The Duke Institute for Brain Sciences recently awarded Uros Topalovic, a postdoctoral scholar in the Suthana Lab, with a $25,000 Germinator Award.
Topalovic is interested in helping people with epilepsy and related brain disorders use virtual reality to improve their performance on learning tasks.
Born in Serbia, he trained in electrical and computer engineering both there and in the United States before his research shifted toward the design of brain implants and wearable neural interfaces.
“At first, it was still hardcore engineering. Electronics, chips, and stuff like that. But I got interested in the brain as we tested the devices.” Topalovic met his Duke mentor, Nanthia Suthana, professor of Neurosurgery, Biomedical Engineering and Neurobiology, during a project to validate the technology in patients.
People with epilepsy and related brain disorders sometimes receive implanted devices that continuously record their brain activity. These recordings, together with patients’ reports, suggest that there are “good moments” for when the brain is ready to learn and perform.
The Germinator award will allow Topalovic to expand his technology to answer new questions about human learning and cognition. “The funding will provide resources for increased computational ability, like purchasing microchips and other infrastructure,” he said. His inventions aim to combine implanted devices, body sensors and virtual reality to detect and exploit those optimal windows for learning.
The award from DIBS is the first independent funding he’s secured as a postdoc. He hopes this first step will lead to the pilot data needed to secure other funding opportunities as he pursues his career in neural engineering.