Calgary researcher receives $130,000 grant to develop clinical decision tools to aid epilepsy research

A researcher from the University of Calgary is receiving $130,000 to develop clinical decision tools to aid a physician's understanding of how a patient will respond to different treatments. Colin Josephson, MD, MSc, a clinical and research fellow in epilepsy, was awarded the Susan S. Spencer Clinical Research Training Fellowship for his work in developing a clinical decision tool that is aimed at improving quality of patient care and helping ensure cost-effective use of healthcare resources.

The research grant is funded by the American Brain Foundation, the American Epilepsy Society, and the Epilepsy Foundation. The award is named in memory of Susan S. Spencer, MD, a leader in both the American Epilepsy Society and American Academy of Neurology, who was a leading epilepsy researcher.

"I feel incredibly privileged and humbled to have been selected as the recipient of the 2014 Susan S. Spencer Clinical Research Training Fellowship. It is an honor to be given the opportunity to perform clinical research that directly helps improve the lives of those with epilepsy," said Josephson. "Thanks to the generous support of organizations such as the American Brain Foundation, the American Epilepsy Society, and the Epilepsy Foundation, I firmly believe that the future is bright for people with epilepsy."

Drs. Nathalie Jette and Samuel Wiebe serve as Josephson's research supervisors on the project and Dr. Mark Sadler has served as his residency mentor. The two-year award will consist of an annual salary of $55,000, plus $10,000 per year in educational expenses. The award recognizes the importance of epilepsy clinical research with the goal of providing better treatment, prevention or cure of the disease. The fellowship will be presented in Philadelphia during the American Academy of Neurology's 66th Annual Meeting.

Clinical research is the fundamental transition stage between discovery and treatment. Clinical research provides the scientific basis for all forms of care, addresses patient and caregiver needs and is the backbone for drug development and cost-effectiveness studies needed to improve lives. Fellowships provide recipients with up to three years of "protected time" with salary, which allows them to continue important research projects in their chosen interests.

Epilepsy is a common neurologic disorder that produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions. Seizures are episodes of disturbed brain function that cause changes in attention or behavior. When a person has two or more unprovoked seizures, he or she is considered to have epilepsy. Epilepsy is a family of more than 40 syndromes that affects more than three million people in the United States and 50 million worldwide.