Sebastian F. Winter, M.D. Ph.D.

Policy Work 

Consultant, World Health Organization (WHO), 2024 - current

  • Brain Health Unit (BRH), Department of Mental Health and Substance Use (MSD), World Health Organization Headquarters

Head of Policy and Research, International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE), 2022 - 2024

  • I worked with an interdisciplinary team committed to make epilepsy a global public health priority and improving the lives of over 50 million people living with epilepsy worldwide.
  • Building capacity for 150 IBE Chapters in 100+ countries, developing and implementing policy advocacy programs (featured in The Lancet Neurology), coordinating inter-agency projects, managing strategic partnerships, organizing multistakeholder conferences on WHO/UN policy frameworks, and leading technical publications on global health and policy issues.

Policy Research 

 Winter, S.F., Walsh, D., Catsman-Berrevoets, C., Feigin, V., Destrebecq, F., Dickson, S.L., Leonardi, M., Hoemberg, V., Tassorelli, C., Ferretti, M.T. and Dé, A., 2024. National plans and awareness campaigns as priorities for achieving global brain health. The Lancet Global Health, 12(4), pp.e697-e706.Impact factor 2024: 34.3
Winter S.F., Walsh D., Grisold W., Jordan J.T., Singhi P., Cross J.H., Guekht A., Hawrot T., Destrebecq F., Feigin V.L., Kariuki S.M. et al. Uniting for global brain health: Where advocacy meets awareness. Epilepsy & Behavior. 2023 Aug 1;145.Impact factor 2022: 2.6
Winter, S.F. IGAP Unpacked: A Practical Guide to the World Health Organization’s Intersectoral Global Action Plan on Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders 2022 - 2031. International Bureau for Epilepsy, January 2023.
Winter, S.F., Walsh, D., Amos, A., Secco, M., Sofia, F., Baker, G.A. The WHO intersectoral global action plan and epilepsy cascade target: Towards a roadmap for implementation. Seizure: European Journal of Epilepsy,  103 (2022) 148–150.Impact factor 2020: 3.184
Winter, S.F., Angeler, D.G., Dawson, W.D., et al. Brain health-directed policymaking: A new concept to strengthen democracy. The Brookings Institution, November 2022.
Winter, S.F. and Winter, S.F., 2018. Human dignity as leading principle in public health ethics: a multi-case analysis of 21st century German health policy decisions. International journal of health policy and management, 7(3), p.210.Impact factor 2020: 5.007
The Division of Health Systems and Public Health, WHO Europe, 2015. Ambulatory care sensitive conditions in Germany. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe; December 2015.

Consultations & Technical Review

 WHO framework for meaningful engagement of people living with noncommunicable diseases, and mental health and neurological conditions. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
2023 United Nations ECOSOC Partnership Forum Global Online Stakeholder Consultation: Summary Report. ECOSOC, Partnership Forum, United Nations. January 2023.
Improving the lives of people with epilepsy: a technical brief. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2022. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

International Fora


Roster of Consultants for the WHO Brain Health Unit, World Health Organization, Geneva, since 2023

PAHO-IBE IGAP Multistakeholder Workshop, Apr 2023

OneNeurology Partnership, since 2023

ILAE Global Advocacy Council, since 2022ILAE Global Health Task Force, since 2022ILAE Research and Innovation Taskforce, since 2022EFNA Roundtable: Brain Health for Neurology, Dec 2022