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Professor Colin Doherty

Professor Consultant (Clinical Medicine)
Head of School of Medicine (School Office - Medicine)
 (3531896) 1476
      
Profile Photo

Professor Colin Doherty

Professor Consultant (Clinical Medicine)

 cdohert@tcd.ie

 

Head of School of Medicine (School Office - Medicine)

 (3531896) 1476


Colin Doherty holds the Ellen Mayston Bates Chair in Epileptology at Trinity College Dublin School of Health Sciences.He is a Consultant Neurologist and Director of the Epilepsy Service at St James's Hospital, Dublin and the Ellen Mayston Bates, Professor of Epileptology at TCD. His undergraduate degree was awarded by UCD (1991) and he trained in Medicine and Neurology at St Vincent's and Beaumont Hospitals an later at the Partners Neurology Residency Programme at Harvard Medical School, Boston (Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital) where he was Chief Resident in my final year (1998-2001). He has completed Fellowships in Epilepsy and Cognition at MGH (2001-2003). He has published widely in the areas of brain imaging in epilepsy, the genetics of epilepsy, functional imaging of language, dementia, clinical neurology and epileptology and traumatic brain injury. In the last few years hh has become interested in the challenges of population health, health services research and care delivery in epilepsy. He published recently on national issues regarding epilepsy care including; evidence based pathways, national mortality estimates, hospital access restrictions and national prescribing rates. He has 105 peer reviewed publications, 4211 citations, a H-index of 35 and i10index of 78. Between co-applicant, Co-PI and PI grant applications he has been collaboratively responsible for >7 Million Eu in funding I has authored chapters in three textbooks and co-edited one. He was a member of the Irish government's expert group on resource allocation in the health sector (2011). He was a member of the National Clinical Effectiveness Committee in Ireland since its inception in 2011 to 2015 and represented the RCPI on The Irish Patient Safety Steering Group 2012-2016. He was a board member of the Health Research Board (2010-15) and is a founder member and Medical Director of Epilepsy Research Ireland (ERI). He is the Irish representative to the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) committee for the Global Campaign Against Epilepsy and a co-applicant on a large EU funded study on the epidemiology of epilepsy in Europe (ESBASE). He was National Clinical Lead for the Epilepsy Care Programme in Ireland from 2010-2018, with a charge to develop epilepsy services nationally to improve quality of care and access for patients. He has recently moved from that role to take up a specific remit around Women's Health in Epilepsy with the evolution of the Valproate in Pregnancy story. he states that he has learned a lot in the last five years about the urgent issue of healthcare reform and see medical education, both postgraduate and undergraduate in urgent need of firstly protection of its core mission and values but also innovation and development to meet the challenges of 21st century medical care: Amongst the challenges are underpinning the funding of basic, translation and clinical research; Teamwork and its effect of professionalism, the role of the patient in the design and delivery of healthcare, and the rise of technology.
  Ageing, memory and other cognitive processes   Consequences of ischemia or hypoxia, convulsive disorders   Neurobiology   Neurochemistry and neuropharmacology   Neurodegeneration   Neurogenetics   Neurology   Neurophysiology   Neuropsychology   Vision
Project Title
 Circulating Biomarkers in Epilepsy
From
Sept 2020
To
Sept 2023
Summary
During the first two years of operation, research in WP3, 4 and 7 led to the identification of circulating microRNAs in plasma that are biomarkers of epilepsy and acute seizures 1, three tRNA fragments (or 'tsRNAs') that increase in advance of epileptic seizures 2, and the development of rapid-detection technology for these 3,4. FutureNeuro genomics work in WP1 has shown that 1-3% of sporadic epilepsy is caused by identifiable monogenic causes (unpublished/in preparation). We also have an increased understanding of the contribution of genetic burden to disease risk. For example, over the past 3 years the community has illustrated how focal and generalised epilepsies show an enrichment for both common and rare genetic burden 5,6. The predictive ability of genetic burden for disease state will increase steadily as ever larger collaborative studies emerge. The challenge now is to understand how these signatures correlated with treatment outcome. In addition, bioinformatics studies have shown mechanistic links between some of the targets of these circulating miRNAs and proteins present in plasma that can be measured that may correlate with neurophysiological phenotypes or responses to anti-miRNA therapies in epilepsy and Rett syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder accompanied by seizures (Henshall/Tropea, unpublished data). There are significant industry interests in these advances