Papa graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Medicine and came to Rochester to complete his residency at Strong.  He is a member of the American College of Physicians.   Dr. Papa was elected a Fellow of the American College of Physicians at age 33, is a former Delegate for the Young Physicians Section representing New York State to the American Medical Association, and was named by his peers to "Best Doctors in America" in 2001.  He was selected by "Rochester Business Journal" as one of the "Forty under Forty" young community leaders in 2001 and was named as one of only 25 physicians under 40 years old nationally to receive the "Excellence in Medicine Award" from the American Medical Association Foundation for leadership in 2003. Dr. Papa is a member of numerous medical, civic and community committees and boards including volunteer work with the uninsured, and as Vice- President of the local medical society.

Dr. Lynn Blackburn

Pediatric Neuropsychologist

Pediatric Epilepsy Center,  St. Louis Children's Hospital

Dr. Blackburn is Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine.  Dr. Blackburn works with the full gamut of childhood epilepsy, from children with well-controlled seizures who have encountered learning problems, to children with poorly controlled seizures proceeding through surgical intervention, and children with intractable epilepsy who are not surgical candidates.  Dr. Blackburn serves on the Professional Advisory Board for the Epilepsy Foundation of the St. Louis Region, working with the Epilepsy Foundation in the production of workshops and educational pamphlets for parents and adolescents. In 2003, Dr. Blackburn published Growing Up With Epilepsy: A Practical Guide for Parents.  This book is intended to help parents take charge of their child's epilepsy, giving parents the tools to maximize their child's academic progress, social development, and emotional adjustment.  In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Blackburn has conducted research involving the effects of intractable epilepsy on intellectual development, the effects of seizures and medication on neuropsychological test performance, and the contribution of neuropsychological procedures to the medical evaluation of children for neurosurgical treatment of their epilepsy.

Robert A. Gross M.D., Ph.D, FAAN

Professor of Neurology and of Pharmacology and Physiology

University of Rochester Medical Center and Strong Epilepsy Center

Dr. Gross graduated from Harvard College and entered the Medical Scientist Training Program at Washington University, St. Louis, where he earned both MD and PhD (Pharmacology) degrees.  He trained in Neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.  Dr. Gross joined the faculty of the University of Rochester Medical Center in 1994, where he is Director of Clinical Research in the Strong Epilepsy Center and Director of the Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Neuroscience.  He is the first Director of the Academic Research Track, an innovative curriculum for medical students that prepares them for a career in medical research.  His clinical practice, in epilepsy care, is based in the Strong Epilepsy Center.  Dr. Gross conducts both basic research, focused on the neuropharmacology of the central nervous system, and clinical trials of epilepsy treatment.  He has authored numerous scientific and clinical research articles and book chapters.  He teaches basic and clinical neuropharmacology in the Medical and Graduate Schools of the University of Rochester, and lectures to physicians and the public on epilepsy care, especially the complexities of anti-seizure drug treatment.  He is a member of the Society for Neuroscience, the American Neurological Association and the American Epilepsy Society.  A fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, Dr. Gross received from that society the S. Weir Mitchell Award for basic research.  He serves as the Associate Editor of Neurology, a leading journal in the field, for which he has authored commentaries and Editorials, including an article for the public on the effect of anti-seizure drugs on bone health.  Dr. Gross is active in the Epilepsy Foundation of the Rochester, Syracuse and Binghamton regions, serving as Chair of the Professional Advisory Board and as an Officer of the Board of Directors. 

Bruce Hermann, PH.D

Director of the Matthews Neuropsychology Lab

University of Wisconsin- Madison

Dr. Hermann is a professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of its Matthews Neuropsychology Lab. He received a master's degree in clinical psychology from Wichita (Kansas) State University and a PhD in experimental psychology from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. His current research projects include studies of neuropsychological progression in new onset epilepsy, neurobehavioral features of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, semantic memory and MRI volumetrics in epilepsy, and depression in temporal lobe epilepsy. Since 2000, he has published more than 30 articles on epilepsy and related disorders in such journals as Neurology, Epilepsia, and Progress in Brain Research. Dr. Hermann is a member of the editorial boards of Epilepsia, Epilepsy Research, Epilepsy & Behavior, and Epilepsy Currents. He serves on the board of directors of the Epilepsy Foundation of America and is chair elect of its professional advisory board.

Tony Coelho

Chairman, Epilepsy Foundation

Tony Coelho, who has epilepsy, is a former member of  U.S. House of Representatives. While in the House, he authored the Americans with Disabilities Act, widely recognized as the most important piece of civil rights legislation in the last 30 years. During his 10 years in congress, Coelho served as Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and was the first-ever elected Majority Whip. He also served in senior positions on the agriculture, natural resources and administration committees. After leaving Congress in 1989, Coelho joined Wertheim Schroder & Company, Inc., an investment-banking firm in New York, where, serving in top leadership positions, he helped to grow from $400 million to $4 billion in managed investments. In 1995, Mr. Coelho formed ETC w/TCI, an education and training technology company in Washington, D.C., where he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer until it was sold in 1997. In 1999, he returned to politics when Vice President Gore asked him to serve as the General Chairman of his presidential campaign. In that position, he helped Gore capture the Democratic nomination while winning every primary and caucus

Coelho's former and current business affiliations include service on a number of corporate boards. In addition to his work in the private sector, Mr. Coelho continues to devote much of his time to public service. A native of California, Mr. Coelho earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1964 from Loyola Marymount University.

Elissa Orlando
Civilian Guest

Elissa L. Orlando is a 20-year veteran of public affairs programming and multimedia storytelling. Orlando is director of national programming and special projects at WXXI Public Broadcasting. She was producer of the nationally televised Crucible of Freedom companion program to Ken Burns Not for Ourselves Alone.  Orlando has won several New York State broadcasting awards for television news reporting in Somalia Africa, Homestead Florida and other local and national venues.  She is a recipient of the Gracie award for television programming from American Women in Radio and Television, and she is the recipient of a Telly award for her production of the TV documentary Reclaiming the Crescent.  Orlando also received the Woman of the Distinction award from the Jefferson County Women's Conference in 1995. She was formerly TV news and public affairs director at WXXI, where she also served as executive producer, Website editor and news anchor of Need to Know, WXXI's Emmy Award-winning news magazine.