Academic Appointments and Affiliations
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery
Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Member of the Graduate Faculty
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
Biography
Dr. Ilknur Telkes has recently joined the University of Arizona – Tucson as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery, and she is also an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Dr. Telkes obtained her Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Houston in 2017 and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Albany Medical College, New York, in 2022. Prior to joining the UA, Dr. Telkes served as an Assistant Professor at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), where she also held an affiliate faculty position in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at FAU.
Dr. Telkes is an engineer-scientist with over 10 years of experience in electrophysiological data recordings, applying neural engineering and biomedical signal processing techniques to discover neuromarkers and develop algorithms for enhancing clinical neuromodulation therapies. She was awarded the prestigious NIH K99/R00 grant to investigate neural signatures of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in patients with chronic pain using EEG signals. Dr. Telkes’s research focuses on understanding the neurophysiological mechanisms of chronic pain, identifying quantified neural signatures of pain relief, and developing computational tools for clinical applications such as brain/spinal mapping, target localization, and data visualization. Additionally, she works on developing new technologies to enhance treatment outcomes for patients with neuromodulation implants, including deep brain stimulation and spinal cord stimulation.
Additionally, Dr. Telkes served as the Principal Investigator (PI) on an FAU COECS/I-SENSE SEED grant, leading her team in exploring the functional utility of multimodal sensing signals in adults with Alzheimer’s disease and chronic pain. Furthermore, she acted as 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 was honored with 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, including her service on multiple committees for NANS and the NYC Neuromodulation Conference, as well as her editorial board roles for various journals.
