Department to Department Visit Programme

The ESO Department to Department Visit Programme is a grant of EUR 1,500 offered to up to 10 young physicians and researchers to support a short visit of a week or as a contribution to a longer visit to an European department or laboratory.

The programme aims to provide insight into stroke departments outside the applicant’s home country.

The application period for 2023 applications has been extended!
Deadline: 6 March 2023
See below for more details about the application process and deadline.

Who Should Apply?

Physicians or researchers up to 40 years of age – with an interest in the field of stroke.
Applicants must be ESO members. Junior Membership is free, and the application is available here).
The grant can only be received once.
The host institution has to be located in a European country.

ESO encourages qualified candidates to apply. We seek candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our scientific and humanitarian principles. Selection of the position is made on a competitive basis and we are committed to promoting diversity.

In the selection process, we have a special emphasis on applicants from European low-middle and upper-middle income countries (as defined by the World Bank), interested in improving the stroke pathways and care in their institutions and six grants per year are reserved for this purpose.

How to Apply

The application period is now open for 2025 visits.
Interested applicants are requested to complete and submit the following documents all together:

ESO D2D Application Form
Invitation letter from Head of the Department/Institution where you want to visit (Host Institution)
Letter of recommendation from the supervisor or head of your department
Personal letter of motivation (1/2 page)
CV in English (1-2 pages)
List of publications
Copy of national identity card/passport

If you require assistance to establish contact with an institution, please contact Dr. Ellis van Etten from the “ESO Young Stroke Physicians and Researchers committee” by email to e.s.van_etten@lumc.nl.

Applications must be submitted to the ESO Secretariat by email to esoinfo@eso-stroke.org
by 28 February 2025.

For any questions, please write to esoinfo@eso-stroke.org

The application period is now closed for 2025 visits.
The application period for 2026 visits will open at the end of 2025. All necessary information will be announced in due time.

2025 Department to Department Visit Programme Grant Awardees

Awardee
Gabriel Manrique Gutierrez (Mexico)
Louise Maes (Belgium)
Jane Buckley (Ireland)
Mariami Goletiani (Georgia)
Abishek Chapagain (Nepal)
Arbana Rexhepi (North Macedonia)
Stefan Bojovic (Montenegro)
Yuriy Sharov (Kazakhstan)
Ketevan Dzagoevi (Georgia)
Ivan Petrovic (Serbia)

Host Institution
University of Oxford, UK
Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Hospital Sant Pau Barcelona, Spain
St. George’s University Hospital London, UK
Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK
University Hospital Bern, Switzerland
University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
University Hospital Bern, Switerland
Evangelical Hospital Unna, Germany
Neurology Clinic, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany

Department to Department Visit Reports

Dr. Stefan Bojovic

University Hospital Basel, from Clinical Centre of Montenegro, Podgorica

“My visit to the University Hospital of Basel offered valuable insight into how one of Europe’s leading healthcare systems delivers high-quality
stroke care through excellent organization and teamwork. I would especially like to thank my mentor during this journey, Dr. Joachim Fladt. It was a real pleasure to work alongside him and learn from his knowledge and clinical approach. I’m also very grateful to all the staff in the stroke unit and emergency department for their warm welcome and for openly sharing their experience with me.”

Read Report

Dr. Megha Chaudhary Khanna

RKH Klinikum Ludwigsburg, from Christian Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab

“I deeply appreciate ESO’s dedication to fostering knowledge exchange and professional development through such impactful initiatives. I am truly grateful to RKH Klinikum Ludwigsburg for their exceptional hospitality and guidance during my stay. Thank you once again for this remarkable opportunity. I look forward to maintaining my association with ESO and contributing further to the shared mission of advancing stroke care.”

Read Report

Abel Sandmann

NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, from Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam

“This experience was both personally and professionally invaluable. Observing acute stroke care in a different healthcare system enriched my perspective and provided insight into patient-centred care in Scotland. The clinical exposure and research collaboration not only improved my skills and knowledge but also deepened my passion for stroke care and research.
I am sincerely grateful to the ESO for making this visit possible. My deepest appreciation to prof. Rustam Al-Shahi Salman for his invitation and invaluable guidance throughout my visit.”

Read Report

Awardees and Reports

2025 Awardees

ESO is pleased to announce the 2025 awardees:

Gabriel Manrique Gutierrez (Mexico)
Host Institution: University of Oxford, WIN, UK

Louise Maes (Belgium)
Host Institution: Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Jane Buckley (Ireland)
Host Institution: Hospital Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain

Mariami Goletiani (Georgia)
Host Institution: St. George’s University Hospital London, UK

Abishek Chapagain (Nepal)
Host Institution: Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK

Arbana Rexhepi (North Macedonia)
Host Institution: University Hospital Bern, Switzerland

Stefan Bojovic (Montenegro)
Host Institution: University Hospital Basel, Switzerland Read report

