Physician Investigator (Cl) Neurology, Mass General Research Institute

Associate Professor of Neurology Harvard Medical School

Associate Neurologist Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital

MSc Harvard School of Public Health

MD University of Medicine and Pharmacy 1995

brain mapping; cortical excitability; dorsal columns; electroencephalography; endarterectomy carotid; epilepsy; evoked potentials motor; evoked potentials somatosensory; intracranial embolism; monitoring intraoperative; spinal cord mapping; supratentorial neoplasms; surgical procedures elective

A major emphasis of my research has been to foster a better understanding of the neurophysiology of normal and abnormal cortical excitability and of its fluctuations under certain conditions such as anesthesia and arousals states. This in turn has allowed further exploration of the variability of the depolarization thresholds of the eloquent cortex and thus optimization of a multimodal technique for neurophysiologic functional mapping and monitoring of eloquent structures during supratentorial surgery.

Recently, I have also been working on developing a new method for mapping the dorsal columns of the spinal cord, which has a significant utility during intra-medullary spinal cord tumor resections.

Another significant component of my clinical research has focused on developing and perfecting a reliable neurophysiologic technique for monitoring the spinal cord during thoraco-abdominal aneurysm repair, a surgical procedure that carries a high risk of postoperative paraplegia from spinal cord ischemia. Replacing other methods for intraoperative neuroprotection and monitoring, this neurophysiologic method has had a significant impact in reducing the risk of postoperative paraplegia after these procedures.