Omkar N. Markand - Clinical Evoked Potentials: An Illustrated Manual

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It was 1976, the second year of Medical School at Indiana University, and the course was an Introduction to Clinical Medicine. On that day, the lecture was on epilepsy: a complex topic, especially for students knowing so little about clinical semiology, neurophysiology, and the world of EEG. In that hour, Dr. Omkar Markand calmly, with reassurance and certainty, laid out the world of neurophysiology and epilepsy in a clear, logical, and clinically valuable fashion. Amazingly, organized and complete, we all paid attention and processed his wisdom and understanding. Something so complex for us became something understandable and a framework for building an interest and a career in neurology. We immediately, as students, understood that he was more than a great neurologist and expert in neurophysiology. He was a teacher in the truest sense an amazingly, wonderful teacher who would affect so many of us and contribute to so many careers in neurology.

In 1984, while taking my oral boards in neurology, I was presented with a patient having an acquired spastic paraparesis. The discussion was intense, and the examiners turned to the diagnostic workup for multiple sclerosis. The back and forth was challenging, and I had an uneasy feeling about the outcome of the entire session. My learned examiners brought up the topic of spinal fluid studies and evoked potentials and wanted to know just how good these studies were in providing evidence for MS. At that moment, my fortunes turned, and I calmly began my response with, according to Markand et al. as just recently published in the green journal (Neurology), the sensitivity and specificity for these are, and his data flowed into the discussion. Hearing Markands name, the examiners finally relaxed and smiled, and for the first time in the session, they seemed comfortable that I knew something of importance (Bartel et al. 1983).

Being on the faculty in the Department of Neurology at Indiana University since 1985, I have acquired an understanding and complete appreciation for the tremendous professional and personal qualities that lead to Dr. Markand being viewed uniformly by his colleagues and his students as a unique treasure and gift to the world of neurology. He knows his field to depths unmatched. His work ethic is inspirational. And, Dr. Markand, to this day, remains one of the most gifted teachers of neurology and neurophysiology that the field has ever seen. In an ocean of many great teachers in neurology, there is none any better than Omkar Markand.

We are so fortunate that he has chosen to share his vast knowledge of evoked potentials with the neurophysiology and neurology world. There is no greater authority on this topic than Omkar Markand. From the fundamental neurophysiology and technology to the anatomic considerations to the clinical applications, Dr. Markand has gathered his experience and understanding from 50 years in the field to provide the reader with a complete and cogent tour de force of evoked potentials in clinical medicine a tremendous resource for practitioners and neurophysiologists and for those clinicians seeking to apply these important techniques to the evaluation and management of their patients.

Dr. Markand has not only devoted his career to Indiana University and to the Department of Neurology but also to our patients. He is an integral part of the very fabric of what makes us special. He is Professor Emeritus of Neurology and Director EEG/Evoked Potentials/Epilepsy at Indiana University School of Medicine and is one of the most remarkable educators at Indiana. He continues to provide exceptional training for our residents and fellows in EEG, evoked potentials, and epilepsy. He is viewed as the ultimate source of truth.

Of his numerous awards and honors, I point to his receiving the Health Care Hero Award for his lifelong work in epilepsy in Indiana. And, on a national level, Dr. Markand received the annual Jasper Memorial Award in 2009 from the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society for lifelong work in clinical neurophysiology. On the international stage, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award of the Association of Indian Neurologists in America (AINA) given by the American Academy of Neurology. And he has received the Certificate of Medical Excellence awarded by the Epilepsy Foundation of Indiana for high values, commitment to public service, community involvement, leadership, and dedication to those with epilepsy.

The terms role model and mentor as well as the discussions of professionalism are often emphasized, defined, and applied to talented and accomplished individuals in the medical profession; yet, rarely there comes along a person for whom these terms are insufficient. Professionals like Dr. Markand are the stimuli for which such words are created. For me, this has always been the case. I love being able to call Omkar Markand my friend and colleague, and am so thankful he was in my brain during the oral board exams. His many years of trainees and professional colleagues are grateful for his production of this valuable book of truth on evoked potentials.