About CURE

CURE, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, is a volunteer-based nonprofit organization founded by parents of children with epilepsy who were frustrated with their inability to protect their children from the devastation of seizures and the side effects of medications. Unwilling to sit back and accept the debilitating effects of epilepsy, these parents joined forces to spearhead the search for a cure. Administrative costs are kept to a minimum so that money raised can go directly toward epilepsy research aimed at finding a cure.

Our Mission
Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for epilepsy by raising funds for research and by increasing awareness of the prevalence and devastation of this disease.

CURE Research Grants
Since its inception in 1998, CURE has raised $9 million to fund epilepsy research and other initiatives that will lead the way to a cure. CURE funds seed grants to young and established investigators to explore new areas and collect the data necessary to apply for further funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). To date, CURE has awarded over 75 cutting-edge projects.

CURE-Sponsored Conferences
Since its inception in 1998, CURE co-sponsored the National Institutes of Health Conference, Curing Epilepsy: Focus on the Future in March of 2000. This White House-initiated conference was the first of its kind to focus on epilepsy. Since then, CURE has also lent support to other relevant workshops and conferences, including the March 2007 NIH Conference.

CURE Advocacy
Through its advocacy efforts, CURE has helped raise federal expenditures by the NIH on epilepsy research from $68 million in 1998 to over $100 million so far. CURE was instrumental in the creation of the Epilepsy Research Benchmarks, which were created to help guide the research community toward a cure for epilepsy.

CURE has also worked to establish epilepsy as a disease which merits and now receives crucial funding support for research through the Department of Defense. Returning veterans with traumatic brain injury are at high risk of developing epilepsy.

Increasing Public Awareness
CURE is dedicated to raising public awareness about epilepsy and the fact that so many patients are severely impacted by the disease. Without a strong voice, epilepsy research will continue to lag behind that of other diseases. Through the Annual Benefits in Chicago, and the recent growth of fundraising efforts around the country, CURE is spreading the word that the only solution is an increased focus on epilepsy research. Prominent keynote speakers in Chicago have included First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton (1999 and 2003), Governor Jesse Ventura (2000), President Bill Clinton (2001), Governor Rod Blagojevich (2001), Senator John Edwards (2004), Senator Barack Obama (2005), the late Tim Russert – long-time host of Meet the Press (2007), and political consultant David Axelrod (2008).

In addition, CURE’s website provides up-to-date information on epilepsy research news, facts about epilepsy, CURE grants, and special events.