ProfessorMichaelJohnson

Faculty of Medicine, Department of Brain Sciences

Professor of Neurology and Genomic Medicine

Contact

Location

E419Burlington DanesHammersmith Campus

Summary

I am Professor of Neurology and Genomic Medicine in the Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, and previously Deputy Head of the Centre for Clinical Translation in the Division of Neurosciences and Interim Head of the Division of Neurology. I am an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. I was recently appointed co-lead for Disease Modification and Therapeutics at the newly inaugurated Epilepsy Research Institute.

My research focuses on the use of computational biology and systems genetics to identify cell-type specific causal pathways and novel drug targets for human brain disease and behaviour.

Our key methodologies include single-cell transcriptomics of the human brain, single-cell Mendelian randomisation for causal inference, and integrative genomics. We aim to identify novel therapeutic opportunities which cannot be captured using traditional reductionist scientific methods.

I am a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP), Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP), Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM), Member of the UK Association of British Neurologists (ABN), Member of the British Medical Association (BMA) and Member of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE).

My research has benefited from grants from the UK research councils, Wellcome Trust, charity foundations, the EU and the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. I have a strong track record of successful commercial collaboration with extensive funding from Pharma including grants currently from UCB (epilepsy) and Roche (Parkinson's disease).

I remain clinically active in the fields of general neurology and epilepsy with a particular focus on the autoimmune and tumor-associated epilepsies. I am a member of the Imperial College Healthcare neuro-oncology multidisciplinary team.

I am a member of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Task Force on Genetics and Epigenetics, and the Epi4K, Epi25K, EpiPGx and EPITARGET international research consortia for epilepsy genetics. I sit on the Steering Committee for the ILAE Genomics Consortium for Complex Epilepsies. I have previously advised the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, and I currently advise the UK Parliamentary Health Ombudsman.

I am a co-founder of Cosyne Therapeutics (https://www.cosyne.com/) where I remain an Advisor, and have previously sat on the Scientific Advisory Board of Healx (https://healx.ai/).

Selected Publications

Journal Articles

Laaniste L, Srivastava P, Stylianou T, et al.Laaniste L, Srivastava P, Stylianou T, Syed N, Cases-Cunillera S, Shkura K, Zeng Q, Rackham O, Langley S, Delahaye-Duriez A, O'Neill K, Williams M, Becker A, Roncaroli F, Petretto E, Johnson M close, 2019, Integrated systems-genetic analyses reveal a network target for delaying glioma progression, Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, Vol:6, ISSN:2328-9503, Pages:1616-1638

The International League Against Epilepsy Consortium on Complex Epilepsies, 2018, Genome-wide mega-analysis identifies 16 loci and highlights diverse biological mechanisms in the common epilepsies, Nature Communications, Vol:9, ISSN:2041-1723

Srivastava P, van Eyll J, Godard P, et al.Srivastava P, van Eyll J, Godard P, Manuela M, Delahaye-Duriez A, Van Steenwinckel J, Gressens P, Danis B, Vandenplas C, Patrik F, Leclercq K, Mairet-Coello G, Cardenas A, Vanclef F, Laaniste L, Niespodziany I, Keaney J, Gasser J, Gillet G, Shkura K, Chong S-A, Behmoaras J, Kadiu I, Petretto EG, Kaminski R, Johnson M close, 2018, A systems-level framework for drug discovery identifies Csf1R as an anti-epileptic drug target, Nature Communications, Vol:9, ISSN:2041-1723

Speed D, Cai N, Johnson MR, et al.Speed D, Cai N, Johnson MR, Nejentsev S, Balding DJ close, 2017, Reevaluation of SNP heritability in complex human traits, Nature Genetics, Vol:49, ISSN:1061-4036, Pages:986-992

Srivastava PK, Bagnati M, Delahaye-Duriez A, et al.Srivastava PK, Bagnati M, Delahaye-Duriez A, KO J-H, Rotival M, Langley SR, Shkura K, Mazzuferi M, Danis B, Eyll JV, Foerch P, Behmoaras J, Kaminski RM, Petretto E, Johnson MR close, 2017, Genome-wide analysis of differential RNA editing in epilepsy, Genome Research, Vol:27, ISSN:1549-5469, Pages:440-450

Symonds JD, Zuberi SM, Johnson MR, 2017, Advances in epilepsy gene discovery and implications for epilepsy diagnosis and treatment, Current Opinion in Neurology, Vol:30, ISSN:1350-7540, Pages:193-199

