Dr. Alba Sierra Marcos

Doctor Alba Sierra Marcos

Idiomas Spanish, Catalan, English, French, Portuguese

Neurologist

CURRENT PROFESSIONAL SITUATION

2017 – To date: Clinical Investigator in Vall d´Hebron Institute of Research, Barcelona.
2016 – To date: Neurologist. Neurocirugía Barcelona, Barcelona.
2016 – To date: Head of the Neurology Service. Sanitas Hospital – CIMA, Barcelona.

PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2015 – 2016: Clinical investigator in the CIEN foundation (Centro de Investigación de Enfermedades Neurológicas – Neurological Disease Research Center), Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid.
2014 – 2015: Staff member Neurology Department, Epilepsy Unit, Jiménez Díaz Foundation University Hospital, Madrid.
2012 – 2014: Head clinician in the Neurology Department, Epilepsy Unit, “Center Hospitalière Universitaire Vaudois” (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.
2010 – 2011: Staff member Neurology Department, Epilepsy Unit of the Clinic Hospital, Barcelona.
2006 – 2010: Neurology Resident, Vall d´Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona.

EDUCATION

2016: Doctoral Thesis. “Usefulness of advanced functional-MRI techniques in the study of the epileptogenic zone in adult patients with drug-resistant neocortical epilepsy”. Qualification: Qum Laudem. Mention as International Doctor by the University of Barcelona. Awarded as one of the best theses of 2016 by the faculty of Doctors, Universitat de Barcelona.
2016: Fellowship in Niño Jesús Hospital. Center specialised in surgery for infantile epilepsy.
July 2014: Summer course on Epilepsy and EEG in the Neurological Institute, Cleveland University Hospitals, Cleveland (USA)..
March – May 2010: Medical stage in the Epilepsy Unit, Rush Medical College, Chicago (USA).¡.
2009: Work as Sufficiency Investigator (DEA): “Incidental demyelinating lesions in MR: Retrospective descriptive study of eleven cases with clinical-radiological follow-up”, qualified as excellent. Autonomous University of Barcelona.
1998 – 2004: Graduate in Medicine and Surgery, University of Extremadura. Fourth year of studies at the University of Barcelona within the Séneca program. Sixth year studies at the University of Lisbon under the Erasmus program. Global qualification: Excelent.

TEACHING ACTIVITY

3rd Video-EEG course in paediatric epilepsies: from seizures to syndromes. Madrid, Noviembre 2018.
Course on MRI: Applying MRI to study the human brain. “Arterial Spin Labeling”. Madrid, 29 February-1 March 2016.
Master in neurological electrodiagnostics: Neurophysiological studies in epilepsy and coma. “Normal maturity of the EEG and variants from the standard”. Barcelona, 13-15 April 2011.

RESEARCH ACTIVITY

Participation in the ‘Vallecas Project’: Analysis of advanced neuroimaging techniques for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.
Participation in research projects of the “Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria” and “La Marató de TV3 Foundation”.
Participation in CLINICAL TRIALS for the developmental drugs in the the central nervous system.
- A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multinational, multicenter study with open-label treatment extension to assess the effect of min-102 on the progression of adrenomyeloneuropathy in male patients with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy. Minoryx Study MT-2-01.
- Phase IIa, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of the efficacy and safety of SOM3355 in Huntington’s disease (HD) patients with chorea movements.
- Protocol SP0993. A multicenter, double-blind, double-dummy, randomized positive-controlled study comparing the efficacy and safety of lacosamide to controlled released carbamazepine, used as a monotherapy in subjects newly or recently diagnosed with epilepsy and experiencing partial-onset or generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Promotor: Parexel International SL.
- An open label, multicentric, multinational study of lacosamide as first add-on antiepileptic-drug (AED) treatment in subjects with partial-onset seizures. Phase 3B/4. UCB Bioscience.

PUBLICATIONS, COMMUNICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS AT CONGRESSES

Multiple publications in the field of epilepsy, clinical neurophysiology, functional neuroimaging and neurological diseases in high impact factor international scientific journals.
Multiple communications and presentations in congresses, mainly international ones.

