News Release

Epilepsy researcher at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia receives scientific prize

American Epilepsy Society recognizes Dr. Douglas Coulter for basic science advances

Grant and Award Announcement

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Douglas Coulter, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

image: Dr. Douglas Coulter (center), of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, received the 2010 Epilepsy Research Recognition Award for Basic Science, from two officers of the American Epilepsy Society, Dr. Jacqueline A. French (left), second vice president; and Dr. Jaideep Kapur (right), president. view more 

Credit: American Epilepsy Society

Douglas A. Coulter, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, received the 2010 Epilepsy Research Recognition Award for Basic Science from the American Epilepsy Society. The Society honored Dr. Coulter's pioneering contributions to epilepsy research on Monday, Dec. 6 at its Annual Meeting in San Antonio.

Considered the most prestigious prizes for research in epilepsy, the Epilepsy Research Recognition Awards annually honor active scientists for professional excellence and distinguished research. One award recognizes a basic science investigator, the other a clinical investigator.

The Basic Science Award to Dr. Coulter acknowledges his "highly original and pioneering contributions to the understanding of altered brain cell and circuit function in the development of epilepsy." He has studied a fundamental research question—how does an injury to neurons ultimately result in the recurrent seizures that characterize epilepsy?

Dr. Coulter has used a variety of approaches—physiological, anatomical and molecular—to study the development of epilepsy, both in animal models and in human brains. One technique he has developed in his laboratory is a high-speed imaging method that captures how molecular changes in individual brain cells influence the function of brain signaling networks.

Some of his most recent research has focused on abnormal changes in brain cells called astrocytes reduce inhibition signals in the brain, allowing uncontrolled firing among neurons to give rise to epileptic seizures.

Epilepsy affects an estimated 50 million people, 3 million of them in the United States. It is the third most common neurological disorder, after Alzheimer's disease and stroke.

Dr. Coulter's research has also included studying cellular activities of several anti-epileptic drugs. Coulter said, "The ultimate goal of our research is to help translate detailed knowledge of how epilepsy develops into better therapies for treating children and adults with epilepsy."

Dr. Coulter is an investigator at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute. He also is a professor of Pediatrics and Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where he directs the University's Center for Dynamic Imaging of Neuronal Function. He has received a Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and was Chair of the second Gordon Research Conference on Epilepsy.

He is active in many educational and scientific activities of the American Epilepsy Society, and has served as an editor of the journals Epilepsy Currents, Epilepsy Research, and Epilepsia, among other publications. He is also a standing member of an NINDS study section.

###

About The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country, ranking third in National Institutes of Health funding. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 460-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu.


Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.