Faculty Research

Daniela Minecan, MD ( dminecan@umich.edu )
Clinical Assistant Professor
Director, Pediatric Epilepsy Laboratory

Dr. Minecan's research interests are focused in the area of clinical epilepsy, including epilepsy surgery, development of new therapies for epilepsy, and clinical neurophysiology. In regards to epilepsy surgery, she has a particular interest in functional cortical mapping and seizure focus localization, as well as integrating neurophysiology and functional imaging modalities to help localize the epileptogenic zone and brain functions. She is the principal investigator at the University of Michigan Medical Center in the multi-center NIH-sponsored Early Randomized Surgical Epilepsy Trial (ERSET) ( www.erset.org ). This active trial will compare the surgical and medical treatment for patients 12 years and older with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy whose seizures have been refractory for less than two years. She has conducted numerous trials of experimental and new antiepileptic drugs in various forms of epilepsy. Drugs currently being investigated include SPM 927 and pregabalin for refractory partial seizures. She is also interested in the treatment of various types of refractory seizures, particularly in the pediatric age group, with the vagus nerve stimulator. Currently, she is also a co-investigator in the direct brain interface project for control of assistive technologies.