Janet Mifsud
Janet is the Professor in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of Malta. Her area of expertise is in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs used in chronic neurological disorders especially epilepsy, investigating patterns of drug use and misuse, neurotoxicology and bioethical issues.
"I founded the Caritas Malta Epilepsy Assoociation (IBE chapter) and am Secretary to the Epilepsy Society of Malta (ILAE chapter). I was formerly Vice-President (Europe) International Bureau for Epilepsy and given the International Ambassador Award for Epilepsy in 2019. I have been chosen several times by the European Commission to contribute as an external expert evaluator and is a national expert on the scientific Pharmacokinetics Working Group (PKWP) for the EU European Medicines Agency. I sit on several National Committees such as the Malta Foundation for Social Well Being and was also board member of the Malta Council for Science and Technology. I am also a Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society and was recently appointed as part of the new ILAE Climate Change Commission and Chair of the Sustainability Engagement Task Force.
My interest in climate change and epilepsy arise mostly from the fact that Malta is one of the smallest island states in UN, right in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea at the crossroads of Europe and North Africa. It is is relatively flat with few hills and any changes in climate have a huge impact on our weather, with ensuing problems arising from very hot summers and particularly wet winters with a great deal of heavy rain and floods. Preliminary studies indicate that persons with epilepsy can be susceptible to climate changes in different ways: change in incidence of seizures due to fluctuations in temperature, problems in accessing medication due to bad weather and natural disasters, need for temperature controlled storage of antiepileptic medications etc.
These observations require more awareness, further in depth scientific research and of course funding. EpiCC helps to bring together a critical mass of interdisciplinary researchers which is urgently needed to address these issues and I am really pleased to form part of it."