Capstone projects completed by graduates of the University of Pennsylvania Neurology Residency Program

2024

  • Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing Practices Among Nursing Home Residents with Parkinson’s Disease in the End-of-Life Period
  • Effect of Standardized Neurologic and Psychiatric Evaluation on Prognosis for Patients Diagnosed with Functional Seizures in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit: a Quality Improvement Initiative
  • Early Neurological Improvement in Ischemic Stroke and Risk of Cardiac Complications
  • An Expedited Transfer Process Improves Door In Door Out Times
  • Improving Sleep in Hospitalized Neurology Patients
  • Characterization of Microglial Morphology Differences in the Hippocampus of Patients with Autopsy Confirmed Lewy Body Disease
  • A Novel Clinical Fellowship in the Penn Center for Health, Devices, and Technology
  • Safety and Effectiveness of Gepants for Acute Treatment of Migraine in the Pediatric Population: A Retrospective Chart Analysis
  • Dysregulation of dorsal raphe serotonergic and inhibitory neurons in a mouse model of Dravet Syndrome
  • Prevalence and characteristics of patients with both white matter disorders and peripheral neuropathy due to inherited versus acquired causes
  • Early detection of peripheral neuropathy in hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (EDONA): a case-control study
  • DNA Methylation Distinguishes Primary Age-Related Tauopathy from Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Misdiagnosis of multiple sclerosis in an adult neurogenetics clinic: characterizing historical and radiographic red flag features

2023

  • Trends in the prevalence of stroke among community-dwelling individuals in the U.S.: 1999-2018
  • Prediction of regional tau spread using individualized tau epicenters and structural connectome
  • Preclinical Neuroscience Course Increases Medical Student Interest in Neurology
  • Secondary stroke prevention in hypercoagulability of malignancy; a retrospective cohort study Using ECoG to Evaluate Clinical Response to Cenobamate in Patients with RNS
  • A Tofersen model: Clinical optimization for SOD1 patients
  • Transcutaneous CO2 and Forced Vital Capacity Contribute Separately To The Evaluation of Neuromuscular Respiratory Insufficiency in ALS Patients
  • The Impact and Feasibility of a Virtual Dance Program for Patients Living with MS
  • Treatment characteristics in a cohort of patients with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis
  • Defining and prioritizing urgency for outpatient neurology referrals
  • Interictal epileptiform discharges detected with commercially available spike detection software predict epilepsy type and seizure onset zone laterality
  • Cortical spreading depolarizations (CSDs) as targets for intervention in secondary TBI

 

2022

  • Restoring Sleep for Inpatients (Starting with Neurology)
  • Targeted Delivery to the Brain Endothelium in Experimental Intracerebral Hemorrhage
  • Attitudes of Neurologists Towards Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizures
  • Developing Gene Therapies for Myotonic Dystrophy at the Level of the Tissue and the Transgene
  • The Ictal Relationship between Structural and Functional Entropy Changes in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
  • Improving time to ocrelizumab initiation in MS by accelerating lab acquisition
  • Bilateral vestibular weakness in a balance function testing cohort and association with vestibular and neurological disease
  • Clinical Tremor Assessment in the Telemedicine Era: Validation of an iPhone app for Remote Quantification of Tremor
  • Retrospective review of liver biopsy rates, outcomes and appropriateness in adult patients with muscular dystrophy
  • Involvement of vascular neurology in decision-making surrounding PFO closure
  • Evaluating the Indications for Use of Fast-Screening Brain MRI for Pediatric Headache Patients
  • Transcriptional dysregulation of RNA binding proteins propagate splicing defects in familial Alzheimer’s disease
  • Telemedicine in a Neurology Residents’ Clinic: Experiences and Lessons Learned
  • Quantitative artifact reduction and pharmacological paralysis improve detection of EEG epileptiform activity in critically ill patients

 

2021

  • Heme oxygenase-1 promoter (GT)n polymorphism associates with HIV neurocognitive impairment
  • CRY1Δ11 and Chronotype in the Penn Medicine BioBank
  • Characteristics of Moyamoya Syndrome in Pediatric Patients with Neurofibromatosis Type 1
  • Ocrelizumab infusion delays and radiographic relapse in multiple sclerosis
  • OCT and MOG antibody-associated demyelination: evaluating for subclinical optic nerve thinning
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences and Frequent Headache by Adolescent Self-Report
  • Neonatal seizure prediction algorithms based on EMR-embedded standardized EEG reporting
  • Emotional and Financial Cost of Caregiving in Parkinson’s Disease
  • Experience of PBA treatment in the Penn ALS Center
  • PFO closure after stroke: Neurologists versus Cardiologists
  • Standardized Transfer Process for a Neurology Intensive Care Unit and Assessment of Patient Bounceback
  • Improving Medication Nonadherence Screening in Children with Epilepsy
  • A Video is Worth a Thousand Words: Perceived Learning Value in Video versus Text-Based Cases
  • Barriers to Diagnostic Quality of Captured Events on Video EEG
  • Muybridge and Dercum and the First Motion Pictures of Neurological Patients: Re-discovery of the Case Histories
  • Improving neurology trainee difficult conversation skills in the Neuro-ICU setting
  • Triaging New Referrals to Penn Neurology

