Australian Epilepsy Project - AEP

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Australian Epilepsy Project - AEP

The AEP aims to improve the outcomes of people living with epilepsy through advanced testing and AI. Find out more from the website: www.epilepsyproject.org.au.

Up to a quarter of a million people in Australia live with epilepsy - a condition that severely impacts a person's quality of life, from health, safety and independence through to employment limitations and poor mental health outcomes. Through advanced testing (imaging, cognition and genetics) and through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create precision diagnosis, the AEP aims to break

down treatment silos, create advanced diagnostic tools and reduce the uncertainty that characterises epilepsy care today. A network roll out of AEP hubs has already begun and will continue across Australia to enable participants access to the best diagnostic testing, alongside at-home testing. The AEP began as a proof-of-concept pilot study and in 2021 was awarded a $30million grant from the MRFF - the single largest government investment into epilepsy research in Australia. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land on which we meet. We pay our respects to their culture and Elders; past, present and emerging. We respect and welcome people of all backgrounds, genders, sexualities, abilities, and cultures.

19/08/2026

💜🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ WE’RE WALKING FOR EPILEPSY! 🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️💜

We’re excited to announce that the Australian Epilepsy Project will be supporting BOTH major walks for epilepsy fundraising this year! 🎉💜🙌

👟 First up: Step 4 Epilepsy!

Our team will be walking 26 minutes a day ⏱️🚶‍♀️ to raise awareness 📣 and vital funds 💰 for Epilepsy Action Australia.

🌸 Then in October: Walk for Epilepsy!

We’ll be taking part once again, with each team member walking 25km from 1–25 October 🗓️👟💜 to show our support for Australians impacted by epilepsy. This event is hosted by the Epilepsy Foundation of Australia💜👏

We’re so excited to raise funds 💰, spread awareness 📣, support our community 🤝 and get fit at the same time! 💪😄🏃‍♀️

💜 Every step counts.

👟 Every kilometre matters.

🤝 Every donation helps.

Let’s get moving and make a difference together! 💜🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️✨

The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

12/08/2026

📢 Do you live or work in Newcastle? Volunteers wanted!

Help advance epilepsy research and support better brain health for future generations.

We are seeking volunteers - people without epilepsy - to join the Australian Epilepsy Project’s study control group.

Control group volunteers are vital for a research study as they provide a point of comparison for general participants and determine the efficacy of the study.

Participation involves an at-home examiner-led neuropsychology test, approx. 120 mins as well as a visit to the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) for an MRI scan, approx. 90 mins.

Your participation in the AEP will help to shape the future landscape of epilepsy diagnoses and treatment for thousands of Australians and drive new discoveries and future applications of data for epilepsy today, and other brain health conditions, tomorrow.

Find out more: https://www.epilepsyproject.org.au/participants-volunteer

The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

Epilepsy Action Australia

29/07/2026

🚨 We're hiring! 🚨

The Australian Epilepsy Project (AEP) has three exciting career opportunities for the right people! 💜

If you're looking for meaningful work where you can make a real difference in the lives of people living with epilepsy, we'd love to hear from you. 🌟

📌 Current opportunities:

💼 Executive Assistant - https://floreyinstitute.applynow.net.au/jobs/FLOREY311-executive-assistant-australian-epilepsy-project

📊 Junior Data Scientist - https://floreyinstitute.applynow.net.au/jobs/FLOREY310-junior-data-scientist-australian-epilepsy-project

✅ Quality Manager - https://floreyinstitute.applynow.net.au/jobs/FLOREY308-quality-manager-australian-epilepsy-project

🤝 Join a passionate team at the forefront of epilepsy research and care and help shape a better future for people living with epilepsy.

The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

23/07/2026

📢 Do you live or work in Newcastle? Volunteers wanted!

Help advance epilepsy research and support better brain health for future generations.
We are seeking volunteers - people without epilepsy - to join the Australian Epilepsy Project’s study control group.

Control group volunteers are vital for a research study as they provide a point of comparison for general participants and determine the efficacy of the study.

Participation involves an at-home examiner-led neuropsychology test, approx. 120 mins as well as a visit to the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) for an MRI scan, approx. 90 mins.

Your participation in the AEP will help to shape the future landscape of epilepsy diagnoses and treatment for thousands of Australians and drive new discoveries and future applications of data for epilepsy today, and other brain health conditions, tomorrow.

Find out more: https://www.epilepsyproject.org.au/participants-volunteer

The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
Epilepsy Action Australia

22/07/2026

🎉 New publication! 🧠

Our Australian Epilepsy Project (AEP) imaging protocol paper, along with a summary of structural imaging findings from our initial participant cohort, has been published in Epilepsia. 📚

Epileptogenic lesions in the Australian Epilepsy Project: A harmonized 3-T magnetic resonance imaging protocol and its diagnostic yield

🔍 Among participants who had previously undergone a clinical MRI, the project identified 9% more potentially epileptogenic lesions.

