Dr Felix Chan

• PhD in Neuroscience, Newcastle University, 2017
• M.Res in Neuroscience, Newcastle University, 2012
• B.Sc in Medical Science, Universitas Indonesia, 2011 

Felix is originally from a small town in West Sumatra, Indonesia, called Padang (we are most famous for our beef curry, called rendang). Growing up, he has always been fascinated by chemistry and biology. When most of his undergraduate friends detested biochemistry, he has always found the subject uniquely interesting. When he started taking neuroscience classes in university, he also found the challenge of the subject particularly refreshing. Felix is blessed to be able to combine his love for these two subjects in his current academic career.

Felix did his PhD in Neuroscience at Newcastle University; with Prof. Mark Cunningham and Prof. Doug Turnbull. He was trained as an in vitro brain slice electrophysiologist; looking at metabolism in a severe epilepsy condition called mitochondrial epilepsy. He developed the first ever brain slice model of mitochondrial epilepsy and found the importance of glutamine metabolism in this condition. Felix is continuing this work targeting glutamine metabolism as an approach to treat mitochondrial epilepsy in his current research group.

Felix then moved to Brown University in the USA to undertake his postdoctoral training with Dr. Judy Liu. Here, he looked at metabolism in a variety of pediatric focal epilepsy conditions; including focal cortical dysplasia, tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), and Rasmussen’s encephalitis. Subsequently, he found the involvement of lysine metabolism in TSC; a work that awarded him the prestigious and first-ever TSC Alliance – NIH DSC Young Investigator Award.

Since September 2022, Felix established his independent research group, Chan Lab, firstly at Aston University. His research group has now moved to University of Birmingham since November 2024. The Chan Lab aims to understand the fundamental metabolic and mitochondrial processes that provide energetic to the brain. In doing so, they hope to leverage their understanding of such pathways to develop new therapeutic approaches to treat various chronic diseases. The Chan Lab pursues impactful research and are driven to make significant difference to the life of patients with severe incurable diseases.

Finally, Felix is passionate about providing inclusive and compassionate mentoring to his trainees. As a South-East Asian scientist, he hopes to be a role model to show future trainees that it is possible to pursue their dream. Felix aims to foster positive research culture and environment in his group; and continuously advocate for this locally and globally. 

• Pharmacy MPharm (4-year)

Felix is interested in supervising research projects in the following areas:

• Metabolism
• Mitochondrial biology
• Neurological disorders, particularly epilepsy
• Neuropsychology
• Rare diseases

Characterizing and studying rare metabolic epilepsy

A seminal paper in 2022 surveyed the entire inherited metabolic disease (IMD) landscape and identified 600 genes that are associated with rare metabolic epilepsy. Many of these genes are ultra-rare mutations and thus very understudied in epilepsy research. Given our expertise in rare metabolic epilepsy, we are keen to change this by generating new models of rare metabolic epilepsy to advance our understanding of the mechanisms of these rare metabolic epilepsies. We work closely with patient groups affected by these rare conditions and work with them to develop novel models to better understand their condition.

Aconitase and glutamine metabolism in mitochondrial epilepsy

Through our previous work on mitochondrial epilepsy, we have identified astrocytic aconitase and glutamine metabolism as a vital pathogenic process that drives mitochondrial epilepsy (epilepsy in patients with mitochondrial disease). We are working on further understanding the involvement of this mechanism in mitochondrial epilepsy and how we can leverage our understanding of this pathway to generate new targeted therapies for mitochondrial epilepsy.

Lysine metabolism and epilepsy

We have conducted a large unbiased multi-omic profiling of surgical brain samples from pediatric focal epilepsy patients; including those with focal cortical dysplasia (FCD), tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), and Rasmussen’s encephalitis. One pathway that emerges as a common thread in this focal epilepsy is the involvement of lysine metabolism.

We are currently exploring lysine metabolism and how dysfunction in these pathways lead to epilepsy. We have several projects focused on exploring this in the context of tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC); but through collaborations, we are also exploring this in other forms of epilepsy such as pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy (PDE). In addition to studying the mechanism of how lysine metabolism contributes to epilepsy, we are also exploring various strategies to modulate this pathway as a new therapeutic approach for epilepsy; including dietary strategies, genetic strategies, and new drug development.

Memberships

• American Epilepsy Society
• International League Against Epilepsy
• International Society of Neurochemistry
• British Neuroscience Association

 Editorial roles

• Journal of Neurochemistry – Trainee Editor

 Scientific Advisory Board

• UK Rare Epilepsy Together (UKRET)
• CureDHDDS
• CRELD1 Warriors

UKRI Council Memberships

• Associate Member for Neuroscience and Mental Health Board (NMHB) at MRC, 2024 – present
• Panel Member for Committee D at BBSRC, 2024 – present

Other roles

• Co-Theme Lead for Neurodevelopment at Epilepsy Research Institute UK, 2023 – present
• Regular reviewer for grant proposals and peer-reviewed publications in the UK and internationally