Chicago IL— Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) is proud to announce this year’s Taking Flight and Innovator Grant Awardees. Five grant recipients will collectively receive almost $450,000 to fund their research in the fight against epilepsy.
The Taking Flight Award provides $100,000 to young epilepsy investigators to promote their careers and allow them to develop a research focus independent of their mentor(s). This year there are four recipients.
Separately, the Innovator Award supports the exploration of a highly innovative, often risky new concept or untested theory that addresses an important problem relevant to epilepsy. This year’s recipient receives $50,000.
“We are excited to announce the recipients of this year’s grants”, says CURE CSO, Dr. Laura Lubbers. “From risk-taking innovators to young researchers just starting their independent careers, this year’s awardees represent the future of epilepsy research in the fight for a cure.”
The grants will fund a variety of research projects with focuses including:
- Focal cortical dysplasia
- Activity patterns of cells in the brain that produce seizures and cognitive deficits
- Abnormal myelin in absence epilepsy
- Identification of genetic causes of epilepsy using cell-free DNA
2018 Taking Flight Awardees:
- Jennifer Gelinas, M.D., Ph.D., Columbia University Medical Center
- Lakshmi Subramanian, Ph.D., The Regents of the University of California at San Francisco
- Tristan Shuman, Ph.D., Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Juliet Knowles, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University
The Taking Flight Award to Juliet Knowles, M.D., Ph.D., is made possible through the generous funding from The Ravichandran Foundation and has been named the “Ravichandran Foundation Award”.
In a statement, Hari Ravichandran of The Ravichandran Foundation said, “our goal is to make contributions that also leave a legacy of positive social impact. I can’t think of a better way to do that than by supporting the efforts of young researchers and their mission to find a cure for epilepsy.”
2018 Innovator Awardee:
- Jozef Gecz, Ph.D., University of Adelaide
For more information on CURE grant opportunities and policies, please visithttps://www.cureepilepsy.org/grants-program/#grant_opportunities.
About CURE
The mission of Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) is to find a cure for epilepsy, by promoting and funding patient-focused research. Since its inception in 1998, CURE has raised over $60 million to advance its goal of no seizures and no side effects. To date, CURE has awarded more than 220 cutting-edge research projects in 15 countries around the world. CURE is the leading nongovernmental agency fully committed to funding research in epilepsy.
For information about CURE, please visit our website at www.CUREepilepsy.org or contact us at info@CUREepilepsy.org.