Meet our team
Baumer lab is a team of researchers at Stanford University who investigate the relationship between various forms of epilepsy, cognition and learning.
Epilepsy is a network disorder that not only causes seizures but also disrupts normal functions of the brain. Many children with epilepsy have cognitive difficulties, which range from severe intellectual disability to more specific challenges with language, attention, or learning. Current medical treatments focus on stopping seizures but not addressing these other important issues. The overarching goal of the Baumer Lab is to investigate interactions between epilepsy and cognition in order to design novel therapies that address cognitive comorbidities in children with epilepsy. We work with children with common epilepsy syndromes to investigate the impact of epileptiform discharges (spike waves) on the brain connectivity underlying language and visual processing. Our studies currently investigate brain connectivity using high-density EEG as well as transcranial magnetic stimulation paired with EEG (TMS-EEG).
Non-invasive neurostimulation with TMS is already an important therapy for several neuropsychiatric disorders, like depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. Our program will use insights on brain connectivity in pediatric epilepsy to develop targeted TMS therapies for the cognitive problems faced by these children.
Team Members
Fiona Baumer, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology & Neurological Sciences
Dr. Fiona Baumer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology, Division of Child Neurology. She is a graduate of the Stanford Human Biology program and pursued medical training at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital. She returned to Stanford for epilepsy fellowship where she now serves as an attending in child neurology. Her clinical efforts focus on caring for children with many types of epilepsy and on running the non-invasive cortical mapping program for neurosurgery patients. She has completed post-doctoral work in the labs of Dr. Robert Fisher and Dr. Amit Etkin, using transcranial magnetic stimulation paired with electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) to study brain dynamics. She has been awarded the NINDS K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award to advance this work.
Postdoctoral Scholars
Sergei Tugin, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Sergei Tugin is a postdoctoral scholar in Fiona Baumer’s and Corey Keller’s groups. His primary projects are the analysis of EEG, TMS-EEG, and MEP data from patients with diagnosed epilepsy or depression. Sergei has completed his Ph.D. Thesis at Aalto University, Finland under the supervision of Prof. Risto Ilmoniemi. During the PhD period, Sergei investigated the role of the electric field orientation on different neuronal populations. Throughout his path in the field of neuroscience, Sergei primarily focused on the investigation of the human brain with noninvasive methods such as TMS and EEG, with a special interest in the underlying mechanisms of decision-making, attention, voluntary movement preparation, and the excitability of the cortex, as well as in the investigation of neurophysiological disorders. Mathematics, physics, and programming play incredibly important roles in neuroscience research, which is why Sergei applies state-of-the-art methodologies and tools in his work. Sergei spends his free time with his Labrador dog, and by going on adventures on cliffs (climbing and bouldering), under the water (he is a PADI instructor), or in the sky (paragliding).
Xiwei She, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Dr. Xiwei She is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Neurology. He received his B.S. degree in Computer Science from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2013, and his M.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering from Zhejiang University in 2016. Worked as a research assistant at the USC Neural Modeling and Interface Laboratory, he received his Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Southern California in 2022. After graduation, he joined Stanford University as a postdoctoral scholar at the Pediatric Neurostimulation Laboratory (Baumer Lab) and Wu Tsai Neuroscience Institute. His research interests are largely directed towards identifying the causal relationship of neurons / brain regions and understanding how information is encoded in neural signals by employing machine learning models. Specifically, his postdoc research focus on applying machine learning modeling techniques on EEG and TMS-EEG data to better understand the impact of interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) on brain activity in children with childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (CECTS).
Researchers
Wendy Qi
Research Coordinator
Wendy is a research coordinator in the Baumer Lab focusing on TMS-EEG and EEG studies to examine language processing and brain excitability in pediatric epilepsy. She graduated from the University of Southern California in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience, where she developed an interest in understanding cognition through vision and speech perception during her time in the Zevin Lab. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, writing, and podcasting.
Students
Lucia Bicknell
Lucia Bicknell is a rising junior at Stanford and she is getting her B.S degree in Human Biology with a concentration in Neurobiology and Human Behavior. She joined the Baumer Lab this summer with her fellow undergraduate researcher, Niki. This summer they examined thalamic changes in Rolandic Epilepsy. She is excited to continue this research and hopes to explore further into the field of neuroscience. Outside of school and research, Lucia competes on the Stanford women’s varsity squash team. She also enjoys playing music and going on hikes with friends.
Jack Christian
My name is Jack Christian, and I am a rising junior at Stanford. I am originally from Sacramento, CA, and have four sisters, one who is four years old! My prior work as a summer camp counselor and swim instructor has inspired me to pursue a career in pediatric medicine. In my free time I work as an EMT in San Francisco, hike with my friends and surf in Half Moon Bay. I also love to run and have finished one full marathon!
Niki Iasinovschi
Niki Iasinovschi is a rising junior studying Human Biology at Stanford. She became interested in neuroscience after working at a medical examiner's office and joined the Baumer Lab to work on better understanding brain changes in children with epilepsy. Her experience working 911 as an EMT has solidified her love for patient care, and she hopes to go to medical school in the future. In her free time, she enjoys rollerskating, yoga, and exploring the bay!
Collaborators
Alumni
Beattie Goad, BS
Kerry Nix, BA
Keanu Spies, MS
Ahyuda Oh, DDS, MBA, DrPH
Alicia Evan
Our Mission
We are committed to ethical and worthwhile research which aims to benefit children with epilepsy and their families as well as the community at large.
Join Our Team
The Baumer lab is recruiting! We are seeking highly motivated and enthusiastic students and post-doctoral scholars with an interest in pediatric epilepsy and child cognitive development. We are particularly excited to recruit:
1) engineers with skills in Matlab (EEGlab and Fieldtrip) programming and analysis; and
2) scholars with research experience using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and/or high-density electroencephalogram (EEG).
Our team highly values applicants who are comfortