Dr. Aysegul Gunduz, assistant professor, was invited to serve on the Computational Science Advisory Committee of the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) for Parkinson’s Research. The Committee, formed of non-biased, external expert advisors in computational science, will help MJFF in its support of technologies in biomedical computing, informatics, and data science for Parkinson’s disease therapeutic development. MJFF will award committee members with a research grant of $5,000 to support work performed from April 2017 – April 2018.

Dr. Gunduz is currently funded by MJFF’s Improved Therapeutics and Neuromodulation Program to study freezing of gait symptoms in Parkinson’s disease and to develop novel responsive deep brain stimulation therapies to treat these symptoms.

Dr. Gunduz’ research is focused on finding precursors to behavior and aftereffects of stimulation in neural networks through electrophysiology and bioimaging. Her lab aims to translate this knowledge into clinical diagnostic and therapeutic systems to improve the quality of life of those suffering from neurological disorders. Dr. Gunduz works with many clinical populations, such as neurosurgical patients with epilepsy and movement disorders (Tourette’s syndrome, Parkinson’s disease), as well as stroke patients undergoing neurorehabilitation.

Gunduz also received the UF Term Professorship and the Pruitt Family Endowed Faculty Fellowship for 2017-2020.

Congratulations, Dr. Gunduz!