CURE, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, is a volunteer-based nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for epilepsy by raising funds for research and increasing awareness of the prevalence and devastation of this disease. CURE was founded in 1998 by parents of children with epilepsy who were frustrated with their inability to protect their children from the devastation of seizures and the side effects of medications. Unwilling to sit back and
accept the debilitating effects of epilepsy, these parents joined forces to spearhead the search for a cure and support the critical, cutting-edge research needed to unravel the mysteries of this disorder. CURE is a lean organization where administrative costs are kept to a minimum so that money raised can go directly toward epilepsy research aimed at finding a cure.
Since its inception, CURE has raised $15 million to fund epilepsy research and other related initiatives that will lead the way to a cure. CURE provides seed grants to the most promising investigators to explore new areas and collect the data necessary to apply for further funding by others such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Grant recipients have been selected with the invaluable assistance of the CURE Scientific Advisory Board and the CURE Research Review Board. To date, CURE has awarded more than 100 cutting-edge research projects.
Currently, CURE is embarking on an aggressive three-year plan to revolutionize research dynamics in order to accelerate progress and increase the incidence of breakthroughs. This strategy includes a re-balancing of CURE's research portfolio and intensification of research efforts, while promoting collaboration among researchers. The outcomes will advance better understandings of the underlying mechanisms of epilepsy.
Beyond funding research, CURE plays a strong role in advocating for the overall epilepsy research agenda at the federal level. CURE was instrumental in the creation of the Epilepsy Research Benchmarks, which were developed to help guide the research community toward a cure for epilepsy. CURE has also helped to convince the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to fund epilepsy research because returning veterans with traumatic brain injury are at high risk for developing epilepsy. At the end of 2009, CURE published the first annual State of Epilepsy Research Report which examined progress toward a cure in these three key areas: financial capital,research focus, and human capital and scientific collaboration.
CURE co-sponsored the National Institutes of Health Conference, Curing Epilepsy: Focus on the Future in March of 2000. This White House-initiated conference was the first of its kind to focus on epilepsy. Since then, CURE has also lent support to other relevant workshops and conferences, including the March 2007 NIH Conference.
With over 3 million people in the United States suffering from epilepsy, of which an estimated 40% don't respond to treatment, and to which 50,000 individuals lose their lives each year, CURE is dedicated to raising public awareness with an emphasis on the large number of people who are severely affected by the disease. Through intense media outreach, fundraising events across the country, and policymaker education, CURE is spreading the word that an increased focus on epilepsy research is of critical importance.
To learn more about CURE, please visit us at www.cureepilepsy.org.
Listing jobs posted by CURE Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy
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