Kristl Vonck

Expertise: Epilepsy, vagus nerve stimulation and other neuromodulation techniques, bioelectronic medicine and neurophysiological home-monitoring of neurological disorders

Kristl Vonck is Head of the Department ‘Head and Skin’ at Ghent University in Belgium. She was trained at Ghent University in Belgium, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA and the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. She is a fellow of the EAN and member of the EU Joint Task Force of the International League Against Epilepsy. She is a founding member of the international Neuromodulation Task Force for COVID-19. Her research interests include epilepsy, vagus nerve stimulation and other neuromodulation techniques, bioelectronic medicine and neurophysiological home-monitoring of neurological disorders. In the translational research setting of the 4Brain Research team at Ghent University, her team investigates the mechanism of action, efficacy and side effects of several neurostimulation modalities. Both in animals and patients, crucial questions are investigated for the application of neurostimulation as a valuable treatment option for neurological disorders: stimulation parameters, open and closed loop neurostimulation applications, seizure detection and prediction algorithms, invasive versus non-invasive neurostimulation. Proof-of-concept and early innovative techniques for neurological monitoring@home are validated at the excellence Center for Neurofysiological Monitoring (CNM) of Ghent University Hospital before being investigated in a home environment. Kristl Vonck has published widely in international peer-reviewed journals (>200 papers), has authored seven book chapters and has given >200 international presentations.