• Me
Steeler Country!

I completed my post doctoral fellowship in Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology under Dr. Kevin Kelly, MD, PhD, Professor of Neurology at the Allegheny Singer Research Insitute (ASRI) in Pittsburgh, PA. During my post doctoral tenure, I was a Research Fellow affiliated with the Department of Neurology at the ASRI, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA. I was also the recepient of one of two national Young Investigator grants from the Epilepsy Foundation in 2007.

Go Gators!

During my academic tenure at the University of Florida, I was a research associate affiliated with the Brain Dynamics Laboratory, the Animal Neurophysiology Laboratory, McKnight Brain Institute and the Center for Applied Optimization and a Ph.D. student in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering. I joined the Ph.D. Program in the fall of 2003 and graduated in December, 2006. My advisors were Professor Dr. J. Chris Sackellares and Distinguished Professor Dr. Panos M. Pardalos. I obtained my Bachelor's Degree in Electronics Engineering from the Model Engineering College, Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Kochi, India in August 2000. I worked at Cognizant Technology Solutions, Chennai from September 2000 until June 2001. I graduated with a Master's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Florida in August, 2003 before joining the doctoral program in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering. Contact me if you want an updated resume.

UPDATE

I defended my dissertation successfully on Oct 24, 2006 and received my Ph.D. degree in December 2006.

TITLE: Brain Dynamics and Control with Applications in Epilepsy

Developing novel technologies for controlling and preventing the development of dynamic disorders such as temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) has been one of the predominant focus areas in biomedical research. Despite many advances in the treatment of epilepsy, there continue to be a large number of individuals who do not respond to currently available therapeutic interventions and have to resort to alternative methods of seizure control. Current alternative therapeutic techniques do not take into consideration the potential improvements that could be achieved by taking into account the state of the epileptic brain during administration. The successful development of a therapeutic device requires a strong interplay between technology and theory.

In recent years, the idea of controlling seizures by intervening during a seizure susceptible state has been proposed. Furthermore, the concept of controlling chaos in dynamical spatially extended systems has inspired researchers from a wide variety of disciplines, including the field of epilepsy and seizure control This research takes inspiration from earlier studies focused on the above and begins to investigate the feasibility of an automated seizure warning based (state dependent) stimulation technique in an animal model of TLE. The central goal in this research is to use strategic stimulus delivery to affect brain dynamics and to drive the system to a regime of healthy brain dynamics. We also propose a novel application of nonlinear and statistical tools to study the phenomenon of epileptogenesis. Finally we propose novel optimization based chaos control methods in theoretical models emulating brain dynamics and discuss its applicability in controlling epilepsy.

Visit my profile on the Univeristy of Florida, Department of Biomedical Engineering website

My Supervisory Committee

1. Dr. J. Chris Sackellares, M.D., Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Neurology, Neuroscience, Pediatrics and Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Email: sackellaresmbiufledu

2. Dr. Panagote (Panos) M. Pardalos, Ph.D., (Chair) Distinguished Professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Email: pardalosufledu

3. Dr. William L. Ditto, Ph.D., (Co-Chair) Professor and Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Email: william.dittobmeufledu

4. Dr. Paul R. Carney, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Email: carneprpedsufledu

5. Dr. Steven N. Roper, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Email: roperneurosurgeryufledu