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Taha Gholipour
I am a neurologist subspecialized to treat epilepsy. I conduct patient-oriented translational research that involves neuroimaging and electrophysiology. I am currently an Associate Professor of Neurology at UC San Diego Department of Neurosciences, and a member of the UCSD Comprehensive Epilepsy Center and Epilepsy Research Center.
My team's goal is to identify brain networks and develop biomarkers to better understand the initiation, spread, and termination of seizures in epilepsy, and to improve the outcomes of medical and surgical treatments in epilepsy.
Our lab is an active member of the ENIGMA-Epilepsy Consortium, co-Chaired by Dr. Carrie McDonald at UCSD.
Link to my Pubmed publications: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/tgholipourLink to my Google scholar profile: scholar.google.com
Favorite Citrus: Seville Orange
Members
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Lucas Sainburg
Lucas is a biomedical engineer with a background in neuroimaging. His PhD research leveraged functional MRI, diffusion MRI, and PET to investigate epilepsy and develop noninvasive approaches to inform surgical decision-making. His current research interests are to integrate multimodal neuroimaging with electrophysiological data to understand the neurological and cognitive impacts of epilepsy and create tools to support personalized treatment planning.
Favorite Citrus: Cara Cara orange
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Sepand Malek
Sep is a medical doctor from UK. He joined the lab with a focus on multimodal imaging in neurosurgical management of epilepsy, combining functional and structural data, as well as pathology in correlation with outcomes in surgical treatment of epilepsy.Favorite Citrus: Yuzu -
Caroline Kelly
Caroline is a Clinical Research Coordinator with the Department of Neurosciences and the Gholipour Lab. She joined the team with experience in clinical trial, patient recruitment, and regulatory matters in patient-centered research.
Favorite Citrus: mandarin orange -
Brenna Neault
Brenna joined the Gholipour Lab as a clinical researcher, participating in clinical coordination and assessment of patients participating in clinical trials. She received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 2025 and is spending a gap-year conducting research while preparing for medical school.
Favorite Citrus: Lisbon lemon
Student and Affiliate Members
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Kiefer Forseth
Kiefer is a neurosurgery resident at UCSD with a background in electrical engineering and computational neuroscience. His research interests include the neurobiology of language, intracranial electrophysiology, and multimodal integration of functional imaging.
Favorite Citrus:
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Shayda Radmehr
Shayda is an undergraduate student at UCSD studying Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience. She is interested in pursuing research geared towards understanding how disruptions in neural circuitry can lead to deficits in learning, memory, and perception, along with other cognitive impairments. Shayda believes in the importance of being a protagonist in her community and works towards creating vibrant environments in the places she lives and works. Outside of research, Shayda enjoys creating music, watching musicals, and reading at the beach.Favorite Citrus: Grapefruit -
Brianna Meza
Bio: Brianna is an undergraduate student at UC San Diego completing her Bachelor's degree in Psychology and part of the UCSD Regents Scholars Research Initiative program. Brianna plans to pursue a career in medicine with the goal of becoming a neuropsychiatrist and advancing health equity through community-centered care. Outside of research, Brianna enjoys spending time with friends and family, especially at the beach, and is actively involved in programs that support the development of a physician workforce to meet California's healthcare needs.Favorite Citrus: Blood Orange -
Sirisha Gajri
Sirisha is an undergraduate student at UC San Diego studying Cognitive Science with a specialization in Machine Learning and Neural Computation, along with a minor in Mathematics. She is interested in understanding the brain through computational and data driven approaches, particularly in ways that can contribute to neuroscience and healthcare research. She hopes to continue exploring opportunities at the intersection of neuroscience, technology, and medicine.
Outside of research, Sirisha enjoys dancing, crocheting, spending time outdoors, exploring cafes, watching shows and movies, and going to the beach.
Favorite Citrus: Mosambi
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Andrea Galvez-Mcdonough
Andrea is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders at UC San Diego and San Diego State University and a member of the Laboratory for the Brain Dynamics of Language (LBDL) with Dr. Stephanie Riès.
Her work focuses on investigating how varying linguistic experience influences cognitive and linguistic processing and their associated neural networks in typically and neurologically impaired aging individuals.
Favorite Citrus: Grapefruit
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Lauren Ostrowski
Lauren is an M.D./Ph.D. student in the Neurosciences Graduate Program at UC San Diego with a background in computational and translational neuroscience. Her research focuses on the neural signals underlying vocal communication in human speech and birdsong. She is currently focused on dynamical systems approaches to neuroscience, context-dependent modulation, and bilingualism.Favorite Citrus: Mandarin -
Margaret Seaton
Margaret is an MD student at UC San Diego with a background in translational neuroscience in speech with a focus on brain computer interface. Her current research focuses on interventional options for the treatment of chronic pain and advancements in functional neurosurgery.
Link to Google scholar: https://scholar.Google.com
Favorite Citrus: Grapefruit
Alumni
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CITRUS Alumni
- Arushi Munjal
- Katie Andrade
- Sneha Sairam
- Donatello Arienzo, Ph.D.
- Natalia Menendez,
- Ryan Hakim, M.D.
- Jonathan Rodriguez