Role
Dr Edward Beamer is a researcher and lecturer. He teaches as part of the NTU pharmacology team, including on both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. His research is focused on neurological insults, such as seizures and hypoxia, the mechanisms through which these insults lead to long term neurological dysfunction, and the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools.
Career overview
Having completed an undergraduate degree in Zoology at John Moore’s University, Liverpool, Dr Beamer switched to focus on the brain. He carried out his PhD at the University of Liverpool, investigating the role of nitric oxide from different cellular sources to seizure propagation. Following completion of is doctoral work, Dr Beamer moved to Budapest, where his research focused on the role of purinergic signaling in neurodevelopmental disorders at the Institute of Experimental Medicine. Dr Beamer then moved to the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, where he received a Marie Curie Fellowship to investigate the contribution of the purinergic signaling system to seizures and epilepsy, with a particular focus on the P2X7 receptor. Dr Beamer joined NTU in the spring of 2021, where he continues to focus on mechanisms associated with the brain's response to insult.
Research areas
Dr Beamer’s research focus is on neurological insults, such as seizures, and how these insults lead to neurological damage. This involves a focus on the contribution of glial cells, neuroinflammation and signalling molecules such as ATP and nitric oxide, including both pathogenic and protective mechanisms. Dr Beamer’s research is not only focused on basic science, but also on the discovery of biomarkers, diagnostic tools, and therapeutics. This work involves a number of different research approaches, including the use of in vitro seizure models and models of perinatal asphyxia.
Publications
Beamer, E., Morgan, J., Alves, M., Menendez-Mendez, A., Morris, G., Zimmer, B., Conte, G., De Diego-Garcia, L., Ka Yiu Ng, N., Madden, S., Calzaferri, F., de los Rios, C., Garcia, A., Hamacher, M., Dinkel, K., Pelegrin, P., Henshall, D., Nicke, A & Engel, T (2022) The ATP-gated P2X7 receptor contributes to the development of drug-resistant status epilepticus in mice. Br. J. Pharmacology, 179(12), 2986 - 3006 doi: 10.22541/au.163254182.21934086/v1
Beamer, E., O’Dea, M.I., Garvey, A.A., Smith, J., Menendez-Mendez, A., Kelly, L., Pavel, A., Quinlan, S., Alves, M., Jimenez-Mateos, E.M., Faming, T., Dempsey, E., Dale, N., Murray, D.M., Boylan, G.B., Molloy, E.J & Engel, T (2021) Novel Point-of-Care Diagnostic Method for Neonatal Encephalopathy Using Purine Nucleosides. Frontiers Mol. Neurosci.doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2021.732199
Tse, K., Beamer, E., Simpson, D., Beynon, R., Sills, G & Thippeswamy, T (2021) The impacts of Surgery and Intracerebral Electrodes in C57BL/6J Mouse Kainate Model of Epileptogenesis: Seizure Threshold, Proteomics, and Cytokine Profiles. Frontiers in Neurology 12: 625017 doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.625017
Beamer, E., Kuchukulla, M., Boison, D & Engel, T (2021) ATP and adenosine – Two players in the control of seizures and epilepsy development. Prog. Neurobiol. 204(2 – 3): 102105 doi: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2021.102105
Beamer, E., Lacey, A., Alves, M., Conte, G., Faming, T., de Diego-Garcia, L., Khalil, M., Rosenow, F., Delanty, N., Dale, N., El-Naggar, H., Henshall, D & Engel, T (2021) Elevated blood purine levels as a biomarker of seizures and epilepsy. Epilepsia 62(3), 817 – 828 doi: 10.1111/epi.16839
Beamer, E & Correa-Muller, S.A.L (2021) The p38MAPK-MK2 Signaling Axis as a Critical Link Between Inflammarion and Synaptic Transmission. Frontiers in Cell & Developmental Biology 9. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.635636
Conte, G., Parras, A., Alves, M., Olla, I., De Diego Garcia, L., Beamer, E., Alalqam, R., Ocampo, A., Mendez, R., Lucas, J.J & Engel, T (2020) High concordance between hippocampal transcriptome of intraamygdala kainic acid model and human temporal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsia 61(12), 2795 – 2810. doi: 10.1111/epi.16714
Morgan, J., Alves, M., Conte, G., De Diego Garcia, L., Menendez Mendez, A., de Leo, G., Beamer, E., Smith, J., Nicke, A & Engel, T (2020)Characterization of the expression of the ATP-gated P2X7 receptor following status epilepticus and during epilepsy using an P2X7-EGFP reporter mouse. Neurosci. Bull. 36(11), 1242 - 1258. doi: 10.1007/s12264-020-00573-9
Parras, A., de Diego-Garcia, L., Alves, M., Beamer, E., Conte, G., Jimenez-Mateos, E. M., Morgan, J., Ollà, I., Hernandez-Santana, Y., Delanty, N., Farrell, M. A., O’Brien, D. F., Ocampo, A., Henshall, D. C., Méndez, R., Lucas, J. J., & Engel, T. (2020). Polyadenylation of mRNA as a novel regulatory mechanism of gene expression in temporal lobe epilepsy. Brain 143(7), 2139 – 2153. doi: 10.1093/brain/awaa168
