The Human Epilepsy Project

Epilepsy Foundation Vision

To create a world without epilepsy and lives free from seizures and side effects.

Our purpose is to develop an epilepsy research ecosystem that covers the entire spectrum of discovery - from the idea to market. We foster the development of new scientists and support research that leads to better treatments and care. We strive for excellence, innovation, and radical thinking to find cures.

Join us. Donate to support research today! 

Innovation

Our innovation programs test new ideas and follow new research leads by: 

• Pushing new ideas for epilepsy care and cures with the Epilepsy Innovation Institute
• Getting ideas connected to inventors and investors and developing new therapies faster with our Epilepsy Innovation Institute & Epilepsy Therapy Project
• Promoting research for the topics you care about, like SUDEP or Cannabinoids, with our Targeted Research Programs

Our research has no boundaries. We go where the science is. Over the past ten years, we have funded research on 6 continents.

Engagement

Our engagement programs improve communication between people with epilepsy, their families, advocates, researchers, and investors. 

• Creating a learning network and databank through the Rare Epilepsy Network
• Collaborating with healthcare providers, researchers, and individuals with epilepsy and their families to improve outcomes in epilepsy through the Epilepsy Learning Healthcare System.
• Working with regulators and industry to get therapies to the market faster with our Research Roundtable
• Hosting the Pipeline Conference to showcase the epilepsy pipeline to funders & the community at large
• Partnering with the Epilepsy Study Consortium to support an epilepsy registry through the Human Epilepsy Project.

Next Generation Scientists 

We invest in our future by: 

• Funding young researchers to bring their ideas to life through Next Generation Scientists. 

Digital Tools

We develop digital tools to support research infrastructure through:

• Connecting people with epilepsy to clinical trials via our Clinical Trials Portal
• Developing Epilepsy Foundation My Seizure Diary that can be used both as a self-management tool and for clinical research studies
• Creating a pipeline tracker to easily assess the landscape of drugs and devices in the clinical pipeline
• Supporting Device-apedia, an online searchable catalog of devices and apps being developed for epilepsy. 

Since 2003, we have provided funding to half of the therapies in the epilepsy clinical pipeline.

Our Impact

• The Epilepsy Foundation supported the UNEEG 24/7 at the 2017 Epilepsy Foundation Shark Tank Competition. This device received CE approval in the European Union in 2019.

"Winning this prize was a tremendous confidence booster for the team and a confirmation for our investors that we were building something highly relevant for the epilepsy community."

— CEO Torben Sandgren

• In 2017, the Epilepsy Therapy Project is supporting the first genetic therapy (Ataluren) for epilepsy.

"Support from the Epilepsy Foundation has allowed the first trial of a genetic therapy in epilepsy."

— Orrin Devinsky, MD

• In 2013, the Epilepsy Therapy Project supported the first Epidiolex® (CBD) trial by GW Pharmaceuticals (Greenwich Biosciences) for Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut.

"The origin of the Epidiolex trial began with a pivotal meeting of researchers from across the US and representatives of the Epilepsy Foundation."

— Orrin Devinsky, MD

• In 2011, the SharkTank award went to SAMiTM by HiPass Designs for developing a sleep activity monitor to detect abnormal movements in the night.

"Winning the first Epilepsy Foundation Shark Tank Competition in 2011 allowed me to transform SAMi from an expensive custom solution for us into a refined, much less costly tool for others."

— Charles W. Anderson, President HiPass Designs

• In 2011 the Epilepsy Therapy Project supported the development of Visualase® by Medtronic. Visualase is an MRI-Guided Laser Ablation Technology for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery to reduce the risk of open-brain surgery for people living with epilepsy.

"Aside from the funding, validation by ETP experts who vetted our project, and found it to be a worthwhile pursuit, has been a significant factor in our rapid progress and expansion into new centers."

— Ashok Gowda, PhD, Founder of Visualase, Inc — acquired by Medtronic in 2014, President & CEO BioTex, Inc.

• In 2009 and 2011, the Epilepsy Therapy Project funded the development of SmartWatch by Smart Monitor. This was one of the first watches to fuse sensor, mobile, and cloud technologies with big-data analytics to create an ease of use monitoring and alert system device for people living with epilepsy.

• In 2008, the Epilepsy Therapy Project supported the early clinical studies of Dr. Christopher De Giorgio at UCLA for testing the Monarch eTNS device, a new noninvasive nerve stimulation device, to stop seizures. Those studies paved the way for the Monarch eTNS device to obtain approval by the European Union. Currently, Monarch eTNS, by Neurosigma, is being reviewed by the FDA.

"This study led to two [follow-on] NIH grants for the development of Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation, and laid the groundwork for the further development of Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation as a potential treatment for Major Depression…[We] are extremely grateful for the support of the Epilepsy Foundation, and wish to thank our colleagues at the Epilepsy Foundation for their support and encouragement for these pilot feasibility studies”

— Christopher M. DeGiorgio MD, FAAN, Professor and Vice Chair, UCLA Department of Neurology

Support Us

We won't stop until there are no seizures and no side effects. Our purpose is to accelerate the development of therapies for people living with epilepsy.

Join us in achieving this goal by supporting research at the Epilepsy Foundation.