“Engineering Neurotechnology for the Surgical Treatment of Epilepsy: A Surgeon-scientist-non-engineer’s Perspective”

Robert Gross, M.D., Ph.D.
MBNA/Bowman Professor of Neurosurgery
Department of Neurosurgery
Emory University

Research Focus

(1) Cellular and Gene Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease

Elucidation of the role of axon guidance molecules in the development and reconstruction of the nigrostriatal pathway, which degenerates in Parkinson’s Disease, and development of gene therapy approaches to improve axon outgrowth for reconstruction. This approach, which encompasses molecular and cellular engineering in combination with neurotransplantation, may be generally useful in reconstructive approaches for many types of nervous system degeneration and injury, including spinal cord injury and stroke.

(2) Electrical and Optogenetic Neuromodulation and Closed-Loop Feedback of the Brain for Epilepsy

Development of novel strategies for the treatment of intractable focal epilepsy through the use of microelectrode recording techniques using closed-loop, adaptive algorithms to drive multielectrode microstimulation of brain nuclei involved in seizure modulation. Extension to optogenetic techniques for neuromodulation for epilepsy. Role of neuromodulation for mood and memory disturbance in epilepsy.