Epilepsy Surgery Program

Comprehensive Care Centers

Overview

Rhode Island Hospital is a Level 4 (highest level) epilepsy center, offering deep expertise and the full array of the most advanced surgical options for people with epilepsy.

Those with epilepsy not completely controlled by medication may be candidates for surgical treatment. In many cases, surgery can offer the possibility of eliminating seizures where medicines have failed. Individual cases are evaluated by a team of doctors and other clinicians, including neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, radiologists and others, to design patient-specific treatment plans that maximize the possibility of seizure control while minimizing risk. Patient’s individual concerns and preferences play a large role in designing the optimal treatment plan.

We combine this patient-centered approach with the most advanced technology to deliver the highest-quality, world-class care. These technologies include MRI-guided laser ablation, high resolution pre- and intra-operative neuro-imaging, 3D-printed patient-customized brain targeting systems, high-precision intra-cranial neurophysiology, and responsive (“closed-loop”) neurostimulation systems. These technologies allow us to more accurately identify seizure networks in the brain, and then to deliver optimal treatment.

As members of the Brown University faculty, our clinicians not only apply the latest technologies to improve our patients’ lives, but we also conduct research to better understand epilepsy and related problems with cognition and memory, as well as to develop and test new therapies. Ongoing studies focus on the neurophysiology of memory and attention, memory neuromodulation, machine-learning decoding of neural activity, nonhuman models of cognitive processes, and patient-based clinical trials, among many others.

Our talented, highly-experienced team and extraordinary technological resources enable the Brown University / Rhode Island Hospital Comprehensive Epilepsy Program to deliver exceptional medical and surgical care to individuals with epilepsy seeking improved quality of life.

Our Team

Neurosurgery

Wael F. Asaad, MD, PhD

Sidney A. Fox and Dorothea Doctors Fox Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science
Professor of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience
Vice-Chair, Research
Director, Functional and Epilepsy Neurosurgery Program
Director, Laboratory for Neurophysiology and Neuromodulation
Associate Director, Neurosurgery Residency Training Program
Director, Fellowship in Functional & Epilepsy Neurosurgery

Konstantina A. Svokos, DO, MS

Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics
Director, Fetal Neurosurgery
Co-Director, Neuroplastics
Co-Director, Center for Surgical Treatment of the Developing Brain and Spine

Athar Malik, MD, PhD

Samuel I. Kennison, M.D. and Bertha S. Kennison Assistant Professor of Clinical Neuroscience
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery
Director, Brain Injury & Restorative Neurosurgery
 Director, Restorative Neuroscience Laboratory

Albert E. Telfeian, MD, PhD

Professor of Neurosurgery
Vice-Chair, Quality Improvement
Director, Center for Minimally Invasive Endoscopic Spine Surgery
Vice President, Neurosurgery & Neurosurgical Innovation

Neurology

Andrew Blum, MD, PhD, Director of Adult Epilepsy Neurology
Luca Bartolini, MD, Director of Pediatric Epilepsy Neurology
Julie Roth, MD, Epileptologist
Neishay Ayub, MD, Epileptologist
Monica Dhakar, MD, MS, Epileptologist
Jason Richards, MD, Epileptologist
Duyu Nie, MD, PhD, Pediatric Epileptologist

Neuropsychology

Geoffrey Tremont, PhD
Seth Margolis, PhD

Radiologists

Jerrold Boxerman, MD, Neuroradiologist
Glenn Tung, MD, Neuroradiologist