OUTSTANDING PUBLICATIONS

Functional surgery in pediatric drug-resistant posterior cortex epilepsy: Electro-clinical findings, cognitive and seizure outcome. Sierra-Marcos A, Fournier-Del Castillo MC, Álvarez-Linera J, Budke M, García-Fernández M, Pérez-Jiménez. Seizure. 2017;52:46-52.
Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer´s Disease measured with Arterial Spin Labeling Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Sierra-Marcos A. Int J Alzheimers Dis 2017:5479597
Accuracy of arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) perfusion in detecting the epileptogenic zone in patients with drug-resistant neocortical epilepsy: comparison with electrophysiological data, structural MRI, SISCOM and FDG-PET.
Sierra-Marcos A, Carreño M, Setoain X, López-Rueda A, Aparicio J, Donaire A, Bargalló N. Eur J Neurol 2016;23:160-167.
Seizure detection with automated EEG analysis: A validation study focusing on periodic patterns.
Sierra-Marcos A, Scheuer ML, Rossetti AO. Clin Neurophysiol 2015;126:456-62.
Statins are associated with decreased mortality risk after status epilepticus.
Sierra-Marcos A, Alvarez V, Faouzi M, Burnand B, Rossetti AO. Eur J Neurol 2015;22:402-5.
Yield of intermittent versus continuous EEG in comatose survivors of cardiac arrest treated with hypothermia.
Alvarez V, Sierra-Marcos A, Oddo M, Rossetti AO. Crit Care 2013;17:R190.
EEG-fMRI in locating the epileptogenic area in patients with refractory focal neocortical epilepsy.
Sierra-Marcos A, Maestro I, Falcón C, Donaire A, Carreño M, Aparicio J, Setoain J, Rumià J, Pintor L, Boget T, Bargalló N. Epilepsia 2013;54:1688-98.
Antiepileptic medication in the ICU: Which compounds do we need?
Sierra-Marcos A, Rossetti A. Epileptologie 2012; 29:194-200.
Successful outcome of episodes of status epilepticus after vagus nerve stimulation: a multicenter study.
Sierra-Marcos A, Maestro I, Rodriguez-Osorio X, Miro J, Donaire A, Aparicio J, Rumià J, Forcadas M, Garamendi I, Pardo J, Lopez J, Prieto A, Plans G, Falip M, Carreño M. Eur J Neurol 2012,19:1219-1223.
Prevalence and immunological spectrum of temporal lobe epilepsy with glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies.
Falip M, Carreño M, Miró J, Saiz A, Villanueva V, Quílez A, Molins A, Barceló I, Sierra-Marcos A, Graus F. Eur J Neurol 2012;19:827-833.
Are patients referred for presurgical evaluation drug resistant according to the new consensus definition? A study in a tertiary center.
Carreño M, Aparicio J, Sierra-Marcos A, Aceituno A, Pintor L, Bargalló N, Setoain J, Rumià J, Boget T, Donaire A, Bailles E, Fernández S. Epilepsy Res 2012; 98:277-80.
Lacosamide for epileptic seizures in patients with comorbidities and unusual presentations of epilepsy.
Sierra-Marcos A, Bermejo PE, Calderón RM, Gutiérrez-Álvarez AM, Corral CJ, Mur DS. CNS Drugs. 2011;25 Suppl 1:17-26.
Diagnosis of epileptic syndrome after a new onset seizure and its correlation at long-term follow-up: Longitudinal study of 131 patients from the Emergency Room.
Sierra-Marcos A, Toledo M, Quintana M, Edo MC, Centeno M, Santamarina E, Salas-Puig, Sueiras M, Rovira R, Alvarez-Sabin J. Epilepsy Res 2011;97:30-36.
Hemichorea-hemiballism secondary to infarction in the primary motor area: an atypical form of presentation of Moya moya syndrome.
Sierra-Marcos A, Hernández-Vara J, Tur C, Pujadas-Navinés F, Alvarez-Sabín J. Rev Neurol. 2011;52:575-576
Demyelinating lesions as incidental findings in magnetic resonance imaging: a study of 11 cases with clinico-radiological follow-up and a review of the literature.
Sierra-Marcos A, Mitjana R, Castilló J, Edo MC, Horga-Hernández A, Tintoré M, Río-Izquierdo J, Auger-Acosta C, Rovira A, Montalban X. Rev Neurol 2010;51:129-134
Camptocormia associated with an expanded allele in the TATA box-binding protein gene.
Gamez J, Sierra-Marcos A, Gratacós M, Jorge L, Raguer N, Moncho-Rodriguez D, Jacas C, Conejero J, Badia M, Lorenzo-Bosquet C, Volpini V, Castell-Conesa J. Mov Disord. 2010;25:1293-5.

