The American Epilepsy Society (AES), one of the largest non-governmental organizations funding epilepsy research, is leading a joint effort to support young scholars with early career funding opportunities.
With help from the Epilepsy Foundation, Wishes for Elliott: Advancing SCN8A Research and the Dravet Syndrome Foundation, the endeavor is providing 19 early career fellowships and research grants.
The awards amount to $790,000 for promising epilepsy research projects and educational research training.
“This funding builds a pipeline of innovative minds who will lead the future discoveries in epilepsy. Partnering with other like-minded organizations makes strategic sense and broadens the impact of these awards,” said Dr. Michael Privitera, AES President, in a press release.
The fellowships will support one year of mentored research training for pre-doctoral, post-doctoral and clinical fellows. The junior investigator research awards will provide one year of research funding for young scholars. Winners will conduct basic, translational and clinical research and a series of academic institutions and medical schools throughout the United States.
AES and the Epilepsy Foundation have partnered for several years to support early-stage researchers, many of whom went on to follow promising independent careers in epilepsy research. Wishes for Elliott: Advancing SCN8A Research and the Dravet Syndrome Foundation focus on rare and severe early onset types of epilepsy.
Below is a list that shows a variety of projects selected to receive the awards:
- AES Junior Investigator Research Award – 3 awards;
- AES/EF Junior Investigator Research Award (supported by the Epilepsy Foundation) – 2 awards;
- AES Research and Training Fellowship for Clinicians – 1 award;
- AES/EF Research and Training Fellowship for Clinicians (supported by the Epilepsy Foundation) – 1 award;
- AES Predoctoral Research Fellowships – 4 awards;
- AES Postdoctoral Research Fellowships – 5 awards;
- AES/Wishes for Elliott Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (supported by AES and Wishes for Elliott: Advancing SCN8A Research) – 2 awards;
- AES/DSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (supported by AES and the Dravet Syndrome Foundation) – 1 award.
“This is a strong group of early career scientists, bringing new ideas to advance research in epilepsy” said Manisha Patel, chair of the AES Research & Training Council.
Details about 2016 Early Career Research Fellowship and Grant recipients are available in the full press release.
