Alcyone Lifesciences Adds to its Clinical and Scientific Advisory Board

Alcyone Lifesciences Inc. has beefed up its clinical and scientific advisory board with an internationally-recognized expert on epilepsy treatment.

The privately-held medical device has appointed Michael Rogawski, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of California-Davis to its clinical and scientific advisory board.

“Throughout his career, Dr. Rogawski has been in the forefront of bringing novel and effective treatment for hard to treat seizures and epilepsy,” said P.J. Anand, founder and CEO of Alcyone Lifesciences. “His research continues to drive significant advancement in the field and we look forward to his contribution to Alcyone.”

Rogawski is an internationally recognized expert on treatments for seizures and epilepsy, according to Alcyone bigwigs. He currently is professor of neurology and member of the Center for Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis. Until 2006, he was senior investigator and chief of the Epilepsy Research Section at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).

Rogawski’s research encompasses cellular neurophysiological studies of ion channels and animal seizure models. He was the first to investigate convection-enhanced delivery of antiseizure agents in the treatment of epilepsy. In recognition of his research contributions, Rogawski received the NIH Director’s Award and the Epilepsy Research Award from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

“Alcyone’s technology platform is unique in that it has the potential to significantly improve certain seizure and epileptic conditions and offer new possibilities to help patients with this debilitating condition. I am looking forward to working with the Alcyone team,” he said.

Rogawski received his bachelor’s degree in biophysics from Amherst College, and his medical and doctorate degrees in pharmacology from Yale University. After serving as a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Neurophysiology at NINDS, he completed residency training in neurology at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md.

Based in Lowell, Mass., Alcyone Lifesciences is a privately-held medical device company that develops treatments for difficult neurological conditions. The company’s patented technology platform is based on an engineered amalgamation of microfabrication technologies along with advanced biomedical engineering with core product focus on targeted drug therapy and hydrocephalus.