After postdoctoral training, Libor Velisek, M.D., Ph.D., defended his habilitation thesis and was appointed associate professor, and later, chair, of the Department of Pathological Physiology at the Third Faculty of Medicine. In 1997, he joined Albert Einstein College of Medicine as full-time faculty. In 2002, he was appointed associate professor of neurology and in 2003, of neuroscience.
Dr. Velisek joined NYMC in 2010 as professor of cell biology and anatomy, and of pediatrics, and in 2012, of neurology. He received training in developmental epilepsy research and in neurophysiology (experimental and perioperative), and his research interests are focused on translational research of pediatric epilepsy syndromes, especially infantile spasms. In 2007, Dr. Velisek’s lab developed and validated a realistic model of this devastating seizure syndrome of infancy, which is now used to study mechanisms of these infantile seizures, as well as for testing novel treatments. Dr. Velisek is currently supported by NIH and by industry awards.
After joining NYMC, Dr. Velisek, together with Dr. Veliskova, founded and has been maintaining the Behavioral Core Phenotyping Facility for rodents. The core is used not only by NYMC investigators but also by numerous collaborators from the tri-state area. Dr. Velisek is also the course director for the Neuroscience Course (SOM), where he successfully implemented small group self-directed learning exercises.
Education
- M.D., Faculty of General Medicine, Charles University
- Ph.D., Human Physiology, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
Areas of Expertise
- Developmental Epilepsy
Publications
- Iacobas DA, Veliskova J, Chachua T, et. al. "Neurotransmission Sex Dichotomy in the Rat Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus in Healthy and Infantile Spasm Model." Current issues in molecular biology, 47(5), (2025) . doi: 10.3390/cimb47050380
- Obot P, Cibelli A, Pan J, et. al. "Pannexin1 Mediates Early-Life Seizure-Induced Social Behavior Deficits." ASN neuro, 16(1), (2024) 2371164. doi: 10.1080/17590914.2024.2371164
- Chachua T, Chern CR, Velíšková J, et. al. "Epileptic spasms in infancy: Transferring rat prenatal betamethasone-postnatal NMDA model to mice." Neuroscience letters, 813(), (2023) 137431. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2023.137431
- Obot P, Subah G, Schonwald A, et. al. "Astrocyte and Neuronal Panx1 Support Long-Term Reference Memory in Mice." ASN neuro, 15(), (2023) 17590914231184712. doi: 10.1177/17590914231184712
- Obot P, Subah G, Schonwald A, et. al. "Astrocyte and neuronal Panx1 support long-term reference memory in mice." bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, (), (2023) . pii: 2023.01.16.524236. doi: 10.1101/2023.01.16.524236
- Zhu Q, Mishra A, Park JS, et. al. "Human cortical interneurons optimized for grafting specifically integrate, abort seizures, and display prolonged efficacy without over-inhibition." Neuron, 111(6), (2023) 807-823.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.12.014
- Chern CR, Lauková M, Schonwald A, et. al. "Novel neurosteroid pregnanolone pyroglutamate suppresses neurotoxicity syndrome induced by tetramethylenedisulfotetramine but is ineffective in a rodent model of infantile spasms." Pharmacological reports : PR, 75(1), (2023) 177-188. doi: 10.1007/s43440-022-00437-1
Professional Service
- Associate Editor, Neuroreport, 2012 to present
- Editorial Board Member, Epilepsy Research, 2011 to present
- Associate Editor, Children Child Neurology Section, 2020 to present
Teaching Responsibilities
- Neurosciences
- Clinical Reasoning Exercises: Self-Directed Learning
