Dr Selma Aybek completed her Medical training and Neurology residency in Lausanne, Switzerland. After she received her specialist title in 2007, she did a 3-year fellowship at the Institute of Psychiatry in London (King’s College University) where she trained in Neuroimaging and in Cognitive Neuropsychiatry with Professor Anthony David.
Her main research and clinical interest focuses on Functional neurological Disorder (Conversion Disorder) a paradigmatic neuropsychiatric disorder. She currently runs a clinic dedicated to patients suffering from Functional Neurological Disorders (FND) at Bern University Hospital in Switzerland and leads a research program aimed at underpinning the neural correlates of this disorder. She has been appointed Professor of Neurology in May 2020 at Bern University and is Co-Director of the Psychosomatic Clinical Unit at Inselpitsal bern. She has been awarded several prices for her research in the field and is Deputy- Chair of the Committee on Research of the American Neuropsychiatric Association (ANPA) and member of the Board of Directors of the Functional Neurological Disorder Society, where she contributes to the teaching and development of clinical practice recommendations for FND. She recently received a 4-year grant from the Swiss National Research Foundation to study: 1. the role of Stress in FND, 2. the effect of non-invasive brain stimulation on neuronal network of motor control and 3. the effect of stress reduction techniques on clinical outcome.