Ghassan Makhoul

I am a graduate student in the BIEN lab researching epilepsy via network neuroscience. I am also concurrently a medical student at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). I am interested in understanding how epilepsy remodels brain networks and how this may inform our overall understanding of the brain. I investigate these questions with diffusion weighted imaging and intracranial electroencephalography.

Research: My current research focusses on how seizure foci may remodel normal tissue, such as brainstem nuclei. Repeated seizure propagation may disrupt these nuclei's ability to convey arousal information or conduct sleep stages. Presently, I am using diffusion weight imaging to assess changes in brainstem connectivity.

Publications: 1. Collapse of interictal suppressive networks permits seizure spread https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40473247/