Dimitri Kullmann facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dimitri Kullmann
FRS FMedSci MAE
|
|
|---|---|
Kullmann in 2018
|
|
| Born |
Dimitri Michael Kullmann
1958 (age 66–67) London, England
|
| Education | Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford |
| Awards | Baly Medal (2017) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields |
|
| Institutions |
|
| Thesis | Central actions of muscle receptors (1984) |
| Doctoral advisor | Julian Jack |
Dimitri Michael Kullmann (born 1958) is a British brain doctor and scientist. He works as a professor of neurology at the UCL Institute of Neurology, which is part of University College London (UCL). He also leads a special project that studies brain conditions called synaptopathies. Professor Kullmann is a consultant neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, where he helps patients with brain and nerve problems.
Education and Training
Professor Kullmann went to school at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle. He then studied how the body works (called physiology) at Balliol College, Oxford, which is part of the University of Oxford. He earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree there. He also trained at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London. His research during his PhD was guided by a scientist named Julian Jack.
Brain Research
Professor Kullmann's research focuses on how brain cells communicate with each other. This communication happens at tiny connections called synapses. He studies how these synapses work when a person is healthy and when they have a disease.
His laboratory has helped us understand how special chemicals, called neurotransmitters, send signals between brain cells. They also figured out how these signals can change over time. These changes can make brain connections stronger or weaker.
Professor Kullmann studies diseases that happen when synapses don't work right. These are called synaptopathies. Examples include epilepsy and migraine. By studying these conditions, he learns more about how many different brain diseases work.
Working with his team, Professor Kullmann has used these discoveries to create new ways to treat severe epilepsy. They are exploring gene therapy methods, which involve changing genes to help fix the brain's signals.
His lab has also helped discover many important things about the brain. This includes understanding "silent synapses" and how certain brain diseases, called channelopathies, happen when tiny channels in brain cells don't work correctly. Before working at UCL, he did research with Roger Nicoll at the University of California, San Francisco.
Professor Kullmann was the main editor for the science journal Brain from 2014 to 2020. He is also on the team that reviews articles for another important journal called Neuron.
Awards and Honours
Professor Kullmann has received several important awards for his work. In 1986, he was given the University Gold Medal in Medicine by the University of London. In 2017, he received the Baly Medal from the Royal College of Physicians.
He has also been chosen as a member of several important scientific groups. These include being elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) in 2001 and a member of the Academia Europaea (MAE) in 2017. In 2018, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), which is a very high honour for scientists in the UK. In 2023, he received the Basic Science Research Award from the American Epilepsy Society.
