Overview
Research in our laboratory is focused on identifying genetic factors that contribute to neurodevelopmental epilepsies. To understand how genetic variations contribute to the underlying pathophysiology, we develop and use mouse models for genetic, physiological and pharmacological studies, as well as in vitro and ex vivo systems to understand cellular effects. The overarching goal is to translate this genetic knowledge into better treatments for childhood epilepsies.
Support for our Research
The Kearney lab is supported by both federal and foundation grants, including the NIH, the Dravet Syndrome Foundation and the Lennox Gastaut Syndrome Foundation, as well as industry partners. While these funding sources are critical for sustaining our research program, private philanthropy supports exciting new projects that are not funded under these traditional mechanisms. With generous donations from the community we can explore high risk/high reward projects to find new genetic risk factors for epilepsy, understand disease mechanisms, and translate that knowledge toward new therapeutics. For example, we have recently used private donations to develop new model systems to enable our studies, as well as share with the broader research community to maximize the impact.
If you would like to make an online donation, please go to the secure online giving form, please select ‘OTHER DESIGNATION‘ and specify ‘Kearney Lab Research‘ in the text box.