Abstract
Congratulations to the 2017 Early Career Fellowship Awardees! The American Epilepsy Society (AES) is one of the largest non-governmental funders for those starting their careers in epilepsy research, with an explicit long-term commitment to develop the talented researchers to advance the treatment and understanding of epilepsy. AES would like to thank our funding partners – the Epilepsy Foundation (EF), the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance (TS Alliance), Wishes for Elliott (WFE), and the Epilepsy Study Consortium (ESC) – for joining with us to support the next generation.
Junior Investigator Awards. $50,000 for newly independent investigators to support the direct costs of research, along with one year of AES membership.
Omar Ahmed, Ph.D., Autonomous temporal lobe epilepsy therapy using bioluminescent optogenetics, University of Michigan
Jayeeta Basu, Ph.D., NYU School of Medicine, Establishing the dynamics and role of neurons born in adulthood in epilepsy
Gemma Carvill, Ph.D., Northwestern University, Expanding epilepsy genetics beyond the exome, an AES/EF Junior Investigator Award supported by EF and administered by AES
Anli Liu, M.D., NYU School of Medicine, Boosting Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation in Epilepsy Patients
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.
Luca Bartolini, M.D., National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Research study on viral and inflammatory causes of epilepsy, an AES/EF Fellowship supported by EF and administered by AES
Leah Blank, M.D., University of Pennsylvania, Risk factors for readmission after seizure in a nationally representative sample
Joanna Gan, M.D., University of California, San Francisco. Developing a somatic awareness scale for psychogenic nonepileptic seizures
Taha Gholipour, M.D., Brigham and Women's Hospital, Functional connectivity MRI for predicting outcomes in epilepsy surgery, an AES/TS Alliance Fellowship supported by both the TS Alliance and AES
Adam Numis, M.D., University of California San Francisco, An inflammatory molecular profile in treatment response of infantile spasms, an AES/EF Fellowship supported by EF and administered by AES
Postdoctoral Research Fellowships, $45,000. Mentored research fellowships with $45,000 for stipend and travel support, along with one year of AES membership.
Wu Chen, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, Genetic rescue of a mouse model of epileptic encephalopathy in adulthood
Barna Dudok, MSc, Stanford University, Cannabinoid regulation of hippocampal inhibition in epilepsy
Chad Frasier, Ph.D., University of Michigan, Novel mechanisms of SUDEP in SCN8A-EIEE13 patients, Postdoctoral Fellowship, an AES/Wishes for Elliott Fellowship supported by WFE and AES
Katarzyna Glanowska, Ph.D., University of Michigan, Synaptic innervation of adult-generated dentate granule cells in TLE
Alison Muir, Ph.D., University of Washington, Novel approaches to genetic discovery in epilepsy. Supported by the Lennox & Lombroso Fund for Research & Training
Maria Perez-Ramirez, Ph.D., Stanford University, Structural and functional alterations induced by focal status epilepticus. Supported by the Lennox & Lombroso Fund for Research & Training
Durgesh Tiwari, Ph.D., MPharm, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Regulation of neuroprotective factors by miR-324-5p in epilepsy
Jennifer Wong, Ph.D., Emory University, Evaluating Huperzine A as a treatment for SCN1A-derived epilepsy
Predoctoral Fellowships. Mentored research fellowships with up to $30,000 for stipend and travel support, along with one year of AES membership.
Mariya Chavarha, Stanford University, Voltage imaging for rapid characterization of SCN8A mutant neuronal phenotypes, an AES/Wishes for Elliott Fellowship supported by WFE and AES
Huijie Feng, Michigan State University, Mechanisms of GNAO1 encephalopathy
Surobhi Ganguly, Northwestern University, Investigating functional consequences of SCN2A mutations in epilepsy
Fu-Shan Kuo, University of Connecticut, Role of respiratory control in Dravet syndrome
Yvonne Moore, Tufts University, Increasing KCC2 function as a strategy for the treatment of seizures
Irene Vuu, University of Minnesota, Allopregnanolone as initial status epilepticus therapy: canine epilepsy studies
Epilepsy Study Consortium MiniGrant, $15,000 for an epilepsy fellow to support research related to antiepileptic drug therapy and foster a career in research. Supported by ESC and administered by AES.
Alendia Hartshorn, M.D., Dartmouth College, Effect of antiepileptic drugs on balance and reaction time
Epilepsy Foundation Clinical Research Apprenticeship Award. Mentorship awards for clinical epilepsy fellow at a level 3 or 4 epilepsy center in the United States committed to clinical care and research. The award provides $25,000 for salary and $10,000 for classwork and travel to support training in clinical research, preferably within a large clinical research endeavor. Supported by the EF and administered by AES.
Lu Lin, M.D., Ph.D., Brigham and Women's Hospital, Assessing efficacy and adverse events of new AEDs in hospitalized patients