Yury Sharov (Kazakhstan)
Host Institution: University Hospital Bern, Switzerland

Ketevan Dzagoevi (Georgia)
Host Institution: Evangelical Hospital Unna, Germany

Ivan Petrovic (Serbia)
Host Institution: Neurology Clinic, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany

2024 Awardees

ESO is pleased to announce the 2024 awardees:

Athina-Maria Aloizou (Greece)
Host Institution: KU Leuven, Kortrijk, Belgium Read report

Benedetta Storti (Italy)
Host Institution: Department of Neurology, University of Leiden, The Netherlands Read report

Ana Barragan Prieto (Spain)
Host Institution: Department of Neurology at the Charité Universitätsmedizin & the Center of Stroke Research Berlin, Germany Read report

Abel Sandmann (The Netherlands)
Host Institution: NHS Lothian, University of Edinburgh, UK Read report

Megha Chaudhary Khana (India)
Host Institution: RKH Klinikum Ludwigsburg, Germany, Read report

Oksana Zhseshko (Ukraine)
Host Institution: University Hospital Basel, Switzerland Read report

Carolina Alfaro Gonzalez (Colombia)
Host Institution: University Hospital Barcelona, Spain Read report

Nath Manabesh (India)
Host Institution: Neurology Department, Macarena Hospital, Seville and Institute of Biomedicine of Sevilla (IBIS), Spain Read report

Amanda Cyntia Lima Fonseca Rodrigues (Brazil)
Host Institution: Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Central, Portugal

2023 Awardees

ESO is pleased to announce the 2023 awardees:

Adi Shemesh (Israel)
Host Institution: Skane University Hospital Malmö-Lund, Sweden Read report

Alan Cameron (UK)
Host Institution: University Hospital of Basel, Switzerland Read report

Ani Kesoyan (Armenia)
Host Institution: IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Italy Read report

Anna Gardin (Italy)
Host Institution: Oslo University Hospital, Norway Read report

Dorin Cristian Antal (Romania)
Host Institution: University Hospital Dublin, Ireland Read report

Iulia-Cosmina Stoican (Romania)
Host Institution: University College London Queen Square, England Read report

Iulia-Ioana Enache (Romania)
Host Institution: University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland Read report

Maria Magdalena Gabriel (Germany)
Host Institution: RCCS Foundation C Besta Neurological Institute, Milan, Italy Read report

Nejra Masic (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Host Institution: Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria Read report

Sopiko Kartsivadze (Georgia)
Host Institution: Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria Read report

2022 Awardees

ESO is pleased to announce the 2022 awardees and their hosts:

Alexander Nave (Germany)
Host Institution: University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland / 20-27 June 2022 Read report

Federica Letteri (Italy)
Host Institution: Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland / 12 September – 9 October 2022

Khachik Petrosyan (Armenia)
Host Institution: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Lille, France / 5-19 September 2022 Read report

Kunduz Karbozova (Kyrgyzstan)
Host Institution: Klinik für Neurologie, Linz, Austria / 12-20 September 2022 Read report

Mariam Kekenadze (Georgia)
Host Institution: Perugia University Hospital, Italy / December 2022 Read report

Martina Goeldlin (Switzerland)
Host Institution: University College London Queen Square, England / 14-25 November 2022 Read report

Meri Grigoryan (Armenia)
Host Institution: University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland / 16 July – 1 August 2022 Read report

Peter Waweru (Kenya)
Host Institution: Coimbra University Hospital, Portugal / 8-19 May 2023

Stoiloudis Panagiotis (Greece)
Host Institution: Saint Josef Hospital, Bochum, Germany / 19-26 September 2022 Read report

Trung Nguyen (Vietnam)
Host Institution: Saarland University Hospital, Germany / 5-16 September 2022 Read report

2021 Awardees

ESO is pleased to announce the 2021 awardees and their hosts:

Annemijn Algra (The Netherlands)
Host Institution: Oslo University Hospital, Norway / 30 May – 3 June 2022 Read Report

Nada Elsaid (Egypt)
Host Institution: University Hospital of Modena, Italy / 25 June-10 July 2022

Maria Fonseca de Melo Bandeira (Belgium)
Host Institution: CHU Lille, France / 4 October 2021 – 2 October 2022 Read Report

Mihail Kalnev (Bulgaria)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Switzerland / 1 – 31 October 2021 Read Report

Ivan Koltsov (Russia)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Switzerland / 20-26 February 2023 Read Report

Máté Kondor (Hungary)
Host Institution: Segeberger Kliniken, Bad Segeberg, Germany / 9 August – 3 September 2021 Read Report

Raffaele Ornello (Italy)
Host Institution: University of Edinburgh, Scotland / 5- 14 June 2023 Read Report

Papadopoulos Vassilis (Greece)
Host Institution: Bispebjerg Hospital Copenhagen, Denmark / 14 June – 13 October 2021 Read Report

Apoorva Shankaranarayana (India)
Host Institution: University of Nottingham, United Kingdom / 23 – 28 May 2022 Read Report

Emanuele Spina (Italy)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Switzerland / 18 October – 5 November 2021 Read Report

2020 Awardees

ESO is pleased to announce the 2020 Department to Department Visit Programme Awardees. We wish a fruitful, cooperative visit to all involved.