with negotiations underway with UCB Pharma to perform microRNA and genetic profiling to define the molecular landscape of drug-resistant epilepsy. Together, these discoveries have led to FutureNeuro having a leading position in the area of circulating diagnostic biomarkers that was recognised during the recent two-year Site Visit. We propose to capitalise on our leading position in this field and genomics during the remaining funding period. Broadly, we want to explore the value of these biomarkers at the earliest stage of the patient journey (i.e. upon first presentation of a seizure), test the benefits of different combinations of the biomarkers for epilepsy and rare diseases (Rett syndrome), extend evidence for pathophysiological links to disease, and begin the process of commercialisation toward a clinical/diagnostic test using either existing technology or techniques developed by the Centre. Background to proposal for years 3-6 Epilepsy affects 40,000 people in Ireland and the majority will present to the emergency room at some point in the course of their illness. However, more than half of the 7,000 or so admissions in Ireland every year are not people with epilepsy but those with symptomatic seizures related to intoxication with alcohol and other drugs; head injuries; brain infections and other serious illnesses. There are also a large number of mimic syndromes such as psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, recurrent fainting and collapses of unknown cause. Finding biomarkers that can distinguish between a. Epileptic seizures and non-epileptic attacks as well as other mimic disorders. b. Epileptic seizures and symptomatic seizures (such as alcohol withdrawal seizures). c. Epileptic seizures that will result in severe refractory disease as opposed to an isolated event. would be extremely scientifically interesting, clinically valuable, timesaving and economically beneficial for the health system.
Funding Agency
SFI
Programme
Platform projects
Project Type
Translational since
Person Months
36
Project Title
 From the Outside-In' - Co-Designing Tools to Promote Independence and Wellbeing in Epilepsy Care
From
Sept 2018
To
Sept 2021
Summary
Qualitative Study 'From the Outside-In': A qualitative study involving PWE, their carers and healthcare practitioners (HCP) This study will be an in-depth examination of the thoughts, opinions and behaviours of PWE, carers and HCP with regard to how they approach self-management of the condition, what supports they use and where they believe improvement is needed. This research will utilise 'co-production' to generate ideas for the future of epilepsy care provision in Ireland. Patients seldom are given a voice when it comes to such design of healthcare services - hence the study being provisionally titled 'From the Outside-In: Co-Designing Tools to Promote Independence and Wellbeing in Epilepsy Care'. Within the cohort recruited for qualitative research will be homeless PWE, keyworkers and clinicians working with Safetynet Homeless Service. I have become a member of the All Ireland Inclusion Health forum's Research Advisory Group (AIHF RAG) with a view to researching the challenges faced specifically by homeless PWE and clinicians working in the care of homeless patients. There are three work-streams planned for this study. Work-stream 1 involves obtaining ethical approval, creating consent forms, participant information leaflets and a data protection impact assessment. It also involves design of the ethnography, interviews and focus groups.
Funding Agency
SFI
Programme
targeted projects
Project Type
Qualitative
Person Months
36
Project Title
 Analysing blood-brain barrier integrity to inform on protection from CoVID-19 associated encephalopathy.
From
August 2020
To
April 2021
Summary
Rationale: The CoVID-19 virus is genetically similar to other zoonotic coronaviruses that can cause brain damage in animals. The ACE-2 receptor, thought to be the cellular invasion point, is widely expressed in the cerebral vasculature. Despite this, clinical observations in Ireland and elsewhere of the spectrum of neurological complications are large enough now to tell us, at least in this acute phase, that there is no unique neurological signature of CoVID-19 apart possibly from anosmia (loss of the sense of smell) that has been observed in 30-50% of cases. This indicates some protective processes in the human brain and the presence of anosmia points to one possible candidate, the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) which is heterogeneous within the olfactory bulb with areas of less evolved barrier integrity. Aim: To determine the integrity of the BBB in acute and convalescent cases of CoVID-19 patients, with and without neurological symptoms in particular anosmia. Significance: A strong protective function for the BBB in supressing brain invasion may have significance for future therapies as well as policy and health service planning for any future pandemics. Objective neurological imaging combined with serological assessments may also hold enormous prognostic value in the short term.
Funding Agency
SFI/EI
Programme
Raid CoVID call
Project Type
research
Person Months
7

