Members
Taha Gholipour, M.D.
Principal Investigator, Epileptologist
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.
My goal is to identify brain networks and develop biomarkers to better understand the initiation, propagation, and termination of seizures in focal epilepsy, and to improve the outcomes of surgical treatments in epilepsy.
Learn about ENIGMA-Epilepsy.
Link to my Pubmed publications: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/tgholipourLink to my Google scholar profile: scholar.google.com
Favorite Citrus fruit: Seville Orange
Hoameng Ung, M.D, Ph.D.
Clinical Investigator, Epileptologist
Hoameng is a neurologist and engineer interested in the application of artificial intelligence to improve clinical management and patient care. Currently, he is focused on the discovery and translation of quantitative EEG biomarkers for seizure detection, ischemia detection, and neuroprognostication
Favorite Citrus fruit: Orange
Donatello Arienzo, Ph.D.
Research Data Analyst
Donatello is a Research Data Analyst at LOCI and CMIG at UCSD and an Adjunct Professor at San Diego State University (SDSU). He has a background in neuroscience and experience in designing, implementing, and analyzing functional and structural neuroimaging data with an emphasis on brain networks. In particular, he applies advanced brain imaging techniques such as Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), to study neural circuits underlying cognitive and affective functions in epilepsy patients. He is managing the International Imaging consortium' s project, ENIGMA-Epilepsy.
Favorite Citrus fruit: Clementine
Jonathan Rodriguez
Research Associate, Study Coordinator
Jonathan is a study coordinator for our ongoing clinical trial and a research associate at the Lab of Cognitive Imaging (LOCI). He graduated from UCSD with a Bachelor's degree in Cognitive Science and Global Health. He has extensive experience in epilepsy research, particularly in bilingual neuropsychological testing, patient recruitment, and database management. Jonathan plans to leverage his experience and skills to pursue a medical degree, with the ultimate goal of a career in Neurology.
Favorite Citrus fruit: Mandarine
Natalia Menendez, B.S.
Research Associate, Study Coordinator
Natalia graduated from UCSD with a Bachelor's in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience. She is a Spanish/English bilingual clinical researcher working across multiple projects on cognitive impairment in cardiovascular disease, dementia/Alzheimer’s, HIV, and cancer. She is expanding her interests into the epilepsy research space as the study coordinator for epilepsy clinical trials and performs the neurocognitive assessment in research participants. She plans to combine her skills and pursue a graduate program in Clinical Neuropsychology.
In her free time, Natalia enjoys doing yoga, going to the beach, and volunteering with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Favorite Citrus fruit: Key Lime
Ryan Hakim
Medical Student Researcher
Ryan is a visiting student researcher from Loyola Chicago School of Medicine. He grew up in the West LA area, and is a proud alumni of UC San Diego. Ryan's interest in neuroscience stems back to his psychology and neuroscience courses and addiction research.
Sneha Sairam
Undergraduate Researcher - UCSD REAL Program
Sneha is an undergraduate studying Cognitive Science with a specialization in Machine Learning and Neural Computation while on the pre-health track at UC San Diego. Her research project is focused on brain mapping using resting state fMRI, and comparing motor and language mapping to task-based fMRI.
Favorite Citrus fruit: Clementine
Arushi Munjal
Undergraduate Researcher - UCSD REAL Program
Arushi is an undergraduate student at UCSD completing a Bachelor’s in Mathematics and Computer Science. She is interested in applying machine learning techniques to enhance health outcomes in areas such as disease diagnosis, treatment optimization, and healthcare delivery. Her research involves using fMRI data to localize brain function abnormalities in focal epilepsy.
Arushi plans to pursue a career in biomedical data science. Outside of research, Arushi’s passions include yoga, photography, and organizing service events for health initiatives to contribute positively to her community's well-being.
Favorite Citrus fruit: Calamansi