Celebrating thirty years of the stroke research group!

On Wednesday 28 June 2017,  members of the University of Edinburgh's Stroke Research Group (SRG), both past and present, gathered to celebrate 30 years of stroke research in Edinburgh. There was an excellent turn out for the celebration, including Professor Emeritus Charles Warlow, and  Peter Sandercock presented a nostalgic walk down memory lane before cutting the cake.

In summary, the group started in 1987 when Charles Warlow took up the Chair of Neurology in Edinburgh, bringing with him the European Carotid Surgery Trial. He established the  stroke research group with Peter Sandercock and others at the Bramwell Dott Building at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh. A few years later the IST-1 clinical trial commenced. 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 central part of the University of Edinburgh, and Edinburgh Imaging now encompasses three scanners across the city and is part of the SINAPSE network. The Stroke Research Group has also been involved in 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 key component of Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences research. The group has published just over 1500 papers, with over 50,000 citations!