Allen AS, Bellows ST, Berkovic SF, et al.Allen AS, Bellows ST, Berkovic SF, Bridgers J, Burgess R, Cavalleri G, Chung S-K, Cossette P, Delanty N, Dlugos D, Epstein MP, Freyer C, Goldstein DB, Heinzen EL, Hildebrand MS, Johnson MR, Kuzniecky R, Lowenstein DH, Marson AG, Mayeux R, Mebane C, Mefford HC, O'Brien TJ, Ottman R, Petrou S, Petrovski S, Pickrell WO, Poduri A, Radtke RA, Rees MI, Regan BM, Ren Z, Scheffer IE, Sills GJ, Thomas RH, Wang Q, Abou-Khalil B, Alldredge BK, Amrom D, Andermann E, Andermann F, Bautista JF, Berkovic SF, Bluvstein J, Boro A, Cascino GD, Consalvo D, Crumrine P, Devinsky O, Dlugos D, Epstein MP, Fiol M, Fountain NB, French J, Freyer C, Friedman D, Geller EB, Glauser T, Glynn S, Haas K, Haut SR, Hayward J, Helmers SL, Joshi S, Kanner A, Kirsch HE, Knowlton RC, Kossoff EH, Kuperman R, Kuzniecky R, Lowenstein DH, Motika PV, Novotny EJ, Ottman R, Paolicchi JM, Parent JM, Park K, Poduri A, Sadleir LG, Scheffer IE, Shellhaas RA, Sherr EH, Shih JJ, Shinnar S, Singh RK, Sirven J, Smith MC, Sullivan J, Thio LL, Venkat A, Vining EPG, Von Allmen GK, Weisenberg JL, Widdess-Walsh P, Winawer MR close, 2017, Ultra-rare genetic variation in common epilepsies: a case-control sequencing study, Lancet Neurology, Vol:16, ISSN:1474-4422, Pages:135-143

Delahaye-Duriez A, Srivastava P, Shkura K, et al.Delahaye-Duriez A, Srivastava P, Shkura K, Langley SR, Laaniste L, Moreno-Moral A, Danis B, Foerch P, Gazina EV, Richards K, Petrou S, Kaminski R, Petretto E, Johnson MR close, 2016, Rare and common epilepsies converge on a shared gene regulatory network providing opportunities for novel antiepileptic drug discovery, Genome Biology, Vol:17, ISSN:1474-760X

Johnson MR, Shkura K, Langley SR, et al.Johnson MR, Shkura K, Langley SR, Delahaye-Duriez A, Srivastava P, Hill WD, Rackham OJL, Davies G, Harris SE, Moreno-Moral A, Rotival M, Speed D, Petrovski S, Katz A, Hayward C, Porteous DJ, Smith BH, Padmanabhan S, Hocking LJ, Starr JM, Liewald DC, Visconti A, Falchi M, Bottolo L, Rossetti T, Danis B, Mazzuferi M, Foerch P, Grote A, Helmstaedter C, Becker AJ, Kaminski RM, Deary IJ, Petretto E close, 2016, Systems genetics identifies a convergent gene network for cognition and neurodevelopmental disease, Nature Neuroscience, Vol:19, ISSN:1546-1726, Pages:223-232

Johnson MR, Behmoaras J, Bottolo L, et al.Johnson MR, Behmoaras J, Bottolo L, Krishnan ML, Pernhorst K, Santoscoy PL, Rossetti T, Speed D, Srivastava PK, Chadeau-Hyam M, Hajji N, Dabrowska A, Rotival M, Razzaghi B, Kovac S, Wanisch K, Grillo FW, Slaviero A, Langley SR, Shkura K, Roncon P, De T, Mattheisen M, Niehusmann P, O'Brien TJ, Petrovski S, von Lehe M, Hoffmann P, Eriksson J, Coffey AJ, Cichon S, Walker M, Simonato M, Danis B, Mazzuferi M, Foerch P, Schoch S, De Paola V, Kaminski RM, Cunliffe VT, Becker AJ, Petretto E close, 2015, Systems genetics identifies Sestrin 3 as a regulator of a proconvulsant gene network in human epileptic hippocampus, Nature Communications, Vol:6, ISSN:2041-1723

Speed D, O'Brien TJ, Palotie A, et al.Speed D, O'Brien TJ, Palotie A, Shkura K, Marson AG, Balding DJ, Johnson MR close, 2014, Describing the genetic architecture of epilepsy through heritability analysis, Brain, Vol:137, ISSN:1460-2156, Pages:2680-2689

