Ilknur Telkes, Ph.D., M.Sc.
Academic Appointments and Affiliations
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery
Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Member of the Neuroscience Graduate Interdisciplinary Program (GIDP)
Education and Training
Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering – University of Houston, Houston, TX, 2017
M.S. Medical Informatics – Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, 2012
B.S. Biology – Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, 2010
Selected Honors and Awards
2025 – Ronald R. Tasker Young Investigator Award, Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), Los Angeles, CA. Awarded for the highest-ranked abstract among nearly 1,800 submissions on pain research submitted to the CNS Annual Meeting [Link].
2025 – North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) Rising Star Early Career Award [Link].
2025 – Faculty Mentor – NANS Early Career Travel Fellowship Grant, Recipient: Ayden Dunn, M.D. Candidate, Project: “Electroencephalographic (EEG) Distinctions Between Responders and Nonresponders to Spinal Cord Stimulation”.
2023 – Neurosurgery Pain Paper of the Year, Title: “High-Resolution Spinal Motor Mapping Using Thoracic Spinal Cord Stimulation in Patients with Chronic Pain”.
2023 – NANS Krishna Kumar Young Investigator Award [Link].
2021 – Ronald R. Tasker Young Investigator Award, CNS, Austin, TX. Awarded for the highest-ranked abstract on pain research submitted to the CNS Annual Meeting.
2020 – NIH/NINDS K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award. The only awardee in the last 5 years at Albany Medical College.
2019 – Best Poster Award on Deep Brain Stimulation, NANS Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV.
2017 – Junior Scientist Award & Invited Presenter, NANS Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV.
2014 – Texas Public Education Grant (TPEG) for International Students, Houston, TX.
2010 – Higher Education Scholarship, Turkey Medical Informatics Association, Turkey.
Biography
Dr. Ilknur Telkes recently joined the University of Arizona in Tucson as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery. She is also an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Dr. Telkes earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Houston in 2017 and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Albany Medical College in New York in 2022. Before her appointment at the University of Arizona, she served as an Assistant Professor at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). While at FAU, she also held an affiliate faculty position in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
As an engineer-scientist with over 10 years of experience, Dr. Telkes specializes in electrophysiological data recordings. She applies neural engineering and biomedical signal processing techniques to discover neuromarkers and develop algorithms aimed at enhancing clinical neuromodulation therapies. She was awarded the prestigious NIH K99/R00 grant to investigate neural signatures of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in patients suffering from chronic pain using EEG signals. Her research focuses on understanding the neurophysiological mechanisms of chronic pain, identifying quantifiable neural signatures related to pain relief, and developing computational tools for clinical applications such as brain and spinal mapping, target localization, and data visualization. Additionally, Dr. Telkes works on developing new technologies to improve treatment outcomes for patients who have neuromodulation implants, including deep brain stimulation and spinal cord stimulation.
During her time at FAU, Dr. Telkes served as the Principal Investigator (PI) on an FAU COECS/I-SENSE SEED grant, where she led her team in exploring the functional utility of multimodal sensing signals in adults with Alzheimer’s disease and chronic pain. She was also a Co-Investigator (Co-I) on a HEAL Initiative study, collaborating with an interdisciplinary team to investigate the application of a high-resolution SCS paddle and spinal motor mapping in patients undergoing SCS therapy.
In recognition of her contributions to the field, Dr. Telkes received the 2023 Neurosurgery Pain Paper of the Year Award, the 2023 North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) Krishna Kumar Young Investigator Award, and the 2021 Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) Ronald R. Tasker Young Investigator Award. Dr. Telkes remains actively engaged in professional organizations, serving on multiple committees for NANS and the NYC Neuromodulation Conference, as well as holding editorial board roles for various journals.
