Over 85 people attended the EPICLUSTER workshop Accelerating Patient Involvement in European Epilepsy Research showcasing ways and best practices for bringing people with epilepsy and researchers to work together on common ground.
FutureNeuro Director Prof David Henshall (pictured below left) and EPICLUSTER Coordinator kicked off the half day event on Oct 6th 2021 along with Francesca Sofia(pictured below right), President International Bureau of Epilepsy.
The workshop began with an overview of definitions, trends, and key themes around PPI and how they can successfully advance epilepsy research. Participants also learned the “why”, “how”, and “what” of patient involvement in research. The event was designed to encourage researchers to learn about PPI and how to begin to integrate it into their research programs. It was relevant to people living with epilepsy and their loved ones, students, postdocs, and faculty.
PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS:
• Understanding the potential of PPI in epilepsy research
• Learning how epilepsy researchers can work with people with epilepsy and their representatives
• Envisioning the way forward: how to incorporate patient involvement into epilepsy research so to fundamentally change the way policy-makers, funders, and regulators view epilepsy
ORGANIZED BY: EPICLUSTER was funded by the EU-funded European Brain Research Area (EBRA) project in late 2019 as a two-year networking action to enhance the coordination of epilepsy research in Europe. The primary objective of EPICLUSTER is to establish a collaborative framework for the coordinated actions of epilepsy research in Europe, based around shared partnerships and research priorities.
