Project Grant R01NS148383

Federal Grant Award Summary

Rutgers The State University of New Jersey, School of Nursing, received a $607,954 Project Grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders program (CFDA 93.853). The award, effective July 16, 2026, through May 31, 2031, supports research aimed at improving surgical outcomes for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). The project develops and validates a quantitative paradigm using intracranial electroencephalography (IEEG) analysis to identify the "reverberant phase" of seizure activity and map the epileptogenic network—the interconnected brain regions responsible for seizure generation. By identifying specific "chokepoints" within this network where multiple ictogenic pathways converge, the research will enable more precise surgical targeting through resection, ablation, or neuromodulation, potentially preventing seizure recurrence in patients for whom conventional surgical approaches have failed.

The research deliverables center on designing, validating, and implementing computational network analysis methods that distinguish nascent ictogenic activities from routine interictal discharge patterns. By targeting key network nodes rather than a single seizure focus, this approach addresses a critical clinical gap: nearly 50 percent of drug-resistant epilepsy patients currently experience seizure recurrence following surgery because occult epileptogenic networks remain unidentified and are inadvertently spared during the procedure. The project is conducted at the awardee's Newark, New Jersey location.