Understanding and modulating human brain circuits to restore neurological and psychiatric function.
The Chan Lab at WVU's Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute investigates how neural circuits generate cognition, drive behavior, and go awry in neurological and psychiatric disease — using rare and privileged access to the human brain through clinical care.
We are a physician-scientist laboratory embedded within a comprehensive epilepsy and surgical neuromodulation program. This unique position lets us pursue research questions that can only be answered in awake, behaving humans — and to translate discoveries into better therapies for patients.
From single-unit recordings to closed-loop neural devices, our work spans the full translational arc from mechanistic discovery to clinical application.
Characterizing the spectral, spatial, and temporal signatures of large-scale human neural circuits using stereoEEG and intracranial field potentials.
Developing non-invasive and semi-invasive BCIs including in-ear EEG and augmented reality interfaces for neurological monitoring and communication.
Investigating and optimizing neuromodulatory therapies — from deep brain stimulation to emerging non-invasive techniques — using intracranial biomarkers to guide closed-loop control.
Discovering digital biomarkers of cognitive decline using passive sensing technologies — hearing aids, wearables, eye-tracking — in patients with Alzheimer's and related disorders.
We develop our own tools when existing ones don't exist. Our in-ear EEG platform and our AR-BCI system are both active development projects with IRB-approved clinical studies.
View Technologies →We welcome medical students, residents, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and industry collaborators who are passionate about translational neuroscience.
Our research is made possible by support from federal agencies, private foundations, and our institutional home at WVU.