Beamer, E., & Engel, T. (2020). Using Amperometric, Enzyme-Based Biosensors for Performing Longitudinal Measurements of Extracellular Adenosine 5-Triphosphate in the Mouse. In P. Pelegrín (Ed.), Purinergic Signaling: Methods and Protocols (pp. 197–207). Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9717-6_14
Alves, M., Kenny, A., de Leo, G., Beamer, E., & Engel, T. (2019). Tau Phosphorylation in a Mouse Model of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 11. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2019.00308
Tse, K., Hammond, D., Simpson, D., Beynon, R. J., Beamer, E., Tymianski, M., Salter, M. W., Sills, G. J., & Thippeswamy, T. (2019). The impact of postsynaptic density 95 blocking peptide (Tat‐NR2B9c) and an iNOS inhibitor (1400W) on proteomic profile of the hippocampus in C57BL/6J mouse model of kainate‐induced epileptogenesis. Journal of Neuroscience Research, 97(11), 1378–1392. doi: 10.1002/jnr.24441
Beamer, E., Conte, G., & Engel, T. (2019). ATP release during seizures – A critical evaluation of the evidence. Brain Research Bulletin, 151, 65–73. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2018.12.021
Beamer, E. H., Jurado-Arjona, J., Jimenez-Mateos, E. M., Morgan, J., Reschke, C. R., Kenny, A., de Leo, G., Olivos-Oré, L. A., Arribas-Blázquez, M., Madden, S. F., Merchán-Rubira, J., Delanty, N., Farrell, M. A., O’Brien, D. F., Avila, J., Diaz-Hernandez, M., Miras-Portugal, M. T., Artalejo, A. R., Hernandez, F., … Engel, T. (2018). MicroRNA-22 Controls Aberrant Neurogenesis and Changes in Neuronal Morphology After Status Epilepticus. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 11, 442. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2018.00442
Engel, T., Gómez-Sintes, R., Alves, M., Jimenez-Mateos, E. M., Fernández-Nogales, M., Sanz-Rodriguez, A., Morgan, J., Beamer, E., Rodríguez-Matellán, A., Dunleavy, M., Sano, T., Avila, J., Medina, M., Hernandez, F., Lucas, J. J., & Henshall, D. C. (2018). Bi-directional genetic modulation of GSK-3β exacerbates hippocampal neuropathology in experimental status epilepticus. Cell Death & Disease, 9(10), 1–14. doi: 10.1038/s41419-018-0963-5
Alves, M., Beamer, E., & Engel, T. (2018). The Metabotropic Purinergic P2Y Receptor Family as Novel Drug Target in Epilepsy. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 9, 193. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00193
Beamer, E., Kovács, G., & Sperlágh, B. (2017). ATP released from astrocytes modulates action potential threshold and spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents in the neonatal rat prefrontal cortex. Brain Research Bulletin, 135, 129–142. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2017.10.006
Beamer, E., Fischer, W., & Engel, T. (2017). The ATP-Gated P2X7 Receptor As a Target for the Treatment of Drug-Resistant Epilepsy. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 11, 21. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2017.00021
Engel, T., Brennan, G. P., Sanz-Rodriguez, A., Alves, M., Beamer, E., Watters, O., Henshall, D. C., & Jimenez-Mateos, E. M. (2017). A calcium-sensitive feed-forward loop regulating the expression of the ATP-gated purinergic P2X7 receptor via specificity protein 1 and microRNA-22. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research, 1864(2), 255–266. doi: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2016.11.007
Beamer, E., Gölöncsér, F., Horváth, G., Bekő, K., Otrokocsi, L., Koványi, B., & Sperlágh, B. (2015). Purinergic mechanisms in neuroinflammation: An update from molecules to behavior. Neuropharmacology, 104, 94–104. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2015.09.019
Puttachary, S., Sharma, S., Tse, K., Beamer, E., Sexton, A., Crutison, J., & Thippeswamy, T. (2015). Immediate Epileptogenesis after Kainate-Induced Status Epilepticus in C57BL/6J Mice: Evidence from Long Term Continuous Video-EEG Telemetry. PLOS ONE, 10(7), e0131705. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131705
Tse, K., Puttachary, S., Beamer, E., Sills, G. J., & Thippeswamy, T. (2014). Advantages of Repeated Low Dose against Single High Dose of Kainate in C57BL/6J Mouse Model of Status Epilepticus: Behavioral and Electroencephalographic Studies. PLOS ONE, 9(5), e96622. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0096622
Beamer, E., Otahal, J., Sills, G. J., & Thippeswamy, T. (2012). N w-Propyl-l-arginine (L-NPA) reduces status epilepticus and early epileptogenic events in a mouse model of epilepsy: behavioural, EEG and immunohistochemical analyses. European Journal of Neuroscience, 36(9), 3194–3203. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2012.08234.x