Awardee: Tatia Aprasidze (Georgia)
Host Institution: University Children’s Hospital, Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland / 1 – 14 July 2021 Read Report

Awardee: Antonio Ciacciarelli (Italy)
Host Institution: Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Spain / 7-22 February 2021 Read Report

Awardee: Gleni Halili (Albania)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Neurology Department, Bern, Switzerland / 23 -29 August 2021 Read Report

Awardee: Mihai Radu Ionescu (Romania)
Host Institution: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Limoge, France / 29 June – 17 July 2020 Read Report

Awardee: Espen Saxhaug Kristoffersen (Norway)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Neurology Department, Bern, Switzerland / 21 January – 3 February 2023 Read Report

Awardee: Lusine Martirosyan (Armenia)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Neurology Department, Bern, Switzerland / 14-24 December 2021 Read Report

Awardee: Kateriine Orav (Estonia)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Neurology Department, Bern, Switzerland / 26 – 30 July 2021 Read Report

Awardee: Marieta Valerieva Peycheva (Bulgaria)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Neurology Department, Bern, Switzerland / 1 – 10 September 2020 Read Report

Awardee: Aurora Semerano (Italy)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Neurology Department, Bern, Switzerland / 28 June – 9 July 2021 Read Report

Awardee: Dmitar Vlahović (Serbia)
Host Institution: Department of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital, Norway / 17-28 October 2022 Read Report

2019 Awardees

ESO is pleased to announce the 2019 Department to Department Visit Programme Awardees. We wish a fruitful, cooperative visit to all involved.

Awardee: Angelo Cascio Rizzo (Italy)
Host Institution: Charite University Hospital, Berlin, Germany / 9 – 15 September 2019 Read Report

Awardee: Silvia Chirobocea (Romania)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Neurology Department, Bern, Switzerland / 5 – 14 August 2019 Read Report

Awardee: Mercedes de Lera Alfonso (Spain)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Neurology Department, Bern, Switzerland / 1 – 8 September 2019 Read Report

Awardee: Sofiya Khachaturyan (Armenia)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Neurology Department, Bern, Switzerland / 2 – 6 December 2019 Read Report

Awardee: Inna Lutsenko (Kyrgyzstan)
Host Institution: San Camillo Forlanini Hospital, Department of Neuroscience, Rome, Italy / 27 May – 4 June 2019 Read Report

Awardee: Masiliūnas Rytis (Lithuana)
Host Institution: Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden / 25 March – 5 April 2019 Read Report

Awardee: Sabina Medukhanova (Kazakhstan)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Neurology Department, Bern, Switzerland / 11 – 15 November 2019 Read Report

Awardee: Răzvan Alexandru Radu (Romania)
Host Institution: University Hospital Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona, Spain / 10 – 23 June 2019 Read Report

Awardee: Valentina Rinnoci (Italy)
Host Institution: Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway / 27 January – 4 February 2020 Read Report

Awardee: Floris H.B.M. Schreuder (The Netherlands)
Host Institution: Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, United Kingdom / 5 – 12 September 2019 Read Report

2018 Awardees

ESO is pleased to announce the 2018 awardees:

Natalia Andrzejewska (Poland)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Neurology Department, Bern, Switzerland Read Report

Mariana Morais Carvalho Dias (Portugal)
Host Institution: Hospital Universitario Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona, Spain Read Report

Csilla Forro (Romania)
Host Institution: National Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, Budapest, Hungary Read Report

Julie Haesebaert (France)
Host Institution: Kings’s College, School of Population Health & Environmental Sciences, London, United Kingdom Read Report

Manea Maria Mirabela (Romania)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Neurology Department, Bern, Switzerland Read Report

Giuseppe Reale (Italy)
Host Institution: Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden Read Report

Pasquale Scoppettuolo (Belgium)
Host Institution: Hôpital Roger Salengro, Lille, France Read Report

Susanna Zuurbier (The Netherlands)
Host Institution: Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland Read Report

2017 Awardees

ESO is pleased to announce the 2017 awardees:

Rahim Aliyev (Azerbaijan)
Host Institution: Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany Read Report

Kateryna Antonenko (Ukraine)
Host Institution: University Hospital of Perugia, Stroke Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Perugia, Italy Read Report

Anne-Katrin Giese (German/Harvard)
Host Institution: Ludwig-Maximilians-Univeristy, Munich, Germany Read Report

Dearbhla Kelly (Dublin/Ireland)
Host Institution: University Hospital Lariboisiere, Paris, France Read Report

Patrick Nicholson (Dublin/Ireland)
Host Institution: Inselspital Bern, Neurology Department, Bern, Switzerland Read Report

Alessio Pieroni (Rome/Italy)
Host Institution: Queen Elizabeth University, Stroke Unit, Hospital in Glasgow, United Kingdom