Baltazar Zavala, MD

About

Biography

My research focuses on understanding how the waves in our brain (neuronal oscillations) help us execute our day-to-day activities and how those brain waves are altered by diseases and clinical treatments. Using recordings obtained directly from the human brain, I study how very precise changes in oscillatory activity control actions, decisions and memories. I also study how some of the therapeutic interventions we offer (like deep brain stimulation) alter these brain waves and how that impacts our ability to perform cognitive tasks. The goal is to understand brain waves well enough such that we can purposely manipulate them for therapeutic purposes.

My work has been published in multiple prestigious journals, including Science, Annals of Neurology, Brain, eLife, and the Journal of Neuroscience. Following my PhD, I completed medical school at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where I was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society.

I completed my neurosurgery training at the Barrow Neurological Institute. While in residency, I served as the director of the Barrow Innovation Center and was also a sub-investigator in the Neuralink PRIME study, which led to the first in-human implantation of a Neuralink N1 brain computer interface device.

I appreciate the commitment to innovation here in The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and the readily available resources that allow me to pursue highly complex research.

Credentials

Research