Dr Petroula Laiou hosts our May Seminar Series
April 9, 2025
Thanks to Dr Petroula Laiou from King's College London,
for delivering our May Seminar Series with her talk,
"Bridging the Gap: Turning Academic Research into Clinical Innovation".
Petroula shared her journey of translating cutting-edge academic research into a mission-driven MedTech company. The spinout is pioneering a novel approach to forecasting and preventing seizures in people with drug-resistant epilepsy - an innovation rooted in years of interdisciplinary work at the intersection of clinical neuroscience, signal processing, and artificial intelligence.
Dr. Laiou took the audience through the full translational pathway: from identifying an unmet clinical need, designing and analysing first-in-human studies, and developing a seizure prediction algorithm, to securing translational funding, navigating the intellectual property landscape, and filing an international patent (PCT/GB2024/052456).
She reflected on key lessons learned during her time in the King’s MedTech Accelerator Programme - where the team won the Best Innovation award - and share insights on building bridges between academia and industry, shaping a commercialization strategy, and transitioning from researcher to entrepreneur.
The talk also highlighted the challenges and rewards of launching a spinout in the healthcare sector and offer practical advice for PhD students and early-career researchers considering the entrepreneurial route.
Seminar Series Event: "Bridging the Gap: Turning Academic Research into Clinical Innovation"
Date and Time:
Wednesday 7 May 2025, 15:00 – 16.00 hrs (BST)
Location: The Lorna Wing Room, SGDP Building, Denmark Hill Campus, London, SE5 8AF
Attendance:
Mandatory for all DRIVE-Health students, therefore please accept the calendar invitation.
Registration: Alumni and wider King's College London research community all welcome - please email
drive-health-cdt@kcl.ac.uk
to let us know if you would like to attend.
Dr. Petroula Laiou is a Research Fellow in Predictive Modelling and Clinical Neuroscience at King’s College London. With a background in mathematics, computational physics, and a PhD in signal analysis, her research bridges computer science, neuroscience, and machine learning. Her work focuses on developing predictive models and digital biomarkers for neurological and psychiatric disorders, including epilepsy and depression.
Dr. Laiou led the development of a novel seizure forecasting algorithm using intracranial EEG and cortical responses to electrical stimulation—research that led to the filing of an international patent (PCT/GB2024/052456). She is the recipient of multiple research grants, including an MRC award as Principal Investigator, and her translational work was recognised by the King’s MedTech Accelerator Programme, where her team won the Best Innovation award.
She has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications, presented at major international conferences, and actively contributes to interdisciplinary collaborations across academia, hospitals, and industry.
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