Lina Nashef, King’s College Hospital London
Introduced by Fahmina Chowdhury, the 2026 ABN Medallist Lecture celebrated Lina Nashef’s outstanding contribution to neurology before handing over to Lina for a personal reflection on the events and people that shaped her career. She told the story of how chance, family history and inspiring mentors led her into British neurology and ultimately epilepsy research.
Lina is Jordanian of Palestinian origin, and her parents had been born in Palestine during the British Mandate before their family was displaced following the creation of Israel. She explained that, for many Palestinians of her parents’ generation, education became something that could never be taken away, replacing land and property that had been lost. This emphasis on learning profoundly influenced her upbringing.
Her own route to Britain was largely accidental. Having intended to study medicine at the American University of Beirut, she travelled there in 1973 only to discover she was ineligible because she lacked the required years of secondary education. Looking for alternatives, she selected several British medical schools almost at random from a university guide and accepted an offer from the University of Bristol. With hindsight, she reflected that this unexpected decision proved life-changing, as Lebanon descended into civil war shortly afterwards. Her brother later also moved to Bristol and became a cardiac surgeon.
Adjusting to life in Britain was not immediate. Lina spoke openly about feeling like an outsider during her first years, recalling the requirement to register with the police as an “alien” and her surprise at finding Britain rather less modern than she had imagined. Over time, however, she developed a deep affection for the country, particularly its history, traditions and medical education.
She recalled that her pre-clinical years felt abstract, but medicine truly came alive during her clinical training. A lecture demonstrating neurological localisation convinced her of the intellectual appeal of neurology, and she described the apprenticeship model of postgraduate training that characterised the era before structured training programmes and specialist examinations.
Lina also reflected on the realities of working as an overseas doctor in Britain during the 1980s. She recounted hearing a consultant openly describe excluding applicants with foreign names when shortlisting candidates, a reminder of the discrimination that international graduates could encounter. Rather than dwelling on these experiences, she presented them as part of the landscape she had to navigate while pursuing her career.
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The lecture explored her move into neurology training in Bristol and London, where influential mentors helped shape her clinical thinking. She described how curiosity and careful observation became central to her approach, particularly in epilepsy, a specialty that offered opportunities to combine neuroscience, clinical medicine and long-term patient relationships.
Lina spoke about developing her research alongside a busy NHS clinical career, emphasising that research questions often arose directly from patients she encountered in everyday practice. This ultimately led to her landmark work on mortality in epilepsy and the recognition of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), research that changed international understanding of one of epilepsy’s most devastating complications. She stressed the collaborative nature of clinical research and the importance of asking questions that matter to patients.
She recounted memorable patients, colleagues and unexpected twists in her career, emphasising how many defining moments were the result of chance encounters rather than careful planning. She also reflected on the privilege of working within the NHS and the satisfaction of combining clinical practice, research and teaching throughout her career.
Lina’s talk gave delegates a thoughtful account of a distinguished neurologist’s journey – from a young student whose future changed because of a bureaucratic technicality in Beirut to one of the UK’s most influential epilepsy specialists.
Above all, her message was that careers are rarely linear, and that curiosity, resilience, good mentors and a commitment to patients matter far more than carefully laid plans.
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