Dr. Else A. Tolner

I am a neurobiologist specializing in neuronal and neurovascular mechanisms underlying paroxysmal disorders migraine and epilepsy. My research focuses on genetic mouse models, driven by clinical questions, to gain insight into disease mechanisms and develop novel treatments. My involvement in clinical EEG studies ensures bidirectional translation. My LUMC collaborations span multiple LUMC departments, including Neurology, Human Genetics, Endocrinology, Nephrology, and Radiology. In education, I serve on the Master Internship Committee for Biomedical Sciences, co-coordinate the Biomedical Science course "Hormones and the Nervous System" and half minor "Translational Neuroscience", and provide various lectures on migraine, epilepsy, and EEG within and outside the LUMC. As chair of the LUMC Neuroscience Event Committee, I organize the annual Translational Neuroscience symposium and pop-up lectures and social events. to foster scientific interactions within the LUMC Neuroscience community.

I use neurophysiological approaches to improve treatments for migraine and epilepsy, focusing on shared mechanisms between these episodic disorders. This approach led to my LUMC Fellowship in 2011 and subsequent funding including a Marie Curie Career Integration Grant, US CURE SUDEP and EpilepsieNL awards. I study effects of pathogenic mutations linked to migraine and epilepsy in mouse models, in close collaboration with LUMC Profs. van den Maagdenberg and Gisela Terwindt. My neurophysiology platforms for awake mice, including optogenetic tools, integrate knowledge on brain function and physiology to elucidate mechanisms underlying rare genetic disorders FHM, RVCL-S, and Dravet Syndrome. Outcomes provided a basis for sudden death prevention in monogenic migraine with comorbid epilepsy, and identification of EEG biomarkers for anti-epileptic drug efficacy. With my expertise I also contribute to clinical migraine and epilepsy EEG studies, including home-based recordings, aimed at identify biomarkers for attack initiation and treatment effects.