Global Burden of Disease · Research Fellowships
Honouring the 2025 Fellows Awardees
The GBOD Research Fellowships support early-career child neurologists who are building practical tools to ease the burden of neurological disease in low-resource settings. This year's recipients share a common thread: harnessing artificial intelligence to improve care for children with epilepsy and neurodevelopmental conditions.
The 2025 Cohort
Meet the Fellows
Fellow · 2025
Dr Achmad Rafli, MD
Neuropediatrician — Epilepsy & CNS Tumours Specialist
Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo National Referral Hospital
Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia
Dr Rafli is a staff member of the Neurology Division, Department of Child Health at Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo National Referral Hospital, specialising in epilepsy and central nervous system tumours. His current project — guided by Prof. Irawan M, MD, PhD, and Prof. Setyohandryastuti, MD, PhD — develops machine learning approaches for managing children with drug-resistant epilepsy, with the aim of strengthening treatment for these children, particularly in developing countries.
- Research Focus
- Machine learning for drug-resistant epilepsy in children
Fellow · 2025
Dr Vo Van Thi
Lecturer in Pediatrics, Can Tho University of Medicine & Pharmacy (CTUMP)
Pediatric Neurologist, Can Tho Children’s Hospital
Dr Thi specialises in pediatric epilepsy, seizure disorders, and neurodevelopmental conditions, with particular expertise in EEG interpretation. He teaches Pediatric Neurology and Child Psychiatry at CTUMP, contributes to competency-based curriculum reform, and has authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications. His future research centres on early autism screening, seizure prediction, and the application of AI in pediatric neurology to improve outcomes in low-resource settings.
- Research Focus
- AI for autism screening & seizure prediction