Keri Martinowich, PhD

Dr. Martinowich is the Director of Translational Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins, with joint appointments in Psychiatry and Neuroscience. She earned her BA from Georgetown University and her PhD from UCLA. Her research focuses on the molecular and genetic regulation of neuronal function, including neuronal excitability in neuropsychiatric disorders, synaptic plasticity in epilepsy, and functional genomics. Much of her work examines neural circuits, exploring how patterns of synaptic connectivity allow similar cell types to exhibit distinct functional roles. Her work has been published in Hippocampus, American Journal of Psychiatry, Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, and many other journals. She is funded by the NIH (NIMH), has an h-index of 44, and has authored over 100 publications.

Topic: Basic Mechanisms of Neuronal Regulation and Plasticity

Jason S. Hauptman M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Hauptman is Chief of Pediatric Neurological Surgery and the Caroline Hoeye Endowed Chair in Neurosurgery at the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's, where he also serves as Division Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery. He earned both his MD and PhD in Neuroscience from University of California, Los Angeles before completing his neurosurgery residency at UCLA and a fellowship in pediatric neurosurgery at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. His clinical and research interests focus on pediatric epilepsy surgery, functional neurosurgery, brain tumors, robotic stereo-electroencephalography, laser interstitial thermal therapy, neuromodulation, and the translation of novel therapies into clinical practice. Dr. Hauptman has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and is internationally recognized for advancing minimally invasive and image-guided neurosurgical techniques for children.

Jeffrey G. Ojemann, M.D.

Dr. Ojemann is well known to many of us, both as a leader in the field and through direct professional connections. He serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Physician Executive at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and as Professor and Vice Chair at the University of Washington, where he also holds an endowed professorship. He completed his epilepsy fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. His research interests include motor behavior, brain–robotics interfaces, and functional MRI and connectivity in pediatric patients, often in the context of epileptic foci and post-surgical outcomes. Dr. Ojemann has received continuous NIH funding for more than a decade, including R01, R23, and R03 awards. His work has accrued over 34,000 citations, with an h-index exceeding 80. He also plays a leadership role in the K12 program, alongside a previous keynote speaker, Greg Zipfel. We plan to ask Dr. Ojemann to speak either at the conclusion of his keynote or earlier in the day about building a career as a physician-scientist, the associated challenges, and opportunities within the K12 program.

Topic:
Functional Plasticity in Clinical Neuroscience and Motor Control