…TIMESLOT: Thursday, 18 February 2027, 16:00 CET
…MAIN TITLE: Neurobehavioural Difficulties in Children and Adolescents with NMDs
…PRESENTERS: Joanna Willen (University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium) & Sam Geuens (KU Leuven and University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium)
…MODERATOR: TBA
Joanna Willen holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Neuropsychology and has over ten years of experience working at the University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium. She supports families of children and young adults living with neuromuscular disorders, as well as children with autoimmune conditions and dermatological diseases. In her work, she emphasizes the importance of early disease education and open communication with young children, fostering family dialogue about diagnosis, treatments, interventions, and, when relevant, early care planning.
Sam Geuens, PhD, is a pediatric neuropsychologist and researcher at KU Leuven and University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium. He serves as Research Manager at the Muscle & Brain Lab (MaBLab) and the Leuven Childhood Epilepsy Center. His research focuses on brain development, neuropsychological functioning, and cognitive and behavioural outcomes in children with rare neurological disorders, with particular expertise in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
His work combines neuroimaging, neuropsychological assessment, and the development of clinically meaningful outcome measures. He co-developed the DuMAND Checklist and is involved in coordinating international collaborative research initiatives, including the longitudinal BBRiDGE-DMD study. His contributions to DMD research have been recognised with the European Paediatric Neurology Society (EPNS) Research Award.