This story is part of a series published for UNITE to CURE Epilepsy 2025
After three years of working under Dr. Rachel June Smith, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful engineering can be in the fight against epilepsy. As a recent biomedical engineering graduate, I’m grateful for the opportunity to be part of a team using cutting-edge technology to better understand where seizures start in the brain. With support from CURE Epilepsy, our lab is combining biomedical and electrical engineering to develop better tools to pinpoint seizure onset zones.
My project tests our lab’s localization tools on a virtual model of an epileptic brain. I use mathematical models to simulate the virtual brain and make sure that the algorithms we’re developing are working. The potential breakthrough discoveries made in our lab are made possible through donors like you who believe in progress. Your gift today keeps this work going.
Through my work in the lab and shadowing an epileptologist, I’ve discovered my passion for neurology. I want to become a doctor who not only treats people with epilepsy but also helps them understand what is happening in their brain and how participating in research studies can help them. That path began with support for research made possible through donor generosity.
With recent cuts to federal funding, your support is vital to sustain breakthrough research and train the next generation of epilepsy research leaders. Thanks for providing early-career researchers like me with the opportunity to help lead the way for a cure.