 

2020

  • Evaluating Neurovascular Coupling with Laser Speckle Flowgraphy
  • Interrogation of Bias Networks Using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
  • The Natural History of Lyme Related Facial Palsy and Effects of Steroid Use in Children
  • Histopathologic Analysis of Genetic Tauopathies in FTLD
  • PPMC Stroke Alert by Symptom
  • Perceptions of Functional Neurological Disorders Among Medical Students
  • Reducing tPA Door to Needle Times in the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center Emergency Department for Presumed Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Quality Improvement Initiative
  • Childhood Experiences in Patients with Neurological Disease
  • Characteristics of Pediatric MOG-Antibody Associated Disorders and Predictors of Positive MOG-antibody Testing
  • Quality of Life in Patients with Ocular Myasthenia Receiving IVIG
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences in Patients with Neurological Disease
  • Identifying Longevity Genetic Loci Associated with Tau Load in Primary Age-Related Tauopathy
  • Risk Factors for Delayed Recognition of In-Hospital Strokes
  • The Diagnostic Yield of Biochemical CSF Neurotransmitter Testing in Infants
  • Pathways of Care: Implementing a Standardized Migraine Treatment Pathway in the HUP Emergency Department
  • Pediatric Craniopharyngioma and Visual Outcomes After Open Versus Endoscopic Endonasal Surgery

 

2019

  • The Pattern of Neurologic Disease in Tanzanian Tribal Populations
  • Measuring Abnormal Movement in Huntington’s Disease Using Wearable Sensors
  • The Natural History of Lyme Related Facial Palsy and Effects of Steroid Use in Children
  • Should I Stay or Should I Go? Predicting Diagnostic Success for EMU Patients with Prolonged Non-Diagnostic Admissions
  • Interictal spike spatial distribution fluctuates over time
  • EEG Data Reduction: Where We Are, Where We Are Headed
  • Potential eligibility for hyperacute treatment in childhood acute arterial ischemic stroke: findings from a single-center 12-year cohort study
  • A Molecule of Madness (readings from an under-contract book)
  • Comparing Hospital Respiratory Outcomes Pre- and Post- Nusinersen Treatment in Children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)
  • Cortico-hippocampal circuit dissection in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome
  • Developing and Implementing a Standardized Ictal Exam in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit
  • A neural correlate of visual discomfort from flicker
  • D-Dimer and Detection of Occult Malignancy in Acute Ischemic Stroke
  • Low rate of glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD-65) antibodies in chronic epilepsy
  • Virtual Cortical Resection Elucidates Epileptic Network Characteristics in Pediatric Patients
  • Effect of Fever on Cerebral Autoregulation

 

2018

  • Utility of rapid stroke CT imaging in stroke patients transferred for potential mechanical thrombectomy
  • Photoreceptor-specific mechanisms of migraine-associated photophobia”
  • Using Natural Language Processing to extract data from Electronic Medical Records of Epilepsy Patients
  • MREEG: an Automated EEG Teaching Program
  • Efficacy and tolerability of clobazam in adult drug-refractory epilepsy
  • Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs About Epilepsy in Philadelphia’s Latino Community
  • Deep phenotyping for FTLD+GRN: abnormal eating behaviors and general medical co-morbidities
  • Pursuing the tipping point of post traumatic epileptogenesis
  • Oligoclonal band number as a predictor of multiple sclerosis disease course
  • Acute serum GFAP, NF-L, Tau, and UCH-L1 predict CT pathology and 3-month outcome in TBI
  • CT Perfusion With Anterior Large Vessel Occlusion: Manual volumetric analysis and validation

 

2017

  • Virtual Calorimter: Technology to Improve Tube Feed Delivery in the Critically Ill
  • Visual dysfunction in Friedreich ataxia
  • DNM1 encephalopathy: a new disease of vesicle fission
  • Immunologic Predictors of Neurologic Complications After CART-19 Treatment
  • X-linked Dystonia Parkinsonism (XDP): Disease Mechanism and Therapeutic Strategy
  • Neuroimaging findings in survivors of non-cardic NI/ICU ECMO survivors
  • Capturing Dignity
  • Human autoantibodies against Caspr2 inhibit binding to contactin-2
  • White Matter Maturation in Children with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex on Everolimus Therapy
  • Inter-Provider Communication Using a Scheduled Provider Alert-Response Communication System (SPARCS) in 3 Inpatient Neurology Units
  • Intra-hematomal hypodensity detected by computed tomography and risk of hemorrhage expansion in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage
  • Sensitivity of Clinical Criteria for 4R Tauopathies (CBD and PSP) in Autopsy-Confirmed Cases

 

2016

  • Preventing early bounce-backs from the Neurointensive Care Unit
  • The Penn Upper Motor Neuron score as a predictor of mortality in ALS
  • Cerebrospinal fluid characteristics in patients with PRES
  • Non-invasive respiratory impedance enhances cerebral perfusion
  • Early discontinuation of anti-seizure medications in neonates treated with therapeutic hypothermia
  • Safety of endovascular intervention for acute stroke in patients on anticoagulation
  • Paired pulse TMS methods to quantify alterations in cortical excitability
  • Early and later seizures in pediatric Moyamoya
  • Novel measures of treatment efficacy and tissue repair in MS
  • Recanalization after dissection
  • Role of PFO in first and recurrent childhood cryptogenic arterial ischemic stroke
  • Incidence and impact of anxiety and depression in the post-stroke population
  • Epidemiology of pediatric Huntington’s disease

 

2015

  • Mild Parknisonian Signs and TIA/Storke
  • AAV-medicated gene therapy for progranulin-deficient FTLD
  • AED use in post-anoxic status epilepticus
  • Improving discharge of patients from the stroke service
  • The autoantigen DNER is not a Notch ligand
  • Is IDH-1 status associated with seizure activity in glial tumors?
  • Asymptomatic and pausisymptomatic HyperCKemia in the pediatric population
  • Investigating the relationship between hospice length of stay and decline of FRS-R score in ALS patients
  • Stroke after cardiac valve replacement
  • Effectiveness of lacosamide in pediatric epilepsy patients
  • Pediatric cavernous sinus thrombosis: A case series and review of the literature
  • Changed the speed of treatment in pediatric status epilepticus
  • Identifying sources of delay in acute stroke thrombolysis

 

2014

  • Gray Matter Loss in Multiple Sclerosis: Associations With Visual and Neurologic Impairment
  • White Matter Hyperintensities And Neurodegeneration in ADNI
  • The Role of Cytoplasmic Dynein in Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Disease
  • Exploring the Anchoring, Availability, And Representativeness Heuristics
  • Measurement of Visual Sensitivity in Migraine
  • Quality Improvement in Stroke Care- Improving Transitions to Rehab
  • Seasonal variability of non-tumor related NMDA-receptor encephalitis at CHOP
  • Can Resting-State fMRI Outperform Wada Testing In Predicting Cognitive Outcomes of Temporal Lobectomy?
  • The Triaging of Acute by Emergency Medical Services in Philadelphia
  • Medical Marijuana Utilization and Perceived Therapeutic Value In Patients With ALS
  • Can Diffusion Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging Predict Visual Outcomes in Children with Papilledema?

 

2013

  • Racial Disparities in Acute Stroke Care: Access to Primary Stroke Centers and Trends in rt-PA Utilization
  • Spontaneous Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Identifying Predictors of Outcome Using Long-Term EEG Monitoring
  • Role of GABA-A receptor recycling in sleep
  • The Validity of the Assessment of Mild Parkinsonian Signs
  • Circuit Mechanisms of Inhibition in the Hippocampal Dentate Gyrus: Towards a Greater Understanding of Network Dysfunction in Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
  • Cerebrospinal Fluid Opening Pressure in a Pediatric Demyelinating Disease Cohort
  • Insights into the Autism and Epilepsy Overlap from a 16p11.2 Copy Number Variant Cohort
  • Comparative Effectiveness of Levetiracetam and Oxcarbazepine as First Drug Monotherapy for Children with Focal Epilepsy
  • Predictors of Occult Atrial Fibrillation in Cryptogenic Stroke
  • Interrater Reliability of Intracranial EEG Interpretation
  • NMO at HUP: Analysis of the Efficacy of Azathioprine, Cyclophosphamide, Mycophenolate, and Rituximab
  • Pattern of Macular Thinning in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

 

2012

  • Somatosensory and Motor Evoked Potentials Predict Post-Operative Functional Sensorimotor Status of Patients Who Undergo Spinal Cord Tumor (SCT) Resection: A Retrospective Chart Review
  • Seizure Monitoring in Abusive Head Trauma
  • Neuroprognostication After Cardiac Arrest: Consistency and Accuracy
  • Imaging the Retina in Neurodegenerative Disease
  • Density Spectral Array for Seizure Identification in Critically Ill Children
  • Albuminuria, but not eGFR, Predicts Stroke Risk in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease
  • Etiology of Lesions with Diffusion Restriction in the Corpus Callosum
  • MR Perfusion Imaging of Hypertension Induced Blood-Brain Barrier Breakdown
  • Predictors of Outcome in Patients with Spinal Cord Ischemia after Aortic Repair
  • Too Much of a Good Thing? Analysis of Initiation of Glucocorticoid Treatment in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)
  • Health Literacy and Medication Awareness in Outpatient Neurology
  • Interrater Reliability of the ABCD² Score for TIA Risk Stratification
  • Unexpected Hospital Readmissions in Neurology: Myasthenia Gravis