Tass Lab Team

Justus Kromer, PhD

Justus Kromer's research is devoted to improving deep brain stimulation techniques causing long-lasting symptom relief in patients suffering from neurological disorders, e.g. Parkinson's disease. Being a theoretical physicist in the group of Peter Tass, Justus Kromer performs computer simulations in order to understand stimulation-induced rewiring of synaptic connectivity in symptom-related brain regions.

During his PhD studies at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, he gained expertise in the fields of stochastic processes, nonlinear dynamics, and computational neurosciences. He was trained in both, computational studies and theoretical modelling. His general research is devoted to understanding and manipulating noisy nonlinear systems with application to biology such as neuronal networks and signal processing systems, e.g. sensory neurons and chemotactic agents.

Daniel Ehrens, PhD

Daniel obtained his Bachelors in Biomedical Engineering at the ITESM in Mexico City and his PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. His PhD was focused on translational research in epilepsy. Specifically in developing algorithms to track dynamic brain states involved in seizure genesis and the efficacy of electrical stimulation in steering the epileptogenic network away from seizure.

Daniel’s current interests include the integration of functional and structural connectivity into large-scale network models to develop virtual environments that test optimal stimulation protocols for the treatment of epilepsy in the clinic. As well as non-invasive stimulation techniques and quantitative analysis of brain states that could interfere with seizure initiation and propagation.

Tina Munjal, MD

Tina is a resident physician in the clinician-scientist training program in the Stanford Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery. She received her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry & Cell Biology from Rice University and her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She also completed a research fellowship at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders at the National Institutes of Health. Prior to joining the Tass lab, her research involved the cellular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity, the molecular genetics of inherited hearing loss, and the optimization of music listening for cochlear implant users. She is now investigating acoustic coordinated reset neuromodulation and other neuromodulation techniques for the treatment of subjective tinnitus. 

Jessica Kalinova Yankulova, BA, MA

Jessica obtained her Bachelors and Masters in Psychology from San Francisco State University where she specialized in understanding action selection and decision making on a mechanistic level.  Jessica is currently a clinical research coordinator associate working on non-invasive neuromodulation and neurofeedback for patients with neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. Jessica hopes to further her studies and one day pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience.

Ellyn Daly, BS, BA

Ellyn obtained degrees from UC Davis in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior (BS) and Philosophy (BA). Prior to joining the Tass Lab, her research included studying oculomotor mechanisms involved in reward-mediated visual attention and interests in mechanisms of conscious experience. She is studying the role of neuromodulation for patients with neurological disorders.

Yasmine Kehnemouyi, BS

Yasmine obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley, concentrating in medical devices and bioelectronics. She then worked in the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford University under Dr. Helen Bronte-Stewart in the Human Motor Control and Neuromodulation Laboratory, where she worked on biomarker development and exploring the mechanism of STN-DBS in improving motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Additionally, she worked on designing algorithms for a closed-loop STN-DBS system for mitigating freezing of gait in PD patients.

Yasmine is now a second year Bioengineering PhD student interested in working at the intersection of neuroengineering, neurotechnology, and clinical neuroscience. Her current interests include using computational techniques to quantitatively model and understand the long-term effects of non-invasive stimulation on inducing neuronal desynchronization to improve motor and non-motor symptoms in PD and in turn, optimizing patient, demand-specific coordinated reset (CR) stimulation configurations that allow this neuronal desynchronization to persist chronically. She is also interested in specifically exploring the effects of CR stimulation on augmenting the senses of hearing and smell in PD patients.

Jakob Sørensen

Jakob Sørensen, MD student, is undergoing a transformative research year in the Tass Lab as a DARE-fellow, sponsored by the Lundbeck Foundation. His primary objective within the Tass Lab centers on developing a non-invasive neuromodulation paradigm as a treatment for spasticity. Concurrently, Jakob contributes to the characterization and development of the vibrotactile Glove devised by the Lab.

Prior to joining the Tass Lab, Jakob conducted four years of fundamental neuroscience research in the Berg Lab at the University of Copenhagen, where he contributed to research in neuromodulation, populational dynamics in spinal networks and neural engineering. Through these efforts, Jakob aims to combine fundamental neuroscience, with his clinical knowledge to assist in developing novel neuromodulation therapies, ultimately improving the lives of individuals with neurological disorders. This research year will mark the completion of his MD degree.