These findings highlight the value of a harmonized, high-quality MRI protocol and its potential to improve diagnosis and treatment planning for people living with epilepsy.

📖 Read the full paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/epi.70381

The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

21/07/2026

🧠💜Today on World Brain Day 2026, we're joining the global call for 🌍🤝Brain Health: Access for All.

Every person living with epilepsy deserves timely access to accurate diagnosis, specialist care, effective treatments, and opportunities to participate in research. Yet for many Australians, barriers to accessing epilepsy care remain.

The Australian Epilepsy Project (AEP) is working to change that. By bringing together people with epilepsy, researchers, clinicians and health services across Australia, AEP is helping improve understanding of epilepsy, accelerate research, and pave the way for more personalised care and better outcomes.

Because better brain health starts with better access.

This World Brain Day, let's work towards a future where everyone living with epilepsy can access the care, support and research opportunities they need, no matter where they live. The 2026 World Brain Day theme, "Brain Health: Access for All," highlights the importance of equitable access to neurological care and brain health services worldwide.

To mark the occasion, there is a 2pm public lecture open to all at the Ian Potter Auditorium

Register your interest here:

https://events.humanitix.com/australia-s-brain-health-summit-world-brain-day-2026-brain-health-and-access-for-all

The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

World Federation of Neurology - WFN

26/06/2026

✨ From weekly seizures to seizure freedom: a life changed through the Australian Epilepsy Project

When a 55-year-old Army Nurse of 20 years, Donna from Wodonga experienced her first seizure in November 2022, her life changed overnight.

Despite treatment with three anti-seizure medications, she continued to experience multiple seizures every week. Early investigations suggested right hippocampal sclerosis, but answers remained incomplete.

Donna then went on to have video EEG monitoring (VEM) at The Alfred Hospital where she heard about the AEP. During this VEM it was recorded that her heart stopped while she was having seizures, she went on to have a pacemaker put in due to constant worry of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP).

In September 2024, she submitted an Expression of Interest to the Australian Epilepsy Project (AEP). Just one month later, advanced AEP MRI imaging identified something previous scans had missed, a tumour (DNET), providing critical new information about the cause of her drug-resistant epilepsy.

Following referral to the AEP Drug Resistant Epilepsy Cohort and further specialist assessment, she underwent surgery in June 2025. The procedure involved removal of the temporal lesion, hippocampus and amygdala.

Her recovery was remarkable. Aside from two days of focal aware seizures early after surgery, she experienced no post-operative complications.

Today, less than three years after her very first seizure, she is seizure free and has regained the ability to legally drive, restoring independence, confidence and quality of life.

This is the impact of earlier identification, advanced imaging and timely access to specialist epilepsy care. Through the Australian Epilepsy Project, more Australians living with drug-resistant epilepsy are getting answers sooner and accessing life-changing treatment pathways.

“The AEP has been life changing for me.” Donna

If you are interested in finding out whether you are eligible for the AEP, express your interest here and our team will be in touch.

https://www.epilepsyproject.org.au/participant-living-with-seizure

The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

19/06/2026

✨ Essey’s Story

At just 20 years old, Essey has already overcome a journey that many people with epilepsy know all too well.

Her seizures began when she was 14, occurring six to eight times every week despite multiple anti-seizure medications. Although clinical investigations suggested her seizures were coming from the left temporal lobe, a standard MRI failed to identify a cause, leaving Essey and her family without answers.

Referred to the Australian Epilepsy Project (AEP) by Dr John Phamnguyen in March 2024 as part of the refractory epilepsy cohort, Essey underwent advanced MRI imaging through the project. In November 2024, the AEP MRI revealed a meningocele in the left temporal region along with 1 or 2 small encephaloceles, structural abnormalities that had previously gone undetected and was identified as the cause of her epilepsy.

With a clear diagnosis finally established, Essey was able to access epilepsy surgery at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in April 2025. She underwent a temporal lesionectomy and has been seizure-free ever since.

Just over a year after being referred to the AEP, Essey went from living with frequent seizures and no clear diagnosis to having a cause identified and life-changing surgery that has given her seizure control.

Essey is now training to become a tattoo artist. She designed this tattoo two months before her brain surgery and had it tattooed two months after surgery. The tattoo features a brain with cherry blossoms on one side, and an orchid flower placed where the surgery was performed. It’s a deeply personal design that reflects her journey through epilepsy surgery, healing, and recovery.