Details Date
Clinical Lead for the National Epilepsy Programme 2010-2018
I have been a member of the board of the health research board (HRB) 2012-217
I was a member of the governments National Clinical Effectiveness Committee. 2015
Irish representative to the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) committee for the Global Campaign Against Epilepsy 2014
Founder member of Epilepsy Research Ireland 2010-2020
Clinical Lead for Women's Health in Epilepsy 2018
Member of Irish government's expert group on resource allocation 2011
adjunct Professor department of Disability, University College Dublin 2020
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
French Medium Medium Basic
Details Date From Date To
Fellowship of RCPI 01/01/2005 01/04/2021
Fellow of the faculty of exercise and Sports medicine 01/01/2018 01/04/2021
American Epilepsy Society 01/01/2000 01/04/2021
Irish Institute of Clinical Neuroscience 01/02/1994 01/04/2021
Irish Epilepsy League 01/02/2019 01/04/2021
European Academy of Neurology 01/02/2019 01/04/2021
Greene C., Connolly R., Brennan D., Laffan A., O'Keeffe E., Zaporojan L., O'Callaghan J., Thomson B., Connolly E., Argue R., Meaney J.F.M., Martin-Loeches I., Long A., Cheallaigh C.N., Conlon N., Doherty C.P., Campbell M., Correction to: Blood"brain barrier disruption and sustained systemic inflammation in individuals with long COVID-associated cognitive impairment (Nature Neuroscience, (2024), 27, 3, (421-432), 10.1038/s41593-024-01576-9), Nature Neuroscience, 27, (5), 2024, p1019-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Behan, C., Hynes, S., Ennis, P., Khalil, M.I., Hogan, J., Brett, F., Sweeney, K., Kilbride, R., Doherty, C.P., Neurosurgery for intractable epilepsy in pregnancy: A case report, Epilepsy and Behavior Reports, 23, 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Quigley, S., Asad, M., Doherty, C., Byrne, D., Cronin, S., Kearney, H., Concurrent diagnoses of Tuberous sclerosis and multiple sclerosis, Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 71, 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Gander, L., Stanila, R., Doran, E., Crowley, K., Ann Healy, L., Gough, A., Sinnott, C., Behan, C., Wilson, S., Cunningham, D., Kurian, S., Cope, A., Laffan, A., O'Rourke, D., Zaporojan, L., Doherty, C.P., Living with epilepsy during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions: A longitudinal perspective, Epilepsy and Behavior, 142, 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Perucca, P., Stanley, K., Harris, N., McIntosh, A.M., Asadi-Pooya, A.A., Mikati, M.A., Andrade, D.M., Dugan, P., Depondt, C., Choi, H., Heinzen, E.L., Cavalleri, G.L., Buono, R.J., Devinsky, O., Sperling, M.R., Berkovic, S.F., Delanty, N., Goldstein, D.B., O'Brien, T.J., Andrade, D., Sen, A., Bazil, C.W., Boland, M., Cavalleri, G., Choi, H., Colombo, S., Costello, D., Delanty, N., Depondt, C., Devinsky, O., Doherty, C.P., Dugan, P., Frankel, W., Goldstein, D., Heinzen, E., Johnson, M., Kwan, P., Marson, T., McCormack, M., Mikati, M., O'Brien, T., Ottman, R., Pandolfo, M., Perucca, P., Petrovski, S., Radtke, R., Rees, M., Sadoway, T., Valley, N., Walley, N., Wood, N., Zuberi, S., Rare Genetic Variation and Outcome of Surgery for Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Annals of Neurology, 93, (4), 2023, p752-761 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Larivière, S., Royer, J., Rodríguez-Cruces, R., Paquola, C., Caligiuri, M.E., Gambardella, A., Concha, L., Keller, S.S., Cendes, F., Yasuda, C.L., Bonilha, L., Gleichgerrcht, E., Focke, N.K., Domin, M., von Podewills, F., Langner, S., Rummel, C., Wiest, R., Martin, P., Kotikalapudi, R., O"Brien, T.J., Sinclair, B., Vivash, L., Desmond, P.M., Lui, E., Vaudano, A.E., Meletti, S., Tondelli, M., Alhusaini, S., Doherty, C.P., Cavalleri, G.L., Delanty, N., Kälviäinen, R., Jackson, G.D., Kowalczyk, M., Mascalchi, M., Semmelroch, M., Thomas, R.H., Soltanian-Zadeh, H., Davoodi-Bojd, E., Zhang, J., Winston, G.P., Griffin, A., Singh, A., Tiwari, V.K., Kreilkamp, B.A.K., Lenge, M., Guerrini, R., Hamandi, K., Foley, S., Rüber, T., Weber, B., Depondt, C., Absil, J., Carr, S.J.A., Abela, E., Richardson, M.P., Devinsky, O., Severino, M., Striano, P., Tortora, D., Kaestner, E., Hatton, S.N., Vos, S.B., Caciagli, L., Duncan, J.S., Whelan, C.D., Thompson, P.M., Sisodiya, S.M., Bernasconi, A., Labate, A., McDonald, C.R., Bernasconi, N., Bernhardt, B.C., Structural