2017 Early Career Award Recipients

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. AES has an explicit, long-term commitment to developing talented researchers who will advance the understanding and treatment of epilepsy over the next generation. 

With support from generous philanthropic donations, the Lennox & Lombroso Fund for Research and Training, and non-profit partners, AES provides grants to research fellows in training and newly independent investigators working across the full spectrum of epilepsy research, from basic science to translational and clinical research. To help support the next generation of epilepsy researchers, click here.  

The American Epilepsy Society would like to thank our funding partners for joining us to support the next generation of epilepsy researchers. Four awards are supported in full by the Epilepsy Foundation (EF), one award is supported by the Epilepsy Study Consortium, and three awards are supported in part by either the Tuberous Sclerosis (TS) Alliance or Wishes for Elliott. 

 

 

View past recipients of early career awards here.

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., University of Michigan. Autonomous temporal lobe epilepsy therapy using bioluminescent optogenetics
    • 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 the Epilepsy Foundation 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., NINDS. Research study on viral and inflammatory causes of epilepsy, an AES/EF Fellowship supported by the Epilepsy Foundation 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., the Brigham and Women's Hospital. Functional connectivity MRI for predicting outcomes in epilepsy surgery, an AES/TS Alliance Fellowship, supported by both the Tuberous Sclerosis 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 the Epilepsy Foundation and administered by AES

 

Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Mentored research fellowships with up to $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, Ph.D., Stanford. 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 both Wishes for Elliott 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 both Wishes for Elliott 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. 
Supported by the Epilepsy Study Consortium and administered by AES. Click here for more information.

    • 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 Epilepsy Foundation and administered by AES.  More information is available here [PDF].

    • Lu Lin, M.D., Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Assessing efficacy and adverse events of new AEDs in hospitalized patients