The Epilepsy and Brain Connectivity Laboratory

Welcome to the Epilepsy and Brain Connectivity Lab, located in the Department of Neurosurgery at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University. Our lab is interested in understanding the brain network changes underlying diseases affecting the central nervous system (CNS). Our research interests fall into two primary directions: first, we employ advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI), to study the impact of neurological diseases on brain networks. Second, we apply electrophysiological and computational techniques to study how seizures begin, propagate, and terminate.

Recent News

Sun Lab Awarded NINDS R01 Grant by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

We are excited to share that the Sun Lab has been awarded an R01 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). His project, titled “The Chokepoints of the Epileptogenic Network in Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy,” employs an innovative iEEG computational approach that combines preclinical experiments with clinical data to identify critical brain network nodes responsible for the onset of seizures. This research aims to establish a standardized presurgical workflow that translates these key nodes into targets for surgical intervention. The researchers seek to pioneer a new presurgical workup paradigm for patients with medically refractory epilepsy, making surgical intervention both more accessible and effective.  Learn more here. 

Congratulations to Alan Ho and the team! Our manuscript on functional connectomics analysis among patients with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) was just accepted for publication:

Ho, A., Valdivia, D. J., Noren, H., Cantarutti, J., Jain, P., Zink, T., Ercan, K., Narra, K., Yohn, C., Scarisbrick, D. M., Biswal, B., Chen, S., & Sun, H. (2026). Harnessing machine learning for functional connectivity-based feature discovery in post-traumatic epilepsy. NeuroImage: Reports, 6(3), 100400. [in press]

Congratulations to Henry Noren. Henry’s abstract titled “Network-Propagated Functional Disruption Underlies Post-Traumatic Epileptogenesis Beyond Lesion Core Injury” has been selected as an Oral Presentation at the 2026 Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting, October 31 – November 4 in Washington DC.

Recent Publications

Yang S, Shih Y-C, Ju X, Wu S, Fotedar N, Sun H, Xian X, Ding J-E, Bernardo D, Rao VR, Karakis I, Rosenow F, Zhang Y, Kwan P, Liu Y-T, Liu F. Epilepsy domain adapted large language models enhance epileptogenic zone prediction from seizure semiology. Communication Medicine, 2026 [in press]