PhD Student Mohammadreza Presents Telkes Lab Research at the 2026 NYC Neuromodulation Conference

The Telkes Lab proudly took part in the NYC Neuromodulation Conference hosted by The City College of New York (CCNY). During the event, PhD student Mohammadreza Saraei shared his latest poster, “Preliminary EEG Connectivity Signatures of Long-Term Spinal Cord Stimulation in Chronic Pain.” His presentation examined how prolonged spinal cord stimulation influences cortical connectivity and brain network mapping in patients managing chronic refractory pain. The conference provided an excellent forum to highlight emerging clinical and scientific breakthroughs in the neuromodulation field.

This work can also be accessed online at: https://neuromodec.org/2026-nyc-neuromodulation-conference/abstracts-online.html#C72 

Congratulations to Srikumaran (Sri) Sakthivel on completing his co-op position in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Arizona

Sri first joined the Telkes Lab as a Summer Intern in 2025 and returned as a co-op student from January through August 2026, with support from the Sarver Heart Center and Dr. Sadek. During his time in the lab, he contributed to projects involving EEG and ECG signal analysis, particularly a project examining ECG morphology and heart rate variability in patients receiving spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain, while developing his skills in MATLAB, biomedical signal processing, and neuromodulation.

On July 30-31, Sri presented his work at the 2026 Stanford Cardiovascular Research Symposium. It has been wonderful to see Sri grow as a researcher. We wish him continued success as he begins his fifth year studying Biomedical Engineering and Neurobiology at the University of Cincinnati and prepares for graduate school!

Spring 2026 Telkes Lab Gathering

This spring, our lab gathered for a semester dinner to celebrate the progress, achievements, graduations, and milestones we shared throughout the semester. We’re especially grateful for the support, teamwork, and dedication that continue to shape our lab environment.
As we move into the next season of research, we’re looking forward to new projects, fresh collaborations, and continued momentum in our work. We’re grateful for an inspiring semester and excited for what’s ahead as we continue to grow and learn together as a team.

Congratulations to Ledou and Dasol on Their Graduation!

The Telkes Lab is excited to celebrate the graduation of Ledou S. Pousseu and Dasol Ahn, who successfully completed their Master’s degrees on May 14, 2026. We are incredibly proud of their accomplishments and grateful for the many ways they have contributed to the lab over the years.

Both Ledou  (BME) and Dasol (ECE) have been valued members of the Telkes Lab in various research and support roles. Their hard work, enthusiasm, and willingness to contribute have made a meaningful impact on our team.

Congratulations again to Ledou and Dasol on this exciting milestone! We wish them all the best in their next chapters and look forward to seeing all they accomplish in the future.

PhD Student Isra Athar Presents ADRD Pain Biomarker Research at the 11th Annual ABRC-Flinn Research Conference

The Telkes Lab was excited to participate in the 11th Annual ABRC-Flinn Research Conference held on May 5 in Phoenix, Arizona. This annual conference brings together grant awardees from the Arizona Biomedical Research Centre (ABRC) and the Flinn Foundation to showcase recent research advances and foster interdisciplinary collaboration.

Isra Athar, a PhD student in the lab, presented her work titled “Developing a Multimodal Approach to Objectively Assess Chronic Pain in Older Adults with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias.” This project is part of an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Department of Neurosurgery and the College of Nursing and explores the feasibility of integrating multimodal neurophysiological and behavioral sensing technologies to investigate objective markers of pain in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).

PhD Student Mohammadreza Presents Telkes Lab Research at BME Research Day

The Telkes Lab was excited to participate in the Biomedical Engineering (BME) Research Day on February 20. Mohammadreza Saraei, a PhD student in the lab, presented his work titled “Altered Alpha–Theta Network Connectivity During Spinal Cord Stimulation in Chronic Pain.” The work explores how spinal cord stimulation may modulate brain network activity in individuals with chronic pain. This event, hosted by the University of Arizona Department of Biomedical Engineering within Arizona Health Sciences, highlighted innovative research conducted by students and faculty across the department.

This work will also be presented as a poster at the International Neuromodulation Society Congress 2026

Closing the Year with Our First Lab Dinner

We wrapped up the year with our first lab dinner, a nice opportunity to step away from work and enjoy time together. It was great to share the evening with our lab and members of the Pilitsis Lab.

Looking ahead, we’re excited for the year to come with new ideas, new challenges, and continued growth as a team. Wishing everyone a restful holiday season and a productive year ahead.

Dr. Ilknur Telkes Receives the CNS 2025 Ronald R. Tasker Young Investigator Award!

We are excited to announce that Dr. Ilknur Telkes has been awarded the 2025 Ronald R. Tasker Young Investigator Award by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS). This prestigious award is given to the highest-ranked abstract submitted at the CNS Annual Meeting that focuses on pain research. It recognizes the exceptional contributions of early-career researchers in the fields of neurosurgery and pain.

Telkes Lab is Ready for an Exciting Semester!

Telkes Lab is ready to dive into a new semester of innovative research in neural engineering and pain neuroscience. With ongoing projects and new team members on board, we’re excited to push the boundaries of science and share our discoveries with the community. Stay tuned for updates on our work!

Our Research Featured in Pain Medicine News!

