Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Piero Perucca, MD, PhD, FRACP is Professor of Adult Epilepsy at the Department of Medicine (Austin Health), Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne, and Director of the Bladin-Berkovic Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at Austin Health. He is also Adjunct Associate Professor at the Department of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, and holds honorary appointments at Alfred Health and The Royal Melbourne Hospital.
He received his MD and Specialist-in-Neurology degrees from the University of Pavia, Italy. He undertook higher training in epileptology at the Neurological Institute of New York, Columbia University, USA; University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, USA; the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Canada; and the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He obtained his PhD from The University of Melbourne, with studies focused on the role of genetic factors in the aetiology of focal epilepsies and in the outcomes of epilepsy therapy.
His research program covers different areas of epileptology, including the genetics of epilepsy, electroencephalography, epilepsy and pregnancy, the pharmacological and surgical treatment of epilepsy, and genomic and electrophysiological biomarkers of epilepsy outcomes. He has published widely in the field of epilepsy, with publications in leading medical journals, such as The Lancet Neurology, Nature Reviews Disease Primers, Brain, Annals of Neurology, and Neurology. He has received several awards/prizes for his research, including the Michael Prize 2023 from the Michael Foundation, the 2022 Dreifuss-Penry Epilepsy Award from the American Academy of Neurology, and the 2021 Leonard Cox Award from the Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists.
He is Chair of the Victorian Epilepsy Centres and holds leadership positions in different international and national scientific organisations, including the International League Against Epilepsy, the American Epilepsy Society, and the Epilepsy Society of Australia. He also serves as an Associate Editor for Epilepsia Open and as an editorial board member for Neurobiology of Disease and Epigraph.
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):
External positions
Professor of Adult Epilepsy, University of Melbourne
1 Jan 2024 → …
Honorary Consultant in Neurology, Alfred Hospital
1 Jan 2021 → …
Director, Bladin-Berkovic Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, Austin Health
1 Jan 2021 → …
Honorary Clinician - Research, Royal Melbourne Hospital
1 Jan 2021 → …
Research area keywords
- Neurology
- Epilepsy
- Genetics
- EEG
- Antiepileptic drugs
- Epilepsy surgery
- Focal epilepsy
- Teratogenesis
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter, Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of XEN1101 as Adjunctive Therapy in Primary Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures
Kwan, P. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Perucca, P. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Nicolo, J.-P. (Partner Investigator (PI)), D'Souza, W. J. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Reutens, D. (Partner Investigator (PI))
24/06/23 → 25/06/25
Project: Research
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A Phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of sodium selenate as a disease modifying treatment for chronic drug resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (SELECT Trial)
O'Brien, T. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Vivash, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Churilov, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Kwan, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Carney, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Perucca, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Nicolo, J.-P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Cook, M. J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Gillinder, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Casillas-Espinosa, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Hovens, C. M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Malpas, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Shultz, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Velakoulis, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Lawn, N. D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Johns, H. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Wijayath, M. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Burford, J. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Wait, L. (Associate Investigator (AI)), D'Souza, W. J. (Associate Investigator (AI)) & Reutens, D. C. (Associate Investigator (AI))
1/02/23 → 31/01/28
Project: Research
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PERSONAL: Personalised Selection of Medication for Newly Diagnosed Adult Epilepsy – the PERSONAL Trial
Kwan, P. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Chen, Z. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Lannin, N. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ademi Delaney, Z. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ge, Z. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Reutens, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), O'Brien, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)), D'Souza, W. J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Perucca, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Reeder, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Nikpour, A. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Wong, C. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Kiley, M. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Saw, J.-L. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Nicolo, J.-P. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Seneviratne, U. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Carney, P. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Jones, D. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Somerville, E. R. (Associate Investigator (AI)) & Stapleton, C. (Associate Investigator (AI))
1/02/23 → 31/01/27
Project: Research
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"Integrative-omics" for precision medicine in the epilepsies
Scheffer, I. E. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Gécz, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Halgamuge, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), O'Brien, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Petrou, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Berkovic, S. F. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Perucca, P. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Howell, K. B. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Hildebrand, M. S. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Palmer, E. E. (Associate Investigator (AI)) & Sadikovic, B. (Associate Investigator (AI))
1/01/22 → 31/12/26
Project: Research
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RENAISSANCE Study: A Phase 2, Multicenter, Open Label Safety and Tolerability Study of SPN-817 in Adult Patients with Treatment Resistant Epilepsy
O'Brien, T. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Nicolo, J.-P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Perucca, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Reutens, D. C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Carney, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Somerville, E. R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Wijayath, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Wong, T. (Chief Investigator (CI))
19/12/22 → 18/12/24
Project: Research
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Personalised selection of medication for newly diagnosed adult epilepsy: Study protocol of a first-in-class, double-blind, randomised controlled trial
Thom, D., Chang, R. S. K., Lannin, N. A., Ademi, Z., Ge, Z., Reutens, D., O'Brien, T., D'Souza, W., Perucca, P., Reeder, S., Nikpour, A., Wong, C., Kiley, M., Saw, J. L., Nicolo, J. P., Seneviratne, U., Carney, P., Jones, D., Somerville, E. & Stapleton, C. & 9 others, , Apr 2025, In: BMJ Open. 15, 4, 8 p., e086607.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Other › peer-review
Open Access -
Amygdala enlargement in temporal lobe epilepsy: Histopathology and surgical outcomes
Shakhatreh, L. (Leading Author), Sinclair, B., McLean, C., Lui, E., Morokoff, A. P., King, J. A., Chen, Z., Perucca, P., O'Brien, T. J. & Kwan, P. (Leading Author), Jun 2024, In: Epilepsia. 65, 6, p. 1709-1719 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access4 Citations (Scopus) -
Applying the ILAE diagnostic criteria for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome in the real-world setting: A multicenter retrospective cohort study
Nightscales, R., Chen, Z., Barnard, S., Auvrez, C., Tao, G., Sivathamboo, S., Bennett, C., Rychkova, M., D'Souza, W., Berkovic, S. F., Nicolo, J. P., O'Brien, T. J., Perucca, P., Scheffer, I. E. & Kwan, P., Apr 2024, In: Epilepsia Open. 9, 2, p. 602-612 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access2 Citations (Scopus) -
Neurodevelopmental and Functional Outcomes Following In Utero Exposure to Antiseizure Medication: A Systematic Review
Honybun, E., Cockle, E., Malpas, C. B., O'Brien, T. J., Vajda, F. J., Perucca, P. & Rayner, G., 23 Apr 2024, In: Neurology. 102, 8, 17 p., e209175.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
17 Citations (Scopus) -
Pregnancy, antiseizure medications and unexplained intrauterine foetal death
Vajda, F. J. E., O'Brien, T. J., Graham, J. E., Hitchcock, A. E., Perucca, P., Lander, C. M. & Eadie, M. J., Apr 2024, In: Epilepsy & Behavior. 153, 5 p., 109724.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus)