Epilepsy Training Grant - Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder in the United States. Although three million Americans have epilepsy — including 500,000 children under the age of 17 — there is no cure for epilepsy and we only have an incomplete understanding of the underlying mechanisms for seizures. Curing epilepsy requires the next generation of epilepsy researchers to carry out rigorous, reproducible research with an understanding of the basic, translational, and clinical aspects of the disorder. The goal of the Epilepsy Training Program (ETP) at the University of Virginia (UVA) is to train the future leaders of epilepsy research by assembling faculty from fourteen departments whose research spans a broad range of scientific perspectives — including different forms of epilepsy, experimental model systems spanning multiple levels of biological complexity, and investigations into fundamental mechanisms of neuronal excitability — to provide outstanding scientific and epilepsy research training. The ETP will achieve this goal by providing an epilepsy topics course, comprehensive training workshops, and supplemental training opportunities that will: (1) Provide training in the quantitative aspects of research, including rigorous statistical methodology, study design, and reproducibility; (2) Promote trainees' understanding of the basic, translational, and clinical aspects of epilepsy; (3) Deliver exceptional hands-on training in essential laboratory techniques for epilepsy research; (4) Educate trainees in formal and informal methods of effective communication for varied audiences, including the scientific community and public; (5) Inform trainees about the full spectrum of science-related career paths; and (6) Recruit, retain, and integrate trainees into the epilepsy research community through mentored engagement with this breadth of scientific perspectives. A PhD-level biostatistician will provide an expert perspective on statistical principles to evaluate biological data through active participation in the epilepsy topics course. ETP workshops and epilepsy seminars will be organized and primarily delivered by UVA faculty, but external researchers with relevant expertise will be invited to present in-person to ETP trainees and the UVA neuroscience community. A unique aspect of our ETP is the training in clinical aspects of epilepsy, wherein trainees will learn how clinical practices in epilepsy lead to the diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients. Six 3rd-year predoctoral trainees will be selected for two-year ETP appointments with the second year of support contingent on first-year progress. Expected trainee outcomes include newly minted PhD scientific researchers with a thorough understanding of rigorous experimental design, statistical methodology, and computer programming and a strong background in epilepsy research, evident by publications, presentations, and external funding. These trainees will continue onto research-intensive or research-related careers across academia, industry, and government. The epilepsy topics course, ETP training workshops, seminars, and interest group meetings are open to the entire UVA neuroscience and epilepsy research community and advertised specifically to trainees. These activities will enrich the training of not only ETP-supported trainees but also additional pre- and postdoctoral neuroscience trainees. Currently, only one other epilepsy training program exists in the United States. The UVA ETP will provide the next generation of epilepsy researchers with a strong theoretical, technical, and quantitative foundation, enabling them to perform rigorous, reproducible research that accelerates the development of cures for this devastating neurological disease.
