Research and Clinical Trials

Research is the only way to find new, improved treatments for epilepsy. The BRC Epilepsy Centre facilitates access to cutting-edge epilepsy research at UCL and UCLH. We aim to improve patient outcomes by fully integrating epilepsy research into the clinical epilepsy service at UCLH NHS Foundation Trust.

Participating in clinical trials gives patients access to new epilepsy drugs that are not yet available as part of standard of care. Clinical trials help researchers evaluate the safety and efficacy of new medications.

We run a broad spectrum of commercial and non-commercial epilepsy studies at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at Queen Square and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at Chalfont (Find a Study). Our multidisciplinary team at UCL-UCLH includes research nurses, research assistants, a senior clinical project manager, basic scientists as well as neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychiatrists, and neurophysiologists who serve as Principal and/or Co-Investigators on epilepsy studies and clinical trials.

The epilepsy team works closely with commercial and non-commercial sponsors, clinical research organisations (CROs), the UCLH/UCL Joint Research Office, the NIHR North London Regional Research Delivery Network as well as key service support departments at UCLH, including ophthalmology, the clinical trials pharmacy at UCLH, the Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre and the Neurometabolic Unit.

Take part in a study or clinical trial

Are you interested in taking part in research? Search Find a Study for a summary of all our actively recruiting epilepsy studies, including clinical trials of investigational drugs.

If you are a UCLH patient, we also encourage you to ask your epilepsy consultant or clinical nurse specialist about opportunities for taking part in research. They will tell you about ongoing studies and/or signpost you to a member of the research delivery team. Please note, we can only recruit UCLH patients into drug trials.

If you have any questions or would like more information about taking part in our clinical trials, please email uclh.epilepsytrials@nhs.net.

UCLH/UCL also works closely with epilepsy charities, such as the Epilepsy Society, SUDEP Action and Epilepsy Research Institute who fund vital research into epilepsy.

The UK Epilepsy Priority Setting Partnership sets out the Top 10 priorities for research into epilepsy.

Join the Epilepsy Registry - register your interest in taking part in vital epilepsy research

Patients: Please join our epilepsy registry if you are a UCLH patient or healthy volunteer and want to be contacted about taking part in upcoming/ongoing clinical trials. We will match you to epilepsy research studies you may be suitable for. You can then choose which studies you want to get involved in.