A Message from CEO, Beth Dean

The past year has tested the resilience of the epilepsy research community in unprecedented ways, but it has also reinforced what is possible when people come together around a shared purpose.

Because of your support, CURE Epilepsy has continued to push critical research forward at a moment when scientists and institutions are facing extraordinary challenges. Across the biomedical research landscape, operational disruptions, procedural interference, and ideological screening have left researchers scrambling to protect years of work and keep promising projects alive. Early-career investigators are being hit especially hard, with many questioning whether they can remain in academic research at all.

This reality makes your support of our mission more urgent than ever.

Over the past year, your generosity has enabled CURE Epilepsy to continue investing in bold science, supporting early-stage researchers, and bringing together researchers, clinicians, families, and advocates committed to accelerating cures. In this report, you’ll read about important progress across several areas of our work, including:

📝 Translation of basic research findings into diagnostic guidelines, device development, and other work with clinical relevance

🕊️ Expanded overall momentum in multidisciplinary, AI-supported SUDEP research and prevention efforts

🤝 Leadership roles in key, agenda-setting conferences like Curing the Epilepsies

💜 Engagement of our community with new lay-friendly scientific content and advocacy opportunities

All of these achievements are powered by you and the rest of our community. In an increasingly unstable funding environment, your donations and advocacy have helped CURE Epilepsy remain nimble and responsive. Our grants have long served as critical early investment for researchers pursuing new ideas, and today that support is more important than ever. We are currently initiating a new grants program to bridge gaps created by delayed or reduced federal funding so that promising epilepsy research does not lose momentum.

Scientific progress depends on continuity — and on people willing to stand behind it even during difficult moments. We see this resolve in the researchers refusing to give up on breakthrough ideas, in the families transforming hardship into advocacy, and in supporters like you who believe deeply in the possibility of a future free from seizures.

Thank you for making our work possible. Your generosity and partnership continue to move us forward toward better treatments, better outcomes, and ultimately, cures.