Stories like Essey’s highlight the power of advanced imaging and early access to specialist epilepsy care, helping more Australians find answers and access treatments that can transform lives.

“Brain surgery was truly the toughest experience of my life but thanks to AEP and the Advanced MRI Imaging my family and I finally got the answers we were waiting for. When I first got asked if I wanted to do the MRI, I was very stubborn and said no, thankfully my partner convinced me to do it just by saying 'just lay there and think of everything you want to do in the future when this is all over'. Without this screening done I would still be having seizures and waiting to see if brain surgery was even possible. The AEP made my life and freedom become possible all because of a 2-hour long MRI…” - Essey

If you are interested in finding out whether you are eligible for the AEP, express your interest here and our team will be in touch.

https://www.epilepsyproject.org.au/participant-living-with-seizure

The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

22/05/2026

🎉CELEBRATING A MAJOR MILESTONE IN BRAIN HEALTH🎉|

✨ 🧠 AUSTRALIAN EPILEPSY PROJECT (AEP) AWARDED $30M TO TRANSFORM BRAIN HEALTH IN AUSTRALIA 🧠✨

The Australian Epilepsy Project (AEP) are thrilled to announce we have received an additional $30 million through the MRFF to expand its groundbreaking brain health platform across the Australian health system. Using AI-powered technology that combines advanced MRI, genetics and cognitive testing, the AEP is establishing a national standard of care for epilepsy, helping Australians access faster diagnosis, more personalised treatment, and better long-term outcomes.

Most importantly, we are already seeing real impact for people living with epilepsy, and our team is incredibly proud of what has been achieved so far. This funding is a real step forward for people living with epilepsy and will allow us to help many more individuals and families across Australia in the years ahead.

This funding will enable the AEP to:
• Expand access to advanced diagnostics and specialist expertise across more hospitals and clinics nationally
• Scale precision epilepsy care across Australia
• Develop future solutions for neurological and mental health conditions beyond epilepsy
• Accelerate commercialisation and international expansion of Australian-developed health technology

Chief Investigator, Prof. Graeme Jackson said:
“Digital technologies and AI can translate research into new optimised models of health care at population scale. This brings the highest standard of care to the whole population regardless of where you live, with particular impact for rural and regional Australia. This is the future.”

He added:
“The Australian Epilepsy Project has successfully established a high standard of care for epilepsy, bringing advanced research to clinical impact in a platform model that connects patients with their doctors and ongoing research.”

Executive Lead, Anton de Weger said:
“Securing this four-year federal investment allows us to move from a frontier clinical project to an established translation platform.”

“Scaling AI-enabled digital care pathways requires a multidisciplinary team spanning deep neurological science, startup and commercial acumen, clinical expertise, lived experience, data science and engineering.”

“This grant provides the precise runway needed to build innovative, regulated, automated tools that scale impact and change the standard of care for brain health, proving Australia can lead the world in health-tech commercialisation.”

Read more: https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-mark-butler-mp/media/delivering-world-class-health-and-medical-research-for-australia?language=en

The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
Mark Butler MP

20/05/2026

One seizure changed everything, but access to specialist epilepsy care changed the outcome.

Through the Australian Epilepsy Project, one participant went from a first seizure to diagnosis, surgery, and seizure freedom in less than two years. Their story highlights the life-changing impact of earlier diagnosis and faster access to care.

In February 2023, life changed in an instant. After experiencing a first tonic-clonic seizure at home, witnessed by housemates who were a paramedic and nurse, the seizure lasted around two minutes and resolved before the ambulance arrived. Although alert and oriented when speaking with paramedics, parts of the experience were later forgotten, a reminder of how disorienting seizures can be.

A CT scan at a regional Victorian Hospital showed no abnormalities, but through the First Seizure Clinic at The Alfred Hospital, he was referred by Dr Emma Foster to the Australian Epilepsy Project in March 2023.

Just two months later, an AEP MRI identified the cause: a left temporal encephalocele, an abnormality that can be the cause of seizures. In January 2025, he underwent surgery to remove it and has been seizure free ever since.

From first seizure to life-changing surgery in less than two years, compared with the decades many people can wait through standard clinical pathways for epilepsy surgery. This is the power of earlier diagnosis, research, and access to specialist care.

“The speed of my diagnosis and treatment pathway through the AEP was unbelievable. I cannot thank everyone involved in my care enough, and the AEP was a major part of helping me get answers so quickly. When I hear how long many people wait for advanced testing and a clear diagnosis, I honestly do not know whether I would have had the strength to go through that same prolonged path.” - AEP Participant

The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

Address

245 Burgundy Street, Heidelberg
Melbourne, VIC
3084

Telephone

+61390357000

Website

https://epilepsyproject.org.au/

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