Please tell us about your research
As a developmental neuroscientist, I’ve long been fascinated by brain plasticity, which I study in children who have experienced brain injuries from stroke, extreme prematurity and epilepsy. My entry into epilepsy research began during my medical training in the early 1980s, where I was involved in developing single channel MEG (magnetoencephalography) to localise epileptic activity in children. Later in my career, at the Institute of Child Health at University College London (UCL), I started working on non-invasive methods for localising cognitive and motor functions in children who are candidates for epilepsy surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). I’ve followed these children’s journeys ever since, focusing on their cognitive and educational outcomes into adulthood. Observing how children can make remarkable cognitive recoveries and ‘catch up’ after successful epilepsy surgery, drives my work to make surgical intervention more effective and available earlier in a child’s epilepsy journey.
What impact has your research had on people affected by epilepsy?
Our functional MRI service, commissioned by the NHS and operational since the early 2000s, has evaluated hundreds of children for surgical treatment. Many of these children are now seizure-free without having lost important cognitive or other skills. By consistently collecting data over the years, we’ve gained a clearer understanding of our success rates and failures and can make better predictions for outcomes. We have also documented the degree of brain plasticity in children that helps overcome adversity and catch up with their healthy peers.
Our recent report on the cognitive trajectories of children with focal epilepsy, including the long-term impact of surgical treatment, has significantly influenced how we counsel families and has helped to speed up the diagnostic process.
Last year, my surgical colleagues at GOSH started the pilot phase of the first UK trial of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for children with epilepsy. Thirteen-year-old Oran, who has been living with uncontrolled seizures since he was three years old, was the first participant in the trial. The procedure involved implanting a rechargeable device onto Oran’s skull, connected to electrodes in the brain, to help reduce seizure activity. Since undergoing the surgery, Oran’s daytime seizures have decreased by 80%. The trial has now recruited three additional patients, before a further 22 patients take part in a further trial. You can read more about the pilot and Oran’s story here.
Additionally, my colleagues have developed groundbreaking AI tools that enhance MRI diagnostics, identifying epilepsy-causing abnormalities that are hard to detect with the naked eye. Together, I think we have made a positive, lifelong impact on many children and young people with drug-resistant focal epilepsy.
While working in the field of epilepsy, which aspects have you found most challenging and most rewarding?
The most rewarding park of this work is the collaborative and inclusive spirit of the epilepsy community, including international colleagues, specialist centres and the involvement of patients and families. The enthusiasm of my younger colleagues is especially inspiring. While it is a brilliant field to be working in, our main challenge remains the level of funding. Without the support of organisations like the Epilepsy Research Institute, our achievements wouldn’t have been possible.
What have you recently been working on as part of the Capacity Building research theme?
In 2024, we conducted a survey to assess the priorities and needs of the UK epilepsy research community. The results will guide our efforts for the coming years, with a focus on mentoring and funding initiatives to attract talented early-career researchers into our field. We have also mapped the UK’s standing in epilepsy research both nationally and internationally. Suffice to say, that despite being a relatively small research community, UK epilepsy research is world class, which reinforces the importance of continued investment to meet the challenges we’ve set for ourselves as a community.
What are your hopes for the future of epilepsy research?
The goal of the Capacity Building theme is to foster a community of researchers and people affected by epilepsy who can make practical improvements to lives while nurturing the next generation of researchers and clinicians. Ultimately, I hope that we can either prevent or cure epilepsy for every child or adult affected by it.