International League Against Epilepsy Consortium on Complex Epilepsies, 2014, Genetic determinants of common epilepsies: a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies, Lancet Neurology, Vol:13, ISSN:1474-4465, Pages:893-903

Speed D, Hoggart C, Petrovski S, et al.Speed D, Hoggart C, Petrovski S, Tachmazidou I, Coffey A, Jorgensen A, Eleftherohorinou H, De Iorio M, Todaro M, De T, Smith D, Smith PE, Jackson M, Cooper P, Kellett M, Howell S, Newton M, Yerra R, Tan M, French C, Reuber M, Sills GE, Chadwick D, Pirmohamed M, Bentley D, Scheffer I, Berkovic S, Balding D, Palotie A, Marson A, O’Brien TJ, Johnson MR close, 2014, Genome-wide association study and biological pathway analysis of epilepsy prognosis in a prospective cohort of newly treated epilepsy, Human Molecular Genetics

Andrew S. Allen1, Samuel F. Berkovic2, Patrick Cossette3, et al.Andrew S. Allen1, Samuel F. Berkovic2, Patrick Cossette3, Norman Delanty4, Dennis Dlugos5, Evan E. Eichler6, Michael P. Epstein7, Tracy Glauser8, David B. Goldstein9, Johnson MR, Ruben Kuzniecky12, Daniel H. Lowenstein13, Yi-Fan Lu9, Maura R. Z.Madou, Anthony G. Marson14, Heather C. Mefford15, Sahar Esmaeeli Nieh16, Terence J. O’Brien17, Ruth Ottman18, Slave´ Petrovski2, 9, 17, Annapurna Poduri19, Elizabeth K Ruzzo9, Ingrid E. Scheffer20, 21, Elliott H. Sherr22 & Christopher J. Yuskaitis23, Bassel Abou-Khalil24, Brian K. Alldredge25, Jocelyn F. Bautista26, Samuel F. Berkovic2, Alex Boro27, Gregory D. Cascino28, Damian Consalvo29, Patricia Crumrine30, Orinn Devinsky31, Dennis Dlugos5, Michael P. Epstein7, Miguel Fiol32, Nathan B. Fountain33, Jacqueline French12, Daniel Friedman12, Eric B. Geller34, Tracy Glauser8, sIMON Glynn35, Sheryl R. Haut36, Jean Hayward37, Sandra L. Helmers38, Sucheta Joshi39, Andres Kanner40, Heidi E. Kirsch13, 41, Robert C. Knowlton42, Eric H. Kossoff43, Rachel Kuperman44, Ruben Kuzniecky12, Daniel H. Lowenstein13, Shannon M. McGuire45, Paul V. Motika46, Edward J. Novotny47, Ruth Ottman18, Juliann M. Paolicchi48, Jack Parent49, 50, Kristen Park51, Annapurna Poduri19, Ingrid E. Scheffer20, 21, Renee A Shellhaas52, Elliott H. Sherr22, Jerry J. Shih53, Rani Singh54, Joseph Sirven55, Michael C Smith40, Joseph Sullivan13, K. Liu Lin Thio56, Anu Venkat5, Eileen P. G. Vining57, GretchenK. VonAllmen58, Judith L.Weisenberg59, Peter Widdess-Walsh34&Melodie R.Winawer close, 2013, De novo mutations in epileptic encephalopathies, Nature, Vol:501, ISSN:0028-0836, Pages:217-221

Schneider SA, Irani SR, Stagg CJ, et al.Schneider SA, Irani SR, Stagg CJ, Schott JM, Rosenthal CR, Pettingill P, Pettingill R, Waters P, Thomas A, Voets NL, Cardoso MJ, Cash D, Manning EN, Lang B, Smith SJM, Vincent A, Johnson MR close, 2013, Faciobrachial dystonic seizures: the influence ofimmunotherapy on seizure control and preventionof cognitive impairment in a broadening phenotype, Brain, Vol:136, ISSN:0006-8950, Pages:3151-3162

Speed D, Hemani G, Johnson MR, et al.Speed D, Hemani G, Johnson MR, Balding DJ close, 2012, Improved heritability estimation from genome-wide SNP data., American Journal of Human Genetics, Vol:91

Johnson MR, Shorvon SD, 2011, Heredity in epilepsy: Neurodevelopment, comorbidity, and the neurological trait, Epilepsy & Behavior, Vol:22, ISSN:1525-5050, Pages:421-427

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