William Davis Gaillard, M.D.

  • Division Chief, Epilepsy, Neurophysiology, and Critical Care Neurology
  • Division Chief, Neurology
  • Director, Comprehensive Pediatric Epilepsy Program
  • Associate Director, Center for Neuroscience Research
    • Fellowship, Epilepsy, Clinical Neurophysiology & Neuroimaging, Clinical Epilepsy Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders at the National Institutes of Health, Washington, DC, (1990-1993)
    • Residency (Chief Resident, 1988-1990), Pediatric Neurology, John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, (1987-1990)
    • Internship & Residency, Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, (1985-1987)
    • M.D., Medicine, Yale University, School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, (1985)
    • B.A., History, Yale College, New Haven, CT, (1980)
  • William D. Gaillard, M.D., professor of neurology and neurophysiology, is chief of the Divisions of Child Neurology and of Epilepsy and Neurophysiology. He is director of the Comprehensive Pediatric Epilepsy Program — one of the leading multidisciplinary pediatric epilepsy programs in the country. As associate director of the Children’s National Research Institute’s Center for Neuroscience Research, he is responsible for overseeing and organizing clinical neuroscience research. Dr. Gaillard is professor of pediatrics and neurology at the George Washington University School of Medicine; professor of neurology, Georgetown University; and Adjunct Professor of Hearing and Speech Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park. Additionally, Dr. Gaillard holds longstanding collaborations with the Clinical Epilepsy Section (CES), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and NIH.

    His innovative research utilizes advanced structural and functional imaging to examine the effects of epilepsy on brain structure and function. His pioneering work with functional imaging has changed clinical practice for patients with epilepsy, made important technical contributions to structural and functional imaging methods, and provided fundamental scientific insights on the biology of brain plasticity. Ultimately, the goal of his research is to improve the outcomes and lives of children with epilepsy.

    Dr. Gaillard is a past president of the American Epilepsy Society. He is past treasurer of the American Epilepsy Society, past chair of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Commission on Diagnostics, past chair of the ILAE Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Task Force and past member of the Pediatric Commission. He is a past editor of Epilepsy Research and a past editor of Epilepsia. He is the author of more than 240 peer-reviewed scientific papers and more than 50 chapters and holds longstanding federal and foundation grant funding.