network alterations in focal and generalized epilepsy assessed in a worldwide ENIGMA study follow axes of epilepsy risk gene expression, Nature Communications, 13, (1), 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Byrne, B., O"Carroll, R.F., Doherty, C., Sturge-Weber syndrome: Case report, literature review and proposed pregnancy care plan, Obstetric Medicine, 15, (4), 2022, p276-279 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Sisodiya, S.M., Whelan, C.D., Hatton, S.N., Huynh, K., Altmann, A., Ryten, M., Vezzani, A., Caligiuri, M.E., Labate, A., Gambardella, A., Ives-Deliperi, V., Meletti, S., Munsell, B.C., Bonilha, L., Tondelli, M., Rebsamen, M., Rummel, C., Vaudano, A.E., Wiest, R., Balachandra, A.R., Bargalló, N., Bartolini, E., Bernasconi, A., Bernasconi, N., Bernhardt, B., Caldairou, B., Carr, S.J.A., Cavalleri, G.L., Cendes, F., Concha, L., Desmond, P.M., Domin, M., Duncan, J.S., Focke, N.K., Guerrini, R., Hamandi, K., Jackson, G.D., Jahanshad, N., Kälviäinen, R., Keller, S.S., Kochunov, P., Kowalczyk, M.A., Kreilkamp, B.A.K., Kwan, P., Lariviere, S., Lenge, M., Lopez, S.M., Martin, P., Mascalchi, M., Moreira, J.C.V., Morita-Sherman, M.E., Pardoe, H.R., Pariente, J.C., Raviteja, K., Rocha, C.S., Rodríguez-Cruces, R., Seeck, M., Semmelroch, M.K.H.G., Sinclair, B., Soltanian-Zadeh, H., Stein, D.J., Striano, P., Taylor, P.N., Thomas, R.H., Thomopoulos, S.I., Velakoulis, D., Vivash, L., Weber, B., Yasuda, C.L., Zhang, J., Thompson, P.M., McDonald, C.R., Abela, E., Absil, J., Adams, S., Alhusaini, S., Alvim, M., Balestrini, S., Bender, B., Bergo, F., Bernardes, T., Calvo, A., Carreno, M., Cherubini, A., David, P., Davoodi-Bojd, E., Delanty, N., Depondt, C., Devinsky, O., Doherty, C., França, W.C., Franceschet, L., Hibar, D.P., Ishikawa, A., Kaestner, E., Langner, S., Liu, M., Mirandola, L., Naylor, J., Nazem-Zadeh, M.-R., O'Brien, T.J., Ribeiro, L.F., Richardson, M., Rosenow, F., Severino, M., Shuai, C., Tortora, D., von Podewils, F., Vos, S.B., Wagner, J., Zhang, G., The ENIGMA-Epilepsy working group: Mapping disease from large data sets, Human Brain Mapping, 43, (1), 2022, p113-128 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Park, B.-Y., Larivière, S., Rodríguez-Cruces, R., Royer, J., Tavakol, S., Wang, Y., Caciagli, L., Caligiuri, M.E., Gambardella, A., Concha, L., Keller, S.S., Cendes, F., Alvim, M.K.M., Yasuda, C., Bonilha, L., Gleichgerrcht, E., Focke, N.K., Kreilkamp, B.A.K., Domin, M., Von Podewils, F., Langner, S., Rummel, C., Rebsamen, M., Wiest, R., Martin, P., Kotikalapudi, R., Bender, B., O'Brien, T.J., Law, M., Sinclair, B., Vivash, L., Kwan, P., Desmond, P.M., Malpas, C.B., Lui, E., Alhusaini, S., Doherty, C.P., Cavalleri, G.L., Delanty, N., Kälviäinen, R., Jackson, G.D., Kowalczyk, M., Mascalchi, M., Semmelroch, M., Thomas, R.H., Soltanian-Zadeh, H., Davoodi-Bojd, E., Zhang, J., Lenge, M., Guerrini, R., Bartolini, E., Hamandi, K., Foley, S., Weber, B., Depondt, C., Absil, J., Carr, S.J.A., Abela, E., Richardson, M.P., Devinsky, O., Severino, M., Striano, P., Parodi, C., Tortora, D., Hatton, S.N., Vos, S.B., Duncan, J.S., Galovic, M., Whelan, C.D., Bargalló, N., Pariente, J., Conde-Blanco, E., Vaudano, A.E., Tondelli, M., Meletti, S., Kong, X.-Z., Francks, C., Fisher, S.E., Caldairou, B., Ryten, M., Labate, A., Sisodiya, S.M., Thompson, P.M., Mcdonald, C.R., Bernasconi, A., Bernasconi, N., Bernhardt, B.C., Topographic divergence of atypical cortical asymmetry and atrophy patterns in temporal lobe epilepsy, Brain, 145, (4), 2022, p1285-1298 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Behan, C., Davis, R., Vasseghi, M., Moloney, P., Amin, S., Delanty, N., Doherty, C.P., Tuberous Sclerosis: A Rare Disease with an Orphan Complex, Irish medical journal, 115, (7), 2022, p635 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED
  

