Interview with Dr. Jonathan Coutinho

What does the ESO scientific excellence award mean to you?

The ESO scientific excellence award is a recognition of the stroke research that me and my research team have been performing over the past years. It is great to see that our research is acknowledged by such an esteemed organisation like ESO and motivates us to keep up the good work!

What is your motivation to do stroke research?

Part of it is that I am curious by nature. I like to help to find better treatments for tomorrow’s stroke patient. What particularly motivated me to go into stroke research is that the burden of this condition is so high. Stroke ranks in the top 3 in the global burden of disease index, meaning that high-quality research will have an impact on so many patients worldwide.

What are you currently working on?

My research focuses on the following topics:
A. Cerebral venous thrombosis. We recently developed an international research agenda (published in Int J Stroke). I hope to help solve this research agenda in the coming years
B. Early diagnosis and treatment of ischemic stroke. With the people in this group, we try to diagnose stroke faster (for instance by researching the value of EEG to diagnose stroke in the ambulance) and further refine reperfusion therapy for stroke patients

Why should young stroke researchers become active at ESO?

ESO is the most important stroke organisation in Europe (and perhaps of the world). They do so many good things from stroke research, harmonization of stroke care, to lobby work with policy makers. Anyone who is serious about stroke research should be involved with (and member of) ESO!

What are your interests beyond clinical work and research?

Mostly family and traveling (which often go hand-in-hand). I also love playing padel!