Scientific Research

Rare Diseases, Real Battles: A Physician’s Story of Persistence and Purpose

May 06, 2026

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT

From early studies in sleep medicine to a serendipitous move to Milan, where he discovered intracerebral EEG, this speaker’s journey has been shaped by curiosity and chance. By exploring the sleeping brain with intracerebral electrodes, he uncovered how sleep can both promote and suppress epileptic activity. This talk reflects on a career that helped reveal the blurred boundaries between wake and sleep and how dissociated brain states challenge traditional neurophysiological views.

This session’s speaker will be Maria L. Escolar, MD, and will be moderated by Rebecca Seal, PhD, 2025 Program Committee member.

This was selected as a part of the Neuroscience 2025 programming: Theme I – Cognition.

Speakers

Maria L. Escolar, MD

Maria L. Escolar, MD, is a physician-scientist and entrepreneur based in France with over 20 years of experience in rare neurodegenerative diseases. She was formerly chief medical officer and founding executive at Forge Biologics, a gene therapy startup, and tenured professor of pediatrics and neurodevelopmental disabilities at the University of Pittsburgh. She established the program for the Study of Neurodevelopment in Rare Disorders (NDRD). Her research focuses on biomarker development, quantitative neuroimaging, and clinical trial design in gene therapy. Most recently, she led the development of a combination therapy for Krabbe disease—hematopoietic stem cell transplantation plus AAV gene therapy in Phase II clinical trials.

Rebecca Seal, PhD

Rebecca Seal, PhD, is a professor of neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Her research focuses on neural circuits and molecular mechanisms underlying chronic pain. The lab employs a range of approaches and is developing a novel gene therapy to treat chronic pain. She earned a BS in chemistry from the University of Oregon, her PhD from Oregon Health Sciences University and completed postdoctoral training at UCSF.

Who can attend these webinars? All webinars in this series are complimentary to SfN members. Join or renew for access. This webinar is $15 for nonmembers.   

Will the webinars be available on demand? Yes, all webinars will be available to watch on demand after the live broadcast.    

How do I access the conference on the live day? After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with the event link and the option to download calendar reminders.    

What are the technology requirements for attending? These webinars are hosted on Zoom Webinar. Instructions for joining and participating in a webinar can be found here.   

Can I ask the presenters questions? Yes! You can submit any questions before the webinar through the registration form. During the webinar, you can submit questions through the Q&A box.    

Will I receive a certificate of attendance? No. SfN does not provide a certificate of attendance for webinars.

I have other questions not answered here. Email Neuronline@sfn.org with any other questions.    

Review SfN’s Code of Conduct, rules for virtual events in the Digital Learning Community Guidelines, and communications policies regarding dissemination of unpublished scientific data, listed below. SfN asks that conference attendees respect the sensitivity of information and data being presented that are not yet available to the public by following these guidelines:   

Do not capture or publicly share details of any unpublished data presented.   
If you are unsure whether data is unpublished, check with the presenter.   
Respect presenters' wishes if they indicate that the information presented is not to be shared.

Webinar Refund Policy  

What is the cancellation/refund policy for webinars?

If SfN changes fundamental details of the webinar (date, time, or speakers), nonmember registrants may request a registration refund.

SfN webinars can be watched on-demand if someone is unable to attend the live broadcast.  

Rare Diseases, Real Battles: A Physician’s Story of Persistence and Purpose

Speakers

Webinar Refund Policy What is the cancellation/refund policy for webinars? If SfN changes fundamental details of the webinar (date, time, or speakers), nonmember registrants may request a registration refund. SfN webinars can be watched on-demand if someone is unable to attend the live broadcast.

More in Scientific Research

Follow SfN