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McNamara, P.H. Redmond, J.M.T. Doherty, C.P., Varicella-zoster virus encephalitis and vasculopathy in a patient treated with fingolimod, Neurology, 81, (3), 2013, p306-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED

  


Award Date
Epilepsy Prize Irish Neurological Association 01/05/2016
Lundbeck Research Prize 01/02/2015
Care Challenge Award 01/02/2016
Fritz Dreifuss Award for Clinical Research 02/05/2007
Merritt-Putnam Fellowship Award 01/07/2002
Epifellows Foundation Fellowship Award 2001 02/06/2001
AAN Resident Traveling Scholarship Award 02/05/2001
Daniel C. Federman Award for Outstanding Clinical Teaching. 20/02/2000
Harold Millar Medal 020/05/2000
I have published widely in the areas of brain imaging in epilepsy, the genetics of epilepsy, functional imaging of language, dementia, clinical neurology and epileptology and traumatic brain injury. In the last few years I have become interested in the challenges of population health, health services research and care delivery in epilepsy. I have published recently on national issues regarding epilepsy care including; evidence based pathways, national mortality estimates, hospital access restrictions and national prescribing rates. I have 105 peer reviewed publications, 4211 citations, a H-index of 35 and i10index of 78. My latests research projects are 1. Brain imaging in CoVID brain Fog and Anosmia 2. Brain imaging in retired contact sports players 3. Brain imaging in patients with epilepsy and rare genetic disorders 4. Evaluating the e-health needs of the epilepsy population 5. Evaluating a patient portal for epilepsy patients 6. Evaluating an outreach service for vulnerable patients with epilepsy 7. Evaluating the mental, social and physical health of patients with epilepsy during CoVID 8. Exam sequencing for rare forms of epilepsy and intellectual disability 9. Collecting biomarkers of seizures for diagnosis and prognosis