Associate professor earns award for epilepsy research

Patel

Manisha Patel, a researcher at the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy, was one of three recipients of a 2010 Innovator Award worth $50,000 from Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE).

"The vast majority of epilepsy research is focused on channels and synapses and only a minority focuses on metabolic processes," said Patel, an associate professor at the school. "Although anticonvulsant drugs remain frontline therapies for controlling epilepsies, the search for novel disease-modifying drugs is highly desirable to halt the development, progression and cognitive changes associated with chronic seizures. This CURE award will enable us to conduct a proof-of-principle study to test the benefits of a unique antioxidant compound that targets metabolic dysfunction."

Launched this year, the CURE Innovator Award supports principal investigators in pursuing innovative research studies. The award supports high-risk studies that have the potential to reveal new avenues for investigation. Since its inception in 1998, CURE has raised more than $10 million to fund 93 cutting-edge research projects.