Ege Kavalali, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmacology; William Stokes Chair In Experimental Therapeutics
VKC Member
Overview of Interests
Dr. Kavalali's research interests are focused elucidating fundamental function - structure relationships of central synapses in health and disease. As synaptic communication is an essential aspect of nervous system function, basic principles we discover are pertinent to pathophysiology of several neurological, neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. Kavalali recently completed and published a study on idiopathic epilepsies, which is a group of epileptic disorders characterized by recurrent and unprovoked seizures. Patients with idiopathic epilepsy often exhibit symptoms in infancy or early childhood, leading to neurodevelopmental delay disorders with epilepsy, synonymously termed epileptic encephalopathies. These patients often have a comorbidity with intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorders, depression, anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
September 2021 VKC Notables: "Leading the Vanguard: Ege Kavalali"