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Department of Neurosciences Department of Neurosciences

Principal Investigator 

  • Taha Gholipour, M.D.

    Taha Gholipour, M.D.

     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 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

Lab Members

  • Hoameng Ung, M.D., Ph.D.

    Hoameng Ung, M.D., Ph.D.

    Hoameng is a neurologist, epileptologist, engineer, and an Assistant Professor of Neurology at UC San Diego Department of Neurosciences, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. His research interest is 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.

    Link to Google scholar profile: scholar.google.com

     

     
  • Kiefer Forseth, M.D., Ph.D.

    Kiefer Forseth, M.D., Ph.D.

    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. 
  • Donatello Arienzo, Ph.D.

    Donatello Arienzo, Ph.D.

    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.
  • Jonathan Rodriguez

    Jonathan Rodriguez

    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.
  •   Natalia Menendez, B.S.

      Natalia Menendez, B.S.

    Natalia is a Research Associate and Study Coordinator for some of our studies. She 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.

Student Members

  • Ryan Hakim

    Ryan Hakim

    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.
    Ryan is involved in multimodal imaging research, combining functional and structural data (EEG, SEEG, MRI, fMRI, PET) in correlation with outcomes in surgical treatment of epilepsy.
  • Sneha Sairam

    Sneha Sairam

    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.
  • Arushi Munjal

    Arushi Munjal

    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.