Presenter: Dr. Akli Zetchi and  Dr. Thomas Waelchli

Topic: A Brief Review of Brain Arteriovenous Malformations - clinical aspects, multimodality management and current state of research/biology on brain AVMs.

Biography:

Dr. Akli Zetchi completed his medical training and his residency in neurosurgery at Laval University, in Quebec. He subsequently completed 2 years of fellowship training in interventional neuroradiology - one in Toronto at St-Michael’s Hospital and one in Paris at Hôpital Lariboisière. He is currently a cerebrovascular neurosurgery fellow at the Toronto Western Hospital, while completing a Masters of Education (Health Professions Education). Special interests include surgical education and innovation in endovascular and neurosurgical techniques.

Dr. Thomas Waelchli studied medicine at the University of Zurich and did his MD-PhD studies at ETH Zurich, University of Zurich, and the University Hospital Zurich, where he investigated the role of the neuronal growth inhibitor Nogo-A on angiogenesis in the developing brain. He subsequently completed his residency in neurosurgery at the University Hospitals Zurich and Geneva. In parallel to his clinical activities, Dr. Waelchli continues his basic and translational research aiming to better understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate angiogenesis and the neurovascular unit in brain development as well as in angiogenesis-dependent CNS pathologies such as brain arteriovenous malformations and brain tumors. Currently, he is a clinical fellow in cerebrovascular neurosurgery in the Division of Neurosurgery at the Toronto Western Hospital.