Research Interests and Research Summary

My career goal is to advance our knowledge and understanding of the Human Brain and the complex networks underlying it. I am a clinician familiar with the pressing need for quick and reliable tools to map brain functions. I am an epileptologist with extensive experience in invasive intracranial EEG evaluations, source-localization techniques, and brain connectivity for mapping brcortico-cortical evoked potentials and functional mapping. It is my honor that our line of work has received prestigious awards and funding support. 

Rafeed Alkawadri, MD

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Anesthesia; Artificial Intelligence; Brain; Brain Mapping; Electroencephalography; Electrophysiology; Epilepsy; Evoked Potentials; Gyrus Cinguli; History of Medicine; Intraoperative Care; Neurobiology; Neurophysiology; Neurosciences; Organizational Innovation; Magnetoencephalography; Computational Biology; Biomedical Technology; Biomedical Research; Deep Brain Stimulation; Support Vector Machines; Brain-Computer Interfaces

RESEARCH SUMMARY

  • Functional Mapping and Brain Stimulation

  • Real-Time Mapping of the Brain

  • Passive Identification of Epileptic and Physiologic Brain Networks

  • High-Frequency Oscillations and Very High-Frequency Oscillations 

  • Broadband Intracranial EEG Analysis

  • Evoked Potentials 

  • Cortical Evoked Potentials and Brain Connectivity

  • Cingulate Gyrus Epilepsy and Connectivity

  • Clinical Neurophysiology and Epileptology

  • Effect of Anesthesia on Electrocorticography

  • History of Neurology

  • Brain Restoration

Keywords

Functional and structural neuroimaging, brain mapping, HFOs, SPEPs, ECS, human brain, epilepsy, surgical outcomes, epilepsy surgery, functional magnetic resonance imaging, human brain mapping, structural neuroimaging, improve cognitive function, cognitive function, data processing, AI, BCI, areas of the brain, Cingulate Epilepsy, Frontal Lobe Epilepsy, Connectivity Index, Subdural.

Research program

Mapping function, dysfunction, and connection in the living human brain

My work focuses on understanding human brain networks and translating that knowledge into clinically actionable tools for neurological disease. As a clinician-scientist in epilepsy, I develop and evaluate faster, reliable approaches to mapping brain function and dysfunction during epilepsy-surgery evaluation.

Questions that organize the work

From signal to clinical decision

  1. 01Where is function located?
  2. 02Where does an epileptic network begin and propagate?
  3. 03Which signals are reproducible enough to guide care?
  4. 04How can mapping become faster, safer, and less dependent on prolonged testing?

Research platforms

Six connected lines of investigation

01

Functional Mapping and Brain Stimulation

Electrical cortical stimulation, single-pulse stimulation, SPEPs, CCEPs, evoked potentials, real-time mapping, and functional parcellation of the cingulate gyrus.

02

Computational Electrophysiology and AI

Passive identification of physiologic and epileptic networks from intracranial EEG, broadband signal analysis, high- and very-high-frequency oscillations, machine learning, support vector machines, and brain-computer interfaces.

03

Epileptic Networks and Surgical Decision Support

Seizure-onset-zone localization, cingulate and frontal-lobe epilepsy, the Connectivity Index, network epileptogenicity, clinical neurophysiology, epileptology, multimodal presurgical evaluation, and relationships to surgical outcomes.

04

Multimodal Neuroimaging

Magnetoencephalography, fMRI, structural imaging, MRI post-processing, source localization, and multimodal connectivity.

05

Brain Restoration and Neurocritical Physiology Collaboration

As a contributing collaborator in work led by Nenad Sestan and colleagues, this line examines restoration of cellular and vascular brain function, electrophysiological viability, evoked-potential prognostication, and the effects of anesthesia on electrocorticography. Read the collaborative Nature study.

06

History, Methods, and Translation

The history of electrical cortical stimulation, methodological innovation, biomedical technology, organizational innovation, team science, and translation from laboratory signal to clinical decision.

Methods and signals

A multimodal toolkit

  • EEG
  • intracranial EEG/ECoG
  • MEG
  • fMRI
  • structural neuroimaging
  • ECS
  • SPEP
  • CCEP
  • HFO/vHFO
  • evoked potentials
  • DBS
  • source localization
  • connectivity analysis
  • computational biology
  • AI/ML
  • BCI

Selected frontiers

Work connecting methods to questions

Cingulate functional atlas Passive sensorimotor mapping proof of concept from six minutes of intracranial EEG Vestibular and gravity-network mapping BCI applications in epilepsy Responsible clinical AI in neurology

Research taxonomy

Functional and structural neuroimaging; brain mapping; HFOs; SPEPs; ECS; human brain; epilepsy; surgical outcomes; epilepsy surgery; functional magnetic resonance imaging; structural neuroimaging; cognitive function; data processing; artificial intelligence; BCI; cingulate epilepsy; frontal lobe epilepsy; Connectivity Index; subdural recording; anesthesia; electrophysiology; evoked potentials; history of neurology, medicine, and electrical stimulation; intraoperative care; neurobiology; neurophysiology; organizational innovation; magnetoencephalography; computational biology; biomedical technology; deep brain stimulation; support vector machines.