Our team

Our story

About CPNI

The Cyprus Paediatric Neurology Institute (CPNI) was founded in 2007 by Dr Paola Nicolaides together with her late colleague, the paediatric neurologist Dr Stavros Hadjiloizou.

Both had trained and worked at leading children's hospitals abroad: Dr Nicolaides at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, and Dr Hadjiloizou at Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School. When they returned to Cyprus, they set out to bring that standard of care home. From 2007, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, they provided the paediatric neurology service at Archbishop Makarios III Hospital in Nicosia, caring for children from all over Cyprus, both as inpatients and in outpatient clinics.

CPNI continues the work they began together.

In memoryDr Stavros Hadjiloizou MD, FAAN, FAAP (USA)Paediatric neurologist and neurophysiologist, co-founder of CPNI and its Director of Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology. Dr Hadjiloizou was also a Visiting Scientist at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics (CING) and provided paediatric neurology services in collaboration with the Cyprus Ministry of Health.Before returning to Cyprus, Stavros held the post of Consultant Paediatric Neurologist at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School. He was a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology with Special Competence in Child Neurology (2005), a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics (2007), and Board Certified in Clinical Neurophysiology – Electroencephalography (2007).His dedication to children with epilepsy and neurological conditions, and to their families, remains at the heart of CPNI.

Today CPNI is based at the American Medical Center / American Heart Institute in Nicosia, with a clinic in Limassol and its own neurophysiology laboratory. We see children through GeSY, and privately if they are not GeSY beneficiaries. Dr Nicolaides teaches at UNIC Medical School, and we work with colleagues at UCL in London and the Cyprus Institute of Neurology & Genetics. We work in close collaboration with other paediatric specialists, including neonatology, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, cardiology, respiratory medicine, endocrinology and gastroenterology, and with your child's therapists. Online and telephone consultations can be arranged on request, including for patients from abroad.

Research. CPNI collaborates on research into the genetic causes of neurological conditions in children, including rare neurogenetic disorders, with Dr Stephanie Efthymiou of The Neurogenetics Lab, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology (ION), London.

A mother giving her daughter a piggyback under a blue sky

Our vision

Helping every child reach their full potential

Our vision is to provide comprehensive paediatric neurology services in Cyprus: to diagnose and manage neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions in children, and to support every child to reach their full potential.

Our mission

CPNI is dedicated to offering high-quality, easily accessible, individualised paediatric neurological care, delivered in a compassionate and friendly environment. Our team works closely with parents and families to help children reach their full potential, while respecting their integrity and cultural diversity. We keep up to date with scientific developments relevant to our patients, including advances in new and experimental treatments for neurological conditions.

Comprehensive care in CyprusSpecialist assessment, investigations and long-term care in one place, so families do not need to travel abroad.

Early, accurate diagnosisCareful assessment, our own neurophysiology laboratory and access to genetic testing, so children get the right answers sooner.

Partnership with familiesWe listen, explain clearly, and work together with parents, therapists, doctors and schools around each child.

Teaching and researchTraining the next generation of doctors and contributing to research, to keep improving care for children.

Dr Paola NicolaidesConsultant Paediatric Neurologist, Director and Co-founder of CPNI. Clinical Professor, UNIC Medical School. Formerly Consultant Paediatric Neurologist and Epileptologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London.nicolaides.paola@gmail.com Read full profile →

Dr Stefani Stefani, PhDClinical Neurophysiologist, CPNI neurophysiology laboratory, with more than five years of experience in paediatric neurophysiology. She performs neonatal, childhood and adult EEGs, including 24- and 48-hour ambulatory recordings, and prepares the technical reports. She studied Physiology and Neuroscience at the University of Montpellier, France, and holds an MSc in Molecular Medicine and a PhD in Neuroscience from the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, where her research focused on juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.

Ourania PapathanasiouNeurophysiologist, CPNI neurophysiology laboratory. She performs routine and prolonged EEGs in children of all ages, from newborns and infants to adolescents and young adults. She holds a First Class BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Cumbria and an MSc in Neuroscience from the University of Southampton, UK, and previously worked in the Neurophysiology Department of the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics.

Philio TheophilouMedical Secretary. Your first point of contact for appointments, EEG and brain MRI bookings.+357 22 476 627