Research Portfolio

2017 FELLOWSHIP AWARD £246,650 over 36 months SCIENTIFIC TITLE GeneLoop: gene therapy activated by seizures to treat epilepsy LEAD INVESTIGATOR Dr Gabriele Lignani SUPERVISOR Prof Stephanie [...]

Grant winner 2017 ‘Surprisingly little remains known about the contribution of different cell types in the generation of seizures. While the conventional view is that seizure onset and maintenance are [...]

PROJECT GRANT £149,963 over 36 months Awarded in 2017 SCIENTIFIC TITLE Neurodevelopment after prenatal exposure to seizures (NAPES) study LEAD INVESTIGATOR Dr Rebecca Bromley CO-INVESTIGATOR [...]

Grant winner 2017 ‘Very prolonged seizures (status epilepticus) can have devastating consequences and can result in death. It is critical to understand how recent changes in the treatment of seizures a [...]

Grant winner 2017 ‘Absence epilepsy is a childhood form of epilepsy, in which there are sudden and brief interruptions of consciousness. If these happen frequently enough they can interfere with learni [...]

Grant winner 2017 ‘Routine, low-risk access to electrical activity in deep-seated brain areas will improve not only the diagnostic yield of EEGs, but also aid our understanding of seizure subtypes and [...]

Grant winner 2017 ‘I have studied how different proteins change the activity of neurons for many years. More recently I realised that these same changes can be involved in epilepsy. I am now working to [...]

Grant winner 2016: "This research will increase our understanding and knowledge of how the immune system may be implicated in the production of seizures, with aims to develop improved treatments with reduced side effects.” Dr Sukhvir Wright

Grant winner 2016: “Individuals who carry mutations in genes that encode receptors activated by the excitatory neurotransmitter, glutamate, can suffer from a variety of disorders, many of which are associated with epilepsy. While our previous research has focused on studying glutamate receptors and their role in neuronal communication, the project funded by ERUK allows us to extend our work to a pre-clinical model that is a direct correlate of epileptic encephalopathy.” Professor David Wyllie

Grant winner 2016: “Forward thinking strategies for the most difficult to treat types of epilepsy are desperately needed. I will test whether controlling the activity of entire seizure generating networks, as opposed to just the seizure foci, can be a more effective treatment to block seizures. To do so, I will use the technology of optogenetics, which has the potential to be translated to the clinic in the coming years, but can also “shine a light” on novel cellular targets to efficiently block seizures for other forms of clinical interventions” Alfredo Gonzalez-Sulser

Grant winner 2016: “This is an exciting project that will give significant insights into the feasibility of cell transplantation for treating seizures and cognitive problems in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.” Professor Liam Gray

Grant winner 2016: We are really grateful to Epilepsy Research UK for offering us the possibility of exploring this exciting approach. If the new PET-MRI scanner methods help us find where these patients’ seizures come from, many more patients will be able to undergo surgery in the future.” Professor Alexander Hammers