About Us
The Centre of Excellence in Epilepsy at the Neuro (CEEN) builds on the historical strengths of the Neuro, which has been at the forefront of epilepsy research and treatment for decades. Currently, more than 4,000 patients with seizure disorders are treated and monitored in the outpatient clinics of the Neuro every year, among whom more than 200 patients with pharmaco-resistant seizures undergo presurgical investigations at the Neuro’s epilepsy monitoring unit.
This exceptional clinical environment is embedded within the Neuro’s world-leading research ecosystem, which hosts top researchers and clinician-scientists in epilepsy and houses some of the most advanced neuroimaging, electrophysiological, and neuroinformatics platforms in the world.
At the heart of the CEEN is a unique patient-oriented flagship research program which aims to:
- discover and validate novel epilepsy biomarkers that can enhance diagnosis and prognosis for individual patients,
- better understand the effects of epilepsy on cognition, lifestyle, and sleep, and
- reveal epilepsy mechanisms that could ultimately lead to novel and improved treatments.
This program brings together advanced neuroimaging, electrophysiology, and cognitive and sleep studies in patients that are followed longitudinally, both before and after epilepsy surgery. Our research is closely integrated with the McConnell Brain Imaging Centre at the Neuro (BIC), which provides us with access to cutting-edge imaging and informatics platforms.
In our research, we also study family members and conduct genetic studies in patients with seizure disorders. Furthermore, our studies have been closely aligned with several large-scale initiatives, including the Montreal Paris Neurobank and Q1K, which offers unprecedented opportunities to study epilepsy in the context of typical as well as atypical brain development and lifespan changes.
In line with the Neuro’s Open Science philosophy and practice, research findings, methods, and datasets will be made openly available, to accelerate scientific discovery and clinical translation.
