Project Grant R61NS150137

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded the University of Virginia $459,143 on September 1, 2026, under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders program (CFDA 93.853) to develop and validate a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy suitable for drug screening.

The funded work addresses the lack of animal models amenable to pharmaceutical testing for temporal lobe epilepsy, a debilitating disorder affecting millions worldwide. The project will test different mouse strains using pilocarpine treatment guided by pharmacokinetic modeling to identify strains that generate seizure frequencies suitable for drug testing, defined as less than 30 percent mortality from pilocarpine treatment, greater than 2 seizures per day over a four-week period, and fewer than 30 percent seizure-free days. The recipient will also test whether epileptic mice generated through this approach respond to currently available antiseizure drugs, conducting drug testing at the University of Utah through the NIH-sponsored Epilepsy Therapy Screening Program.

The award runs from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028, with work performed in Charlottesville, Virginia.