Welcome to the DBS Think Tank Rising Star Junior Investigator Challenge!
DBS is a rapidly developing area of neuroscience that has revolutionized the treatment of a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders. From Parkinson’s disease to depression, DBS has the potential to dramatically improve the quality of life for millions of people worldwide.
The work of junior scientists is critical to advancing our understanding of DBS and developing innovative new therapies that can make a real difference in patients’ lives.
The DBS Think Tank Rising Star Junior Investigator Challenge is designed to recognize and support the exceptional work of early-career scientists in the field of deep brain stimulation (DBS) research.
Eligibility
- Be a junior scientist who is actively engaged in DBS research (This includes graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career faculty members who are within five years of completing their PhD or MD.)
- Your research focuses on some aspect of DBS (i.e., development of new techniques, the optimization of existing therapies, or the investigation of the neural mechanisms underlying DBS)
Rising stars submissions are closed as of July 1st.
Thank you to everyone that submitted an abstract!
Finalists of the DBS Think Tank Rising Star Junior Investigator Challenge will receive a certificate of recognition and the opportunity to network with other rising stars in the field of DBS research.
Six (6) finalists will be selected and invited to present their work to our panel of judges.
Each presentation will be 20 minutes in length (10 minutes for presentation with 10 minutes of discussion and questions). All the presentations will be streamed live and in real time on Zoom. The winning finalist will receive a cash prize of $1,000, and the top three (3) finalists will receive attendance, travel and accommodations for next year’s DBS Think Tank.
Panel of Judges
 | Andreas Horn, M.D., Ph.D. Harvard University |
 | Doris Wang, M.D., Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco |
 | Erik Middlebrooks, M.D. Mayo Clinic |
 | Alfonso Fasano, M.D. University of Toronto |
 | Shilpa Chitnis, M.D., Ph.D. University of Texas Southwestern |
 | Michael Fox, M.D., Ph.D. Harvard Medical School |
 | Michael Okun, M.D. University of Florida |
Presentations
Thalamic Deep Brain Stimulation restores signatures of consciousness
Jordy Tasserie, PhD
Harvard University
Seeing, controlling the sound: non-invasive modulation of neural activity
Wenliang Wang
University of Texas, Austin
Automated Sleep Detection in Movement Disorders Using Deep Brain Stimulation and Machine Learning
Arjun Balanchandar, MD and PGY5 Neurology Resident
University of Toronto
Automated Deep Brain Stimulation Parameter Selection via Meta-Active Learning of Evoked Potentials
Eric Cole
Emory University
Towards adaptive deep brain stimulation for motivation deficits in Parkinson’s disease
Colin Hoy, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
Personalized chronic adaptive deep brain stimulation outperforms conventional stimulation in Parkinson’s disease
Lauren Hammer, MD, PhD
University of California, San Francisco