Professor Patrick Kwan, BMedSci (Hons), MB, BChir (Cambridge), PhD (Glasgow), FRCP (London), is Chair of Neurology at the University of Melbourne (RMH) and Head of Epilepsy at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He is a medical specialist in neurology and an international authority in epileptology and antiepileptic drug development.
His research portfolio encompasses both applied basic science and clinical aspects, focusing on the epidemiology, pharmacology, genetics and mechanisms of drug resistance of epilepsy. Prof. Kwan has published widely on the outcomes of epilepsy and pharmacology of antiepileptic drugs in leading medical journals including NEJM, the Lancet, the Lancet Neurology, and BMJ. His landmark study on the long-term outcome of newly diagnosed epilepsy, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2000, has become the most highly cited article in clinical epilepsy with >2500 citations so far (Google Scholar). The findings of the study have become the evidence base for clinical diagnosis of drug-resistant epilepsy and consideration of alternative therapies such as surgery, as well as the research drive to develop better treatments. In 2010, he chaired a task force of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) to formulate the first global consensus definition of drug-resistant epilepsy.Recently, his research interest has turned to precision medicine as a new management paradigm to improve drug efficacy and safety. He has led the discovery of genetic markers for response to antiepileptic drugs as well as its translation into practice. His group was one of the first research teams in the world to report the strong link between HLA-B*1502 and antiepileptic drug-induced severe skin reactions. The discovery has made significant impact upon clinical practice, resulting in FDA recommendation and drug label change. He was instrumental in translating the research findings into health policy and practice change. He has obtained competitive research grants, as a principal investigator, from various funding bodies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the USA for studies related to the genetics of epilepsy.He serves on the editorial boards of a number of epilepsy journals. He is currently Chair of the ILAE Commission on Medical Therapies. In collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry he has investigated novel antiepileptic drugs in international phase 3 and 4 clinical trials as site principal investigator. He is/has been consultant and advisor to major multinational pharmaceutical industry.
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Patrick Kwan's highlights
FEATURED Journal article
Psychometric properties of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in an inpatient video-monitoring epilepsy cohort.
Read morePatrick Kwan's selected work
Projects
Displaying the 9 most recent projects by Patrick Kwan.
Project Types
6
Research Grant
2
Internal Research Grant
1
Research Contracts
Scholarly Works
Displaying the 234 most recent scholarly works by Patrick Kwan.
Honours, Awards and Fellowships
Outstanding Achievement Epilepsy Award
FRACP - Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians
FRCP - Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London
Credentials
Positions
Honorary
Medicine - Royal Melbourne Hospital
Honorary
Electrical And Electronic Engineering
Education
Bachelor of Medical Sciences
University of Nottingham
Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
University of Cambridge
Doctor of Philosophy
The University of Glasgow