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TAKING FLIGHT AWARD GRANTEES - $100,000 for one year
This award promotes the careers of young epilepsy investigators and allows them to develop a research focus independent of their mentors.
Ana Beatriz DePaula-Silva, PhD
The University of Utah
Dr. DePaula-Silva will study the brain-gut connection in acquired epilepsy caused by a viral infection. She will identify specific gut bacterial populations, also known as microbiota, and molecules produced by the bacteria that may play a role in preventing seizure development.
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Joanna Mattis, MD, PhD
University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Mattis will study neuromodulatory neurons located in an area of the brain called the brainstem and will test whether these neurons coordinate the transition between normal brain activity and seizures.
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Rina Zelmann, PhD
Massachusetts General Hospital
Dr. Zelmann will study specific brain electrical patterns called high-frequency oscillations (HFOs) to determine if they can be used as biomarkers of abnormal brain activity before seizures develop.
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CURE EPILEPSY AWARD GRANTEES - $250,000 over two years
This award is for established researchers and is focused on scientific advances that have the potential to truly transform the lives of those affected by epilepsy.
David Auerbach, PhD
SUNY Upstate Medical University
Dr. Auerbach’s team will use analytical tools that are well accepted in the cardiac field, but new to the study of epilepsy and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) to identify epilepsy patient populations at risk of cardiac-mediated SUDEP.
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Stefan Barakat, MD, PhD
Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Dr. Barakat and his team will use human cell models and zebrafish to develop novel therapies for specific epileptic encephalopathies by targeting metabolic processes that may underlie these forms of epilepsy.
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Nigel Pederson, MD
Emory University
Dr. Pedersen’s team will study whether brain regions that control sleep-wake also control seizures. The team will directly study electrical activity in parts of the brain that control sleep and wakefulness, and brain regions involved in seizures.
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Asla Pitkänen, MD, PhD
University of Eastern Finland
Dr. Pitkänen and her team have identified potential drugs that could reverse or prevent changes caused by traumatic brain injury. The goal of this study is to assess whether the most promising of these compounds will prevent the development of epilepsy in a model of post-traumatic epilepsy.
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CATALYST AWARD GRANTEES - $250,000 over two years
This award is intended to stimulate and accelerate preclinical discovery and development of new, transformative therapies for epilepsy, moving promising research closer to clinical application.
Rodrigo Gutierrez-Quintana, MVZ, MVM, DipECVN, MRCVS
University of Glasgow
Dr. Gutierrez-Quintana’s team will test the effects of a new type of drug called microRNA in a population of dogs with naturally occurring drug-resistant epilepsy, an important step towards translating findings into treatments for humans.
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Ruth Westenbroek, PhD
University of Washington
Using a genetic model of Dravet syndrome, Dr. Westenbroek’s lab will test newly developed inhibitors that act on sodium channels called Nav1.6 and Nav1.2. These drugs may be beneficial over traditional sodium channel blockers with fewer side effects.
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