Past Presidents

Marc Fisher was elected President Elect of the World Stroke Organisation (WSO) in 2018 and took office in 2020.

Dr. Fisher has had a long career as a translational and clinical researcher in the stroke field. He was at the University of Massachusetts Medical School for 36 years, retiring in 2014.

While there, he led a stroke modeling lab for 25 years that focused on using MRI technology to evaluate the ischemic penumbra and the effects of many types of therapies on the evolution of ischemic injury. He trained more than 25 research fellows from around the world, many of whom currently hold prestigious positions.  He participated in many clinical trials as a principal investigator or steering committee member. Dr. Fisher was also an active clinician and teacher. He has published more than 330 peer reviewed papers with an h-index of 80.

Currently, Dr. Fisher is a part time member of the neurology faculty at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and is a Professor of Neurology (part time) at Harvard Medical School.

He continues to see patients and teach residents and stroke fellows. He was the Editor-in-Chief of Stroke from 2010-2020 and continues to serve Stroke as a senior consulting editor. He assumed the presidency of the WSO in November 2020.

Michael Brainin was elected President Elect of the World Stroke Organisation (WSO) in 2015 and took office in 2018.

Professor Brainin was appointed in 2000 full Professor of Clinical Neurology and Director and Chair of the Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Prevention at the Danube University in Krems, Austria. From 1994-2016 he acted as Chair and Director of the Neurological Department of the University Hospital Tulln. In 1997 he set up the first stroke unit in Austria at his institution.