Epilepsy Ontario to directly fund research for first time in 50-year history

July 28, 2016

By Deron Hamel

For the first time in its 50-year history, Epilepsy Ontario will be directly funding epilepsy research aimed at enhancing quality of life for people living with the condition.

Sean O'Malley
Sean O’Malley

Thanks to a private donation made to the agency, Epilepsy Ontario will be collaborating with leading epilepsy researchers in the province to conduct several studies. These include:

– The largest music therapy clinical trial ever conducted in Canada
– A first-of-its-kind study aimed at improving the long-term chances of success for brain surgery patients
– Partnership in a study using cutting-edge MRI technology to better understand the inner working of the brain

As a direct result of the funding, Epilepsy Ontario has entered into formal partnerships with world-class Ontario research institutes including EpLink, the Epilepsy Research Program of the Ontario Brain Institute, and the Krembil Neuroscience Centre at Toronto Western Hospital.

Sean O’Malley, who has served on Epilepsy Ontario’s board of directors, has been hired as the research program’s administrator.

While all the research Epilepsy Ontario will be funding is promising, O’Malley says he finds the music therapy study to be most fascinating. Music therapy, he notes, has been shown to be effective in improving quality of life for people with other neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

The study is currently under clinical review, and research is expected to begin in September with results published in the next two years.

“There has never been a clinical trial on music therapy for people with epilepsy done in Canada,” O’Malley tells Voices of Epilepsy. “That’s really exciting.”

As research administrator, O’Malley will be the key contact between Epilepsy Ontario and the researchers. He will also be keeping track of timelines and spearheading media relations and educational outreach programs connected to the research.

O’Malley, who has spent his career as a journalist, says his new position is a chance to marry his storytelling strengths with his passion to help people living with epilepsy. His daughter, Rhiannon, is living with the condition, so he is looking at his new role as an opportunity to help her.

“This is something I have such a personal connection to … and is something I find hugely satisfying – to be able to use my storytelling skills for something that could improve the lives of people like my daughter,” he says.

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