Philip H. Iffland, PhD

BA - Zoology; Miami University - 2009

MA - Biology; Kent State University - 2012

Ph.D - Cellular and Molecular Biology; Cleveland Clinic/Kent State Collaborative Doctoral Program - 2015

Postdoctoral Fellowship - Molecular Neuroscience; Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University - 2017

Dr. Iffland is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. His research involves using in vivo and in vitro methods to functionally validate and define the pathophysiological consequence of mutations associated with cortical malformations and epilepsy. Diseases studied in the Iffland lab include Focal Cortical Dypslasia, Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, Hemimegalencephaly, and Megalencephaly.

Dr. Iffland is particularly interested in mutations in the amino acid regulatory arm of the mTOR pathway (e.g., DEPDC5 and NPRL3; "GATORopathies") and how they impact neuronal morphology, function, and brain development. In additon he has interest in the changes in protein expression that occur as a result of mTOR pathway hyperactivation and how those changes contribute to cortical lesion formation and epileptogenesis with the ultimate aim of discovering novel targets for treatment.

The Iffland lab uses both in vivo and in vitro approaches to model various aspects of cortical malformations associated with mTOR pathway variants. These include live-cell imaginng, multi-well multielectrode array, in utero electroporation, long-term vido-EEG recording in rodents, morphometry, and cell signaling assays.

Cortical malformations, epilepsy, GATORopathies, mTORopathies, hemimegalencephaly, focal cortical dysplasia, PMSE, KPTN

Iffland, PH 2^nd, Barnes AE, Baybis M, Crino PB. Dynamic analysis of 4E-BP1 phosphorylation in neurons in Tsc2 or Depdc5 knockout. Experimental Neurology. 2020; 334:113432.

Iffland PH 2^nd, Baybis M, Leventer R, Lockhart PJ, Crino PB. DEPDC5 and NPRL3 knockdown produces mTOR-dependent changes in cellular morphology and function. Neurobiology of Disease. 2018; 114: 184-193.

Iffland PH 2^nd, Crino PB. Focal Cortical Dysplasia: Gene mutations, Cell Signaling and Therapeutic Implications. Annual Reviews of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease. 2017; 12:547-71.

Iffland PH 2^nd, Crino PB. Sending mixed signals: The expanding role of molecular cascade mutations in malformations of cortical development and epilepsy. Epilepsy Currents. 2016 May.

Janigro, D, Iffland, PH 2^nd, Marchi, N, Granata T. A role for inflammation in status epilepticus is revealed by a review of current therapeutic approaches.  Epilepsia. 2013 Sep; 54 Suppl 6: 30-2.

Iffland, PH 2^nd, Carvalho-Tavares J, Trigunaite, A, Man, S, Rasmussen, P, Alexopoulos, A, Ghosh, C, Jorgensen TN, Janigro, D. Intracellular and circulating neuronal antinuclear antibodies in human epilepsy. Neurobiol of Dis. 2013 November.