ICARE: Interagency Collaborative to Advance Research in Epilepsy

As the lead NIH Institute for epilepsy research, the NINDS has held annual meetings of an interagency epilepsy working group since 2003, with representation from multiple NIH Institutes, the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  This group has helped to increase communication and coordination among Institutes and agencies that support epilepsy-related research.  Group members have also collaborated with epilepsy researchers and voluntary organizations on scientific workshops, including the 2007 conference Curing Epilepsy 2007: Translating Discoveries into Therapies, which led to the development of the current Epilepsy Research Benchmarks.

In 2010, NINDS expanded the membership of the working group to include broader representation across NIH and other agencies, as well as members from the research and patient advocacy communities.  The expanded group met first on March 23, 2010, and established the new name (ICARE: Interagency Collaborative to Advance Research in Epilepsy) to reflect its primary focus on biomedical research.  Future annual meetings will provide a forum for sharing information about ongoing and planned epilepsy research activities, highlighting advances and discussing needs and opportunities, and promoting increased collaboration toward common research goals.

ICARE Member Organizations and Representatives

ICARE Meetings

Upcoming Meetings: TBA

Past Meetings: