Research Grants Awarded

CURE Epilepsy sees research as the key to finding cures for the epilepsies. Each year, CURE Epilepsy funds investigator-initiated grants supporting promising trends in the field and the potential for breakthroughs in a specified area.

Learn About Our Research Initiatives

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CURE Epilepsy Award

Investigating the Role of Aberrant Methylation in the Etiology of Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy

Heather Mefford, MD, PhD / University of Washington

In this study, Dr. Mefford and her team, will search for a different type of causative change – abnormal methylation which is a type of chemical modification of DNA in a large set of individuals with DEE without a known cause.

Taking Flight Award

Identification of Pathophysiology and Genetic Mechanisms of SUDEP Using an Innovative Genetic Reference Population of Collaborative Cross Mice 2019

Bin Gu, PhD / University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

By using genetic and electrophysiological techniques, Dr. Gu is also interested in understanding the physiological changes that can act as SUDEP triggers.

Post-Traumatic Epilepsy Initiative

Genetic and Protein Biomarkers of Post-Traumatic Epilepsy to Improve Prediction of PTE: A Prospective Study in an Enriched Patient Population

Pavel Klein, MD / Mid-Atlantic Epilepsy and Sleep Center, LLC

Dr. Pavel Klein and his team seek to address this problem by examining a group of “high-risk” patients with a greater chance of developing post-traumatic epilepsy.

CURE Epilepsy Award

Therapeutically Targeting Brain Invading Monocytes to Prevent the Deleterious Consequences of Status Epilepticus

Nicholas Varvel, PhD / Emory University

For their project, Dr. Varvel and his team are interested in using a small drug to block monocyte entry in mouse brains after SE.

Post-Traumatic Epilepsy Initiative

Targeting Epileptogenic Effects of Subarachnoid Blood in TBI

Dr. Jeffrey Loeb / University of Illinois, Chicago

By examining patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage and an animal model of subarachnoid hemorrhage, the Loeb team will use methods such as MRI and EEG to characterize the development of PTE with the aim of understanding and predicting who is at risk for developing this condition and identifying potential treatment strategies.

Infantile Spasms Initiative

Infantile Spasms: Mechanisms and Consequences as Therapeutic Targets

John W. Swann, PhD / Baylor College of Medicine

This commentary discusses three aspects of IESS intended to raise fundamental clinical and mechanistic issues to afford greater understanding of the syndrome – nomenclature, EEG findings, and selected emerging animal models that might shed light on IESS pathophysiology and guide therapy development.

Innovator Award

Exploring Cell-Free DNA from Post Seizure Liquid Biopsies

Jozef Gecz, PhD / University of Adelaide

In this project, Dr. Gecz and his team will isolate cfDNA from patients’ blood in the hours after a seizure(s).

Taking Flight Award, Funded by the Ravichandran Foundation

Abnormal Myelin in Absence Epilepsy: Cause and Functional Impact

Juliet Knowles, MD, PhD / Stanford University

Her current project will determine if seizures cause myelin abnormalities and if abnormal myelin contributes to the development of epilepsy and associated cognitive impairment.