We’re back from Boston and a very energizing scientific meeting. Thanks to outgoing American Epilepsy Society (AES) President, Steve Schachter, MD  for a great  and productive year and a stimulating annual meeting, and we look forward to working together with Jaideep Kapur, MD, PhD (Professor of Neurology at University of Virginia Health Science Center)  under his leadership in the coming year.

You saw a few of our activities at AES (below posts), but I was amazed by the constant conversations, networking, and energy that occurred in between scientific sessions and activities–it’s impossible to describe all the ‘work’ that was conducted at that meeting. There’s lots of enthusiasm for moving this field forward, which is, of course, what we’re all about at CURE.

In all 4,000 registration bags at the AES meeting, we inserted CURE’s  inaugural State of Epilepsy Research Report.  I really hope you can all take the  time to look through it. The figures we have compiled are dismaying, but affirm what we have known in our hearts for some time now–that epilepsy research needs an infusion of public and private funds, that we need to focus on greater understanding of the underlying mechanisms, and that we have to continue to encourage collaborative efforts to make the advances we desperately need. At CURE, we will continue in the coming decade to do everything we can to make sure this happens.

Of course your involvement and support will help tremendously–we truly need your help.  We’re making great progress toward our goal of raising an additional $250K for the very first Friends for a Cure Research Award (check out our test tube to see how much we’ve raised so far!), and are so grateful for every dollar you can contribute to help us get there!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and beginning of the holiday season!