FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHICAGO, IL (July 6, 2021) - The American Epilepsy Society
(AES) announced today that it has awarded $1.06
million in epilepsy research grants and fellowships to twenty-six early
career scientists committed to studying epilepsy.
“It is always a proud and inspiring moment to announce our
latest grantees,” says Douglas A. Coulter, PhD, President of the American
Epilepsy Society. “Advancing epilepsy research is one of the pillars of our
work at the American Epilepsy Society, as is nurturing the careers of talented
professionals. This year’s inclusive, cross-disciplinary group of impressive
early career scientists—combined with grantees from previous years—promises to
fuel advances in epilepsy prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in years to
come.”
AES research dollars support trainees, fellows, and newly
independent investigators working across the full spectrum of epilepsy research,
from basic science through translational and clinical research for all types of
epilepsy, seizures, and related conditions. Applications are reviewed through a
rigorous process built using national standards for assessment of research
requests. AES member volunteers conduct the review and select the awardees.
Grants are supported in part by philanthropic gifts and bequests to the
Lennox and Lombroso Fund for Research and Training and the Susan S. Spencer
Fund for Clinical Research and Education. In addition, several nonprofit
organizations and industry supporters provide full or partial funding of
specific grants. Please join AES in thanking:
- Epilepsy Foundation (one award in full)
- Pediatric Epilepsy Research Foundation (co-funding
of one award)
- PCDH19 Alliance (co-funding of one award)
- Wishes for Elliott (co-funding of one award)
- Epilepsy Study Consortium (full funding of two
mini-grants)
- American Brain Foundation and Epilepsy
Foundation, in collaboration with American Academy of Neurology for support of
the Susan Spencer Clinical Research Training Scholarship
The American Epilepsy Society 2020 Early Career Fellowship Awardees are:
Junior Investigator Awards
$50,000 for newly independent investigators to support the direct costs of research, along with one year of AES membership.
Isamu Aiba, PhD
Spreading depolarizations contribute to epilepsy comorbidities
Baylor College of Medicine
Kimberly Aldinger, PhD
Functional characterization of MAST4 variants
Seattle Children’s Hospital
Allyson Alexander, MD, PhD
MTOR Pathway Dysfunction and Hub Cells in Focal Cortical Dysplasia
University of Colorado, Denver
Roni Dhaher, PhD
Modulating the relief from anhedonia and seizures in temporal lobe epilepsy
Yale University
Laura Ewell, PhD
Lateralization in mouse temporal lobe epilepsy
University of California, Irvine
AES/EF Junior Investigator Award, funded in full by the Epilepsy Foundation
Churl-Su Kwon, MD, MPH
Disparities in epilepsy surgery quality of care and access to care
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Research Training Fellowship for Clinicians
Mentored support for clinical fellows or junior clinical faculty with up to $50,000 for stipend and travel support, along with one year of AES membership.
Brad Kamitaki, MD
Addressing Barriers to Comprehensive Epilepsy Care: A Mixed-Methods Study Rutgers University
Mentor: Joel Cantor, ScD; Haiqun Lin MD, PhD; and Hyunmi Choi MD
Joshua LaRocque, MD PhD
Exploring the neural basis of naming impairment in patients with epilepsy
University of Wisconsin- Madison and New York University
Mentors: Anli Liu, MD; Adeen Flinker, PhD; Aaron Struck, MD; and Orrin Devinsky, MD
Sheela Toprani, MD, PhD
Network-targeted therapy for epilepsy and neuropsychological comorbidities
University of California, Davis
Mentors: Kimford Meador, MD; Amy Brooks-Kayal, MD; and Karen Anne Moxon, PhD
*Contracting still in progress
PERF/AES Research Training Fellowship for Clinicians, funded at 50% by PERF
Amanda Sandoval Karamian, MD
White matter microstructural abnormalities in neonatal genetic epilepsy
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Mentor: Nicholas Abend, MD and Hao Huang PhD
PCHD19 Alliance/AES Research Training Fellowship for Clinicians, funded at 40% by PCDH19 Alliance
Julie Ziobro, MD PhD
Mechanisms of PCDH19 clustering epilepsy
University of Michigan
Mentor: Jack Parent, MD
Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Mentored research fellowships with up to $50,000 for stipend and travel support, along with one year of AES membership.
Michelle Kloc, PhD
Cholinergic modulation of CA1 signaling in Febrile Status Epilepticus
University of Vermont
Mentor: Gregory Holmes, MD
Frederic Schaper, MD PhD
Network mapping of focal epilepsy using lesions and deep brain stimulation
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Mentor: Michael Fox, MD, PhD and Ellen Bubrick, MD
Alena Stasenko, PhD
Improving pre-surgical language assessment in bilinguals with epilepsy
University of California, San Diego
Mentor: Carrie McDonald, PhD
*Contracting still in progress
Yusuke Takezawa, MD, PhD
Calcium overload and cell swelling during hypoxia in the neonatal brain
University of Iowa
Mentor: Joseph Glykys, MD, PhD
William Tobin, PhD
Determinants of Cortical Interneuron Dysfunction in KCNT1-Related Epilepsy
University of Vermont
Mentor: Matthew Weston, PhD
AES Predoctoral Research Fellowships
Mentored research fellowships with up to $30,000 for stipend and travel support, along with one year of AES membership.
Michael Granovetter, MS, AB
Neuroplasticity of the visual system following temporal cortical resection
Carnegie Mellon University
Mentor: Marlene Behrmann, PhD and Christina Patterson, MD
Darian Hadjiabadi, MS
Cellular pathways underlying pathological high-frequency oscillations
Stanford University
Mentor: Ivan Soltesz, PhD
Segewkal Hawaze Heruye, MS, BPharm
Targeting ROS-dependent synaptic dysfunction and cognitive deficits in TLE
Creighton University
Mentors: Timothy Simeone, PhD and Kristina Simeone, PhD
Rachael Ryner, BS
Aberrant Wnt signaling disrupts inhibitory networks in mouse model of IS
Tufts University
Mentor: Chris Dulla, PhD
James Sun, BA
Intraoperative recording in epilepsy with a high-density ECoG array
New York University School of Medicine
Mentors: Bijan Pesaran, PhD and Daniel Friedman, MD
Wanqi Wang, MA
Axon function in the pathogenesis of ARHGEF9 epileptic encephalopathy
Columbia University
Mentor: Wayne Frankel, PhD
*contracting still in progress
AES/Wishes for Elliott Predoctoral Research Fellowship, co-funded at 15% by WFE
Timothy Abreo, BS
Characterization of gene modifiers in a mouse model of epilepsy
Baylor College of Medicine
Mentor: Edward Cooper, MD, PhD
Epilepsy Study Consortium Mini-Grants, funded by ESC and administered by AES
Alexander Arnold, MD
Using Online Seizure Diaries to Compare Antiepileptic Drug Efficacy
University of Washington
Mentor: Nick Poolos, MD, PhD
*contracting still in progress
Stephanie Reeder, MD
Use of Lacosamide (LCS) in Elderly Patients with Epilepsy
University of Minnesota
Mentors: Sima Patel, MD; Angela Birnbaum, PhD; and Ilo Leppik, MD
Susan S Spencer Clinical Research Training Fellowship, 2021-2023
Funded by the American Epilepsy Society, Epilepsy Foundation, and American Brain Foundation in collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology
Samuel Terman, MD
Seizure risk predication after antiseizure medication discontinuation in patients with
well-controlled epilepsy: randomized trial reanalysis and pooling
University of Michigan
Mentors: James Burke, MD, MS and Jack Parent MD