Communications and presentations at congresses

3rd Video-EEG course in paediatric epilepsies: from seizures to syndromes. Madrid, Noviembre 2018.
V Congress of the Epilepsy Spanish Society. Malaga, October 2018.
III Congress of the Epilepsy Spanish Society. “Drug-resistant posterior cortex epilepsy and surgery prognosis factors in a pediatric population”. Madrid, 13-15 October 2016.
Oral communication: Neuroscience 2015. “MRI in the healthy elderly predicts subsequent development of Mild Cognitive Impairment”. Chicago, 17-21 October 2015.
Oral communication: XI Congress of the Spanish Society of Neurosurgery. “Usefulness of brain perfusion studies with Arterial Spin Labeled to located the epileptogenic area in patients with neocortical drug-resistant epilepsy”. Valencia, Spain.18-22 November 2014.
Poster: 11th European Congress on Epileptology. “Efficacy and safety of trigeminal nerve stimulation: an experience in 8 patients with drug-resistant epilepsy”. Stockholm, Sweden. 29 June-3 July 2014.
Poster: 30th International Congress of Clinical Neurophysiology. “Seizure detection with automated EEG analysis: a validation study focusing on periodic patterns” Berlin, Germany. 20-23 March 2014.
Poster: 30th International Epilepsy Congress. “Chronic statins intake is related to better outcome after status epilepticus”. Montreal, Canada. 23-27 June 2013.
Oral communication: 5ème journée romande d’épileptologie. “Highlights dans l’épilepsie 2012”. Lausanne, Switzerland. 24 January 2013.
Oral communication: 16th Congress of the European Federation of Neurological Societies – EFNS. “Usefulness of ictal EEG-fMRI in localization of epileptogenic area in patients with refractory neocortical focal epilepsy”. Stockholm, Sweden. 8-11 September 2012.
Oral communication: The 3rd London-Innsbruck colloquium on acute seizures and status epilepticus. “Successful outcome of episodes of status epilepticus after implementation of Vagus Nerve Stimulator. A multicenter study”. Oxford, United Kingdom. 7-9 April 2011.
Oral communication: 6th Luso-Español Congress. “Epilepsy and cortical development malformations”. Lisbon, Portugal. 30 October 2010.
Oral communication: Master Class in Epilepsy. Tailoring treatment for the individual patient with epilepsy. “Focal epilepsy and antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase: A new form of drug resistant epilepsy”. Barcelona, Spain. 15 and 16 October 2010.
Oral communication: 9th European Congress on Epileptology. “Diagnosis of epileptic syndrome following a first seizure and its correlation with long-term follow-up: longitudinal study of 131 patients from the emergency room”. Rhodes, Greece. 26-30 July 2010.

MEDICAL SOCIETIES

2017 – To date: European Reference Network for rare and low prevalence complex diseases
2016 – To date: Catalan Society of Neurology
2016 – To date: Spanish Society of Epilepsy

CURRENT PROFESSIONAL SITUATION

PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

EDUCATION

TEACHING ACTIVITY

RESEARCH ACTIVITY

PUBLICATIONS, COMMUNICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS AT CONGRESSES

OUTSTANDING PUBLICATIONS

Communications and presentations at congresses

MEDICAL SOCIETIES

Partners

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