We are excited to announce that our recent study on EEG biomarkers for distinguishing between responders and non-responders to spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been featured in “Pain Medicine News”. This recognition underscores the potential impact of our research in advancing precision medicine approaches for managing chronic pain. By identifying objective neural signatures linked to treatment response, our work seeks to enhance patient selection, personalize neuromodulation therapies, and ultimately improve clinical outcomes for individuals receiving SCS.

Read Fulltext Here

Celebrating Our Latest Achievement!

Dr. Telkes and her team have received the Arizona Biomedical Research Centre (ABRC) New Investigator Award — a $225K, 3-year grant to advance their groundbreaking work in Chronic Pain Assessment for Older Adults with Alzheimer’s Disease!

Telkes Lab at NANS 2025: Another Successful Year!

We had a fantastic time at the NANS 2025 Annual Meeting, sharing our latest research and reconnecting with colleagues!

1. We presented our recent study on the utility of predictive machine learning models trained on EEG features for spinal cord stimulation, as part of the Ultrasound for Neuromodulation session.
2. We also showcased our work using cluster analysis to identify subgroups of chronic pain patients based on their preoperative EEG signatures, providing insights into individual differences before spinal cord stimulation surgery.
3. Congratulations to Ayden Dunn (Class of 2027, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University) for receiving one of the NANS 2025 Early Career Travel Fellowship Grants. It’s an honor to mentor the next generation of neuromodulation researchers!
4. Following the NANS Kumar Young Investigator Award in 2023, I’m deeply honored to be recognized again this year with the NANS 2025 Rising Star Early Career Award. I’m humbled and truly grateful for this recognition.

Beyond the science, it was a joy to connect with colleagues, collaborators, mentors, and trainees, engaging in inspiring conversations that will shape the future of neuromodulation. Looking forward to another exciting and productive year ahead. See you all at NANS 2026 in Las Vegas!

Congratulations to the Telkes Lab on Securing a Prestigious Grant!

Thrilled to share exciting news from the Telkes Lab! We’ve been awarded a major grant to advance research at the intersection of Chronic Pain, Spinal Cord Stimulation, and Wearable Technology. This project is funded by the University of Arizona FY25 Eighteenth Mile TRIF and has secured $199,060 in support. We’re eager to push the boundaries of innovation in this vital area and look forward to the meaningful impact our work will have on the future of neuromodulation and patient care.

Exciting News Alert About Telkes Lab!

We’re excited to share that our lab has officially relocated to the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson!

Stay tuned for updates on our latest projects and new adventures as we continue pushing the boundaries of science and innovation. The future is bright, and we’re thrilled to have you along for the journey!

NANS Annual Meeting 2024

We had a very successful NANS 2024 Conference this year! TelkesLab presented four oral abstracts on chronic pain biomarkers and machine learning.

Kudos to our outstanding students: Tomas Swickley, Stacey Tevelev, Jay Gopal, Krishna Sandeep Kumar Vanga, and Harshal Sanghvi, Ph.D., for their excellent work and presentations. Many thanks to Julie Pilitsis, Marisa Valletta, our collaborators, the conference organizers, and abstract reviewers for their support and contributions. Looking forward to seeing everyone next year at NANS 2025!

ASRA President’s Choice Abstract 2023

We’re excited to share that our study was selected as a President’s Choice Highlighted Abstract at the 22nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia (ASRA) and Pain Medicine!

Our study, titled “A Prospective Evaluation of Selectivity in a High-Resolution Spinal Cord Stimulation Paddle” (Abstract #4928) by Deepak Berwal, Alejandra Quintero, Ilknur Telkes, Marisa DiMarzio, Tessa Harland, Steven Paniccioli, Yohannes Iyassu, John Dalfino, Bryan McLaughlin, and Julie Pilitsis, was presented at the ASRA and Pain Medicine Annual Meeting held on November 10–11, 2023, in New Orleans, LA. We are honored by this recognition and grateful to all collaborators and contributors.

Investigation of Brain Signals for Better Understanding Chronic Pain in Adults with Alzheimer’s Disease

Congratulations to the research team on the Alzheimer’s disease project! Today, we welcomed our first participant and successfully recorded our first multi-modality dataset. Chronic pain often goes untreated in individuals with AD, largely because of their limited ability to communicate pain verbally. Our study aims to address this gap by combining Wearable EEG and Eye-Tracking Technology to develop objective tools for chronic pain assessment, ultimately working toward improving the quality of life for people living with AD.

FAU Neuroscience Seminar Series (Fall 2023)

I had the privilege of hosting Dr. Nuri Ince, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Neurosurgery at Mayo Clinic Rochester, as a guest speaker for the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute Neuroscience Seminar Series. Dr. Ince delivered an engaging and insightful talk on the Identification of Neurobiomarkers for Optimizing Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson’s disease, highlighting innovative approaches to improving therapeutic outcomes for patients.

Presenting at CNS Annual Meeting 2023

Jay Gopal, an affiliate of Telkes Lab, presented his study titled “Comparison of Intraoperative Neural Changes during Tonic vs. High-Frequency Spinal Cord Stimulation in Chronic Pain Patients” at the 2023 Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. This important work advances our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying Chronic Pain and sheds light on how different modes of Spinal Cord Stimulation modulate brain activity.

Top Pain Paper of the Year Award 2023

Our paper, entitled “High-Resolution Spinal Motor Mapping Using Thoracic Spinal Cord Stimulation in Patients with Chronic Pain,” was honored as the 2023 Top Pain Paper of the Year by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS). I had the privilege of presenting this work at the 2023 CNS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2023, during the Section on Pain Session.