#54: Phil Starr – Using cortical signals to guide DBS, how lesions may produce brain signals and open collaborations in the field.

Phil Starr is a Professor of Neurological Surgery at University of California, San Francisco and a developer of implantable brain devices. At UCSF, he co-directs a multidisciplinary neurology/neurosurgery movement disorders clinic together with Dr. Jill Ostrem. I’ve been a long-time admirer of Phil’s work and in this conversation we blaze through quite a few of his numerous publications. One key breakthrough and invention of Phils work has been to include Ecog recordings – both intraoperatively but also chronically – to investigate brain signals in various states. We talk about the Open Mind Consortium, Mentorship and the cross-pollination between academia and industry. One key highlight of Phils work is a paper which was accepted for publication in Nature Medicine, at the time of recording this just yesterday. In it, the three co-first authors Carina Oehrn, Stephanie Cernera and Lauren Hammer demonstrate the chronic use of a newly identified cortical physiomarker, which is now referred to as the finely tuned gamma activity. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did, and thank you for tuning into Stimulating Brains!