Navaneethakrishna Makaram, PhD

I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School and the FNNDSC of Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) under the mentorship of Dr. Tamilia. My research revolves around the analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) data from children with epilepsy and their integration with neuroimaging techniques, with the goal of finding neurophysiological biomarkers of epilepsy that offer guidance in pediatric surgery.

During my doctoral studies I focused on studying muscle fatigue using electromyography and complex network methods. I was awarded the Shastri Fellowship, which allowed me to receive training at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI, The Neuro) in Canada, under the guidance of Prof. Jean Gotman. At the MNI, I developed and published novel algorithms to analyze EEG signals and automate the detection of seizure onset patterns, which could reduce the burden on medical experts and ensure consistent characterization of seizures. In 2022, I joined Dr. Tamilia’s lab at BCH as postdoctoral fellow. Since then, I received extensive training on neuroimaging techniques for epilepsy diagnosis and treatment. My research projects cover two main areas: (1) developing nonlinear and network EEG measures to localize the epileptogenic brain tissue in children with drug-resistant epilepsy; and (2) investigating how EEG biomarkers can inform drug efficacy in patients with Angelman Syndrome, under the joined guidance of Dr. Tamilia and Rotenberg.

I have significantly contributed to scientific literature, having co-authored 19 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals (11 as first author) and presented 30 papers in international conferences (15 as first author). I also presented more than 15 abstracts at national and international events, including the American Epilepsy Society Meeting, AI in Epilepsy Conference, AI Cures MIT-MGB conference, and New England Science Symposium.