Celebrating thirty years of the stroke research group!
June 2017: Members of the stroke research group past and present gathered to celebrate 30 years of stroke research in Edinburgh.
It was in 1987 that Charles Warlow took up the Chair of Neurology in Edinburgh, bringing with him the European Carotid Surgery Trial, and established the fledgling stroke research group with Peter Sandercock and others at the Bramwell Dott Building at the Western General Hospital.
A few years later the IST-1 clinical trial was to be the first of a suite of Edinburgh-led clinical trials that have put the group on the map as a worldwide leader in stroke research, a reputation that has continued to grow to the present day.
Other key trials have been FOOD 1–3, CLOTS 1–3, IST-3, GALA, SIVMS, SAIVMS, HAIST, FOCUS, ARUBA, LINCHPIN and RESTART.
As the group became established, the stroke clinical service was successfully combined with trials/systematic reviews, epidemiology/registers, and brain imaging research.
Imaging research has become a flagship for the University Edinburgh, spawning the Scotland-wide SINAPSE network and most recently the umbrella organisation Edinburgh Imaging that encompasses three scanners across the city.
Allied activity stemming from the stroke research group has included the Cochrane Stroke Reviews Group that now spans 28 countries, the Scottish National Strategy for Stroke, three editions of the book "Stroke: A Practical Guide", and the CAMARADES collaboration to review animal data in stroke research.
Thirty years on, the Stroke Research Group is a mainstay of Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences research. The group has published just over 1500 papers, with over 50,000 citations!
We were delighted that so many members of the group, including Professor Emeritus Charles Warlow, joined us to celebrate 30 successful years. Peter Sandercock presented a nostalgic walk down memory lane before cutting the cake.
Related links
Brain vascular disease research at the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences (contains links to Investigators' profiles)
Clinical research and trials at the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences (contains links to key trials websites)
SINAPSE: Scottish Imaging Network - a Platform for Scientific Excellence