Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
The focus of the stem cell laboratory is to find new treatments for patients with epilepsy that are not adequately treated with currently available anti-seizure medications. To do this, we take patient's own cells and turn them into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) – which can then be directed to become any cell in the body. To study epilepsy, we instruct iPSCs to become brain cells or neurons – the cells which are affected in epilepsy. This allows us create a personalised ‘epilepsy-in-a-dish’ model for each patient, on which we can then test a variety of existing or new anti-seizure medications. Importantly, this personalised model allows testing without any risk to the patient and can be scaled up to allow high-throughput screening of thousands of potential life-changing drugs.
Supervision interests
Currently accepting keen PhD students for an exciting project:
Consulting
Ben Rollo has developed a rapid method for functional readout of compounds with anti-seizure properties. This method was developed using multielectrode array (MEA) technology which is used to detect the electrical activity of iPSC-derived neural cultures. Compounds can be tested for thier ability to reduce spontaneous and epileptiform activity of neural cultures. These methods have been used to screen pre-clinical lead compounds for industry partners and drug libraries.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research area keywords
- Epilepsy
- Personalised medicine
- Stem Cells
- Disease model development
Network
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Drug screening using Homer1 patient’s iPSCs-derived neurons for clinical trials of precision medicine
Javaid, S., Foa, L., Rollo, B., Antonic-Baker, A., Kwan, P. & O'Brien, T.
17/04/23 → 30/09/24
Project: Research
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Positive allosteric modulation of anti-convulsant G protein-coupled receptor signalling to treat drug-resistant epilepsy
May, L., Webb, G., Carlsson, J., Baltos, J., Nguyen, A., Christopoulos, A., Miao, Y., O'Brien, T., Rollo, B., Casillas-Espinosa, P., Gregory, K., Scammells, P. & Nguyen, T.
1/01/22 → 31/12/25
Project: Research
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Transforming the paradigm of epilepsy care with precision medicine
Wolvetang, E. J., Kwan, P., Vadlamudi, L., O'Brien, T., Ge, Z., Anderson, A., Shaker, M., Antonic-Baker, A., Leeson, H., Rollo, B. & Javaid, S.
Department of Health and Aged Care (Australia)
1/06/21 → 31/05/24
Project: Research
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Insights into CDKL5 neuronal regulation: pathways to improving neurological outcomes for CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder
Van Bergen, N., Rollo, B., Christodoulou, J., Quigley, A., Kapsa, R. M. I. & Harris, A.
1/06/21 → 31/05/24
Project: Research
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Human high-throughput in-vitro phenotypic screening for new epilepsy drugs
Rollo, B., Kwan, P., O'Brien, T., Langmead, C., Baell, J., Casillas-Espinosa, P., May, L., Ayers, K. L. & Sumer, H.
1/06/22 → 1/01/23
Project: Research
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Scientific communication and the semantics of sentience
Kagan, B. J., Razi, A., Bhat, A., Kitchen, A. C., Tran, N. T., Habibollahi, F., Khajehnejad, M., Parker, B. J., Rollo, B. & Friston, K. J., 1 Mar 2023, In: Neuron. 111, 5, p. 606-607 2 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › Other › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus) -
Antisense oligonucleotide therapy for KCNT1 encephalopathy
Burbano, L. E., Li, M., Jancovski, N., Jafar-Nejad, P., Richards, K., Sedo, A., Soriano, A., Rollo, B., Jia, L., Gazina, E. V., Piltz, S., Adikusuma, F., Thomas, P. Q., Kopsidas, H., Rigo, F., Reid, C. A., Maljevic, S. & Petrou, S., 8 Dec 2022, In: JCI Insight. 7, 23, 19 p., e146090.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access2 Citations (Scopus) -
CDKL5 deficiency disorder: molecular insights and mechanisms of pathogenicity to fast-track therapeutic development
Van Bergen, N. J., Massey, S., Quigley, A., Rollo, B., Harris, A. R., Kapsa, R. M. I. & Christodoulou, J., 31 Aug 2022, In: Biochemical Society Transactions. 50, 4, p. 1207-1224 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access2 Citations (Scopus) -
Early and progressive dysfunction revealed by in vivo neurite imaging in the rNLS8 TDP-43 mouse model of ALS
Zamani, A., Walker, A. K., Rollo, B., Ayers, K. L., Farah, R., O'Brien, T. J. & Wright, D. K., 2022, In: NeuroImage: Clinical. 34, 9 p., 103016.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus) -
Impaired glymphatic function in the early stages of disease in a TDP-43 mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Zamani, A., Walker, A. K., Rollo, B., Ayers, K. L., Farah, R., O’Brien, T. J. & Wright, D. K., 2022, In: Translational Neurodegeneration. 11, 1, 11 p., 17.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access8 Citations (Scopus)