Rate My Professor John Archer

Associate Professor John Archer is a neurologist and epileptologist in the Department of Neurology at Austin Health, serving as Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine (Austin Health) at the University of Melbourne. He holds honorary research fellowships at the Florey Neuroscience Institutes and the Epilepsy Research Centre. Archer obtained his medical degree (Bachelor's Degree) from the University of New South Wales in 1990. He completed training in general neurology in Sydney and Oxford, followed by a PhD in epilepsy and neuroimaging through Austin Hospital and the University of Melbourne in 2002. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and has over 20 years of experience diagnosing and managing neurologic conditions, with particular expertise in epilepsy from initial presentation to complex medical and surgical therapies.

Archer leads the Epilepsy Networks and Neuromodulation Research Group in the University of Melbourne School of Medicine, based at Austin Health. The group applies advanced imaging techniques, including combined EEG and functional MRI, to uncover brain networks driving generalized epilepsies and evaluates neuromodulation as a therapeutic strategy. A landmark achievement is the ESTEL trial, the world's first randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of deep brain stimulation in the thalamic centromedian nucleus for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, which suppressed epileptic discharges by 50%. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed papers on neurology and epilepsy. Highly cited works include "Prediction of seizure likelihood with a long-term, implanted seizure advisory system in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy: a first-in-man study" (The Lancet Neurology, 2013), "Add-on cannabidiol treatment for drug-resistant seizures in tuberous sclerosis complex: a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial" (JAMA Neurology, 2021), "fMRI "deactivation" of the posterior cingulate during generalized spike and wave" (NeuroImage, 2003), "DBS of thalamic centromedian nucleus for Lennox–Gastaut syndrome (ESTEL trial)" (Annals of Neurology, 2022), "Idiopathic generalised epilepsy of adult onset: clinical syndromes and genetics" (Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 2003), and "Cortical/subcortical BOLD changes associated with epileptic discharges: an EEG-fMRI study at 3 T" (Neurology, 2005). His contributions have advanced network-based models of epilepsy and innovative treatments, influencing clinical practice and research globally.