EDITORIAL-DETAILS (JNND)
XIAOFENG YANG
Associate Professor
University of Minnesota
United States
Tel: (612) 868-9960
Biography
Dr. Yang is currently an associate professor of neurology at the University of Minnesota. He received his M.D. from Beijing University in 1983. He completed postdoctoral training at Washington University in St Louis, where he was later appointed a research assistant professor in the Department of Neurology. Dr. Yang joined the Department of Neurology at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine as an associate professor in 2007.
Research Interest
Dr. Yang's research laboratory performs studies on basic mechanisms of epilepsy and has been committed to translational research, specifically the development and application of new medical devices to control medically intractable epilepsy. A major focus of his research is the use of rapid cooling utilizing small thermoelectric devices to control focal neocortical seizures. His research has demonstrated that rapid cooling can terminate seizures in animal models. Currently, the technology is being implemented in clinical trials. A second area of interest for Dr. Yang involves studying the clinical applications of a novel optical technique involving caged–GABA to control focal epilepsy in rodent seizure models. His laboratory has reported the world's first application of photolysis caged-GABA to control focal neocortical seizures on in vivo animal models. His third major area of research involves using electrophysiological and neuroimaging techniques to study the mechanism of novel antiepileptic drugs. Currently, he is investigating the use of responsive closed-loop deep brain stimulation to control intractable seizures in animal models.