News from Cook Children’s Neurosciences Research Center

Neuroscience Research, News and Announcements | October 21, 2020 | cookchildrens

Dr. Song awarded 2020 AACPDM grant

Yanlong Song Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow at the Jane and John Justin Neurosciences Center at Cook Children's was awarded the 2020 American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) Research Grant, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the National Pediatric Rehabilitation Resource Center. His project, Multi-modal Neuroimaging in Children with Hemiplegia to Assess Brain Functional Network Reorganization in Relation to Manual Response Inhibition, will be completed under the mentorship of professor Christos Papadelis, director of the Neurosciences Research Center and professor of pediatrics at Texas Christian University and University of North Texas Health Sciences Center School of Medicine. The project aims to improve our understanding of central neurological causes for upper limb motor deficits and individual differences caused by hemiplegic cerebral palsy. It also will provide insight to the best target brain areas for therapies, such as deep brain stimulation, as well as assist in the development of novel therapeutic interventions for children with cerebral palsy.

New faculty join Cook Children's with emphasis on behavioral health comorbidities of epilepsy

The Jane and John Justin Neurosciences Center at Cook Children's has hired Crystal Cooper, Ph.D., as a principal investigator for epilepsy comorbidities and pediatric mental disorders. Dr. Cooper was assistant professor of Psychiatry at UT Southwestern prior to joining our team. As a cognitive neuroscientist, Dr. Cooper served as the head of brain and behavior research in the UT Southwestern Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care. She received her doctoral degree in Experimental Psychology with an emphasis on Health Psychology and Neuroscience at UT Arlington. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in Psychiatry at UT Southwestern. Broadly, Dr. Cooper investigates biosignatures of disease and treatment prediction in major depressive disorder using behavior and brain function. Dr. Cooper will keep an academic appointment as an adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry, which will aid in bridging cutting-edge research in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

New NICU study targets early assessment of brain injury

Sabrina Shandley, Ph.D., research project manager at the Jane and John Justin Neurosciences Center, will initiate a study on the quantitative assessment of oral feeding in term and preterm infants hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) using innovative techniques. This study will allow the early diagnosis of underlying brain injury at the bedside, which will help avoid the need to transport medically fragile infants outside the protective environment of NICU for neuroimaging scans. Dr. Shandley will work closely with Professor Christos Papadelis, principal investigator of the study, and Cook Children's collaborators including David M. Riley, M.D. neonatologist, Yvette Johnson, M.D., medical director of the NEST Developmental Follow-up Center, and Jonathan Nedrelow, M.D., associate medical director at Cook Children's Medical Center and medical director of Neonatal Clinical Research at Cook Children's.

Research presentations for upcoming conferences

The Neurosciences Research Center at Cook Children's will present innovative findings at several upcoming annual conferences. These include the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, North American Epilepsy Congress, American Epilepsy Society and Child Neurology Society, which will take place as online events. The team has 18 accepted scientific abstracts planned for these meetings.

Luker L, Acord S, Marks WA. The role of ardiopulmonary exercise testing in the evaluation of children with progressive neuromuscular disease. Presented as a demonstration poster. American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, New Orleans, LA. September 24-26, 2020.

Baldwin M, Acord S, Marks WA. Intracranial hypertension in pediatric patients receiving nusinersen for spinal muscular atrophy. American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and
Developmental Medicine, New Orleans, LA. September 24-26, 2020.
Perry MS, Patel A, Chin R, Mitchell W, Weinstock A, Checketts D, Dunayevich E. Long-Term Safety and Efficacy of Cannabidiol (CBD) Treatment in Patients with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS): 3-Year Results of an Open-Label Extension (OLE) Trial (GWPCARE5). 2020 North American Epilepsy Congress. Virtual event, September 24-27, 2020.

Newell G, Shandley S, Papadelis C, Perry MS. Characteristics of children with epilepsy failing more than two AEDs prior to surgical referral. Child Neurology Society Meeting 2020, San Diego, CA. October 19-24, 2020.

Marks WA, Acord S, Baldwin M, McCarty A, Bailey L, Honeycutt J. Spinal intrathecal Ommaya reservoir for administration of nusinersen in spinal muscular atrophy. 16^th International Child Neurology Congress/49^th Child Neurology Society, San Diego, CA. October 21-24, 2020.

Luke R, Marks WA, Acord S, Honeycutt J. Anti-NMDAR encephalitis induced status dystonicus: response to pallidal deep brain stimulation. 16^th International Child Neurology Congress/49^th Child Neurology Society, San Diego, CA. October 21-24, 2020.
Baldwin M, Acord S, Marks WA. Increased intracranial pressure in pediatric patients receiving spiranza. 16^th International Child Neurology Congress/49^th Child Neurology Society, San Diego, CA. October 21-24, 2020.

Corona L, Tamilia E, Taffoni F, Madsen JR, Stufflebeam S, Pearl PL, Papadelis C. Mapping Functional Connectivity of Epileptogenic Networks with Virtual Intracranial Sensors. 2020 Annual Meeting of American Epilepsy Society. Virtual event, December 4-8, 2020.

Fabbri L, Jahromi S, Tamilia E, Khokhar MA, Rhodes E, Perry MS, Madsen JR, Pearl PL, Papadelis C. Spikes Overlapping on High Frequency Oscillations Delineate the Seizure Onset and Predict Surgical Outcome in Children with Epilepsy, 2020 Annual Meeting of American Epilepsy Society. Virtual event, December 4-8, 2020.

Rijal S, Tamilia E, Jahromi S, Baset N, Alexandrakis G, Perry MS, Pearl PL, Madsen JR, Papadelis C. Functional Connectivity on Spikes with Ripples Delineates Seizure Onset and Predicts Surgical Outcome in Children with Epilepsy, 2020 Annual Meeting of American Epilepsy Society. Virtual event, December 4-8, 2020.

Papadelis C, Ntolkeras G, DiBacco M, Pesce M, Roullet J-B, Gibson KM, Pearl PL. Gamma Suppression on Somatosensory Evoked Potentials Using High-Density EEG in Patients with SSADHD Deficiency, a Hyper-GABAergic Condition, 2020 Annual Meeting of American Epilepsy Society. Virtual event, December 4-8, 2020.

Chourasia N, Nunes DDA, Ntolkeras G, Grant PE, Madsen J, Pearl P, Papadelis C, Tamilia E. Grain connectivity changes following repeat epilepsy surgery in children using routine scalp EEG. 2020 Annual meeting of American Epilepsy Society. Virtual event, December 4-8, 2020.

Ntolkeras G, Tamilia E, AlHilani M, Bolton J, Grant PE, Prabhu S, Madsen JR, Stuflebeam SM, Pearl PL, Papadelis C. Presurgical Utility of Dipole Clustering in MRI-Negative Children with Epilepsy: Validation Against Intracranial EEG and Resection, 2020 Annual Meeting of American Epilepsy. Virtual event, December 4-8, 2020.

Lorenzo R, Tamilia E, Alhilani M, Alter A, Perry MS, Peters JM, Madsen JR, Pearl PL, Papadelis C. Contribution of Ictal EEG patterns electrical source imaging to seizure onset zone localization using conventional scalp EEG and intracranial EEG, 2020 Annual Meeting of American Epilepsy Society. Virtual event, December 4-8, 2020.

Newell G, Shandley S, Wong-Kisiel L, Singh R, McNamara N, Grinspan Z, Chapman K, McGoldrick P, Marashly A, Wolf S, Nangia S, Bolton J, Shrey D, Skjei K, Romanowski E, Tatachar P, Osterndorf A, Gedela S, Perry MS. Factors Leading to >2 Antiseizure Medication Trials Prior to Epilepsy Surgery Referral in Children. 2020 Annual Meeting of American Epilepsy Society. Virtual event, December 4-8, 2020.

Singh R, Wong-Kisiel L, McNamara N, Grinspan Z, Chapman K, McGoldrick P, Marashly A, Wolf S, Nangia S, Bolton J, Shrey d, Skjei K, Romanowski E, Tatachar P, Osterndorf A, Gedela S, Perry MS. Initial vs. Repeat Epilepsy Surgery Evaluation for Children in the US: Findings from the PERC (Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium) Epilepsy Surgery Subgroup. 2020 Annual Meeting of American Epilepsy Society. Virtual event, December 4-8, 2020.

Wong-Kisiel L, Singh R, McNamara N, Grinspan Z, Chapman K, McGoldrick P, Marashly A, Wolf S, Nangia S, Bolton J, Shrey D, Skjei K, Romanowski E, Tatachar P, Osterndorf A, Gedela S, Perry MS. Utilization of Diagnostic Modalities in Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery: the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium Epilepsy Surgery Experience. 2020 Annual Meeting of American Epilepsy Society. Virtual event, December 4-8, 2020.

Sullivan J, Knupp K, Perry MS, Flamini R, Shahzad Z, Ticho B, Avendano J. Observational study to investigate cognition and other non-seizure comorbidities in children and adolescents with Dravet syndrome: patient analysis of the BUTTERFLY Study. 2020 Annual Meeting of American Epilepsy Society. Virtual event, December 4-8, 2020.

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