Associate professor Emilija Cvetkovska, MD, PhD, is a neurologist and the Head of Epileptology at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Northern Macedonia. She has been a member of the International Medis Awards expert panel since 2019.

Countless times have I told my colleagues and friends what a noble and important job Medis is doing by appreciating research work and awarding researchers. Having seen the gratefulness and enthusiasm of the last year's IMA awardees, I would only add that Medis is on the right track. The quality of the work I have read is of a very high standard and it is a difficult task for the panel members to decide who should be the winner.

I believe that research is of the highest importance, but unfortunately I have to say that in my country the conditions for that are rather limited. That is why I spent some time abroad (at the Cleveland Clinic, USA) where I had the opportunity to upgrade my knowledge and conduct research.

In neurology, there are a lot of new and exciting things going on right now, both in diagnostics as well as therapy. On the diagnostic side, I would like to mention neuroimaging and neurophysiology, as well as an advance in genetic understanding of complex diseases (e.g. epilepsies, which are my subspecialty) which will ultimately lead to precision/individual therapy for our patients. On the therapeutic side, there is a flourish of immunomodulatory therapy (for multiple sclerosis and other neuroimmunological disorders), as well as genetic therapy (for spinal muscular atrophy). Unfortunately, therapeutic options are still rather limited for neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. dementias).

My biggest pleasure at work is seeing my patients doing well and being able to go back to their normal lives, 

concludes Prof. Cvetkovska, who loves her career so much that she would definitely opt for it again. Although she leads a very busy life, she still finds time for other pleasures, which include travelling, hiking, swimming and playing Nintendo with her nephew.