Dan Barkmeier recently received a Pre-doctoral Research Training Fellowship from the Epilepsy Foundation of America. The fellowship includes $20,000 to continue his work in research that could lead to promising new seizure medications.
"This is a major milestone for me because it is the first time I have successfully received an external funding award," said Mr. Barkmeier, 26. "The goal of this project is to better understand the molecular aspects of epilepsy and to use that knowledge to develop new therapeutics for the disease."
Originally from Champaign, Ill., and now living in Romulus, Mr. Barkmeier is a M.D/Ph.D. student working in the laboratory of Dr. Jeffrey Loeb, in the Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Program. Dr. Loeb is the associate director of the School of Medicine's Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics. The award will help Mr. Barkmeier develop a new animal model of epilepsy focusing on the epileptic spikes between seizures. A challenge facing researchers developing medications is that animal models of epilepsy often fail to mimic the human disorder. The closer the animal model to the human form, the more likely a new drug developed using that model will work in human, explained Dr. Loeb.
Previous research on human epileptic brain tissue, Mr. Barkmeier said, revealed specific molecular pathways activated in epilepsy. However, the amount of activation of these pathways did not correlate with the amount of seizures, but rather with the amount of interictal spikes the patient had. The spikes are abnormal discharges that occur between epileptic seizures. They are smaller than seizures, but occur much more often.
"We believe that these small spikes may be essential for abnormally activating the pathways that characterize epilepsy," he explained. "To prove this, I have developed an animal model of interictal spiking that replicates the molecular changes seen in human epilepsy. With a model of both the electrical and molecular characteristics of epilepsy, we have a powerful system to test targeted therapeutics for epilepsy."
Mr. Barkmeier, who has completed two years of medical school and is now in the second year of the Ph.D. program, received his bachelor's degree in science from Illinois Wesleyan University.
"I grew up surrounded by medicine, since both my parents and many of my relatives are physicians. Even so, I was not pushed into it as a career, but came to it on my own because it was a chance to apply the fascinating aspects of biology in a way that improved lives," Mr. Barkmeier said.
He explained that he has always been interested in neuroscience "because it is the brain that holds all of our complexity, personality and consciousness. Clinically, I find the diagnostic part of medicine most fun, so I plan to combine these interests into a neuroradiology specialty."
After graduation, Mr. Barkmeier plans to complete a radiology residency as well as a postdoctoral research fellowship. He then wants to divide his time between clinical work and establishing his own neuroscience research laboratory.
By selecting Wayne State University for his medical education, he knew he "would get outstanding neuroscience research as well as a nationally-recognized clinical training program."
He is also impressed with Wayne State University's student life. "Wayne State medical students are collegial, supportive and genuinely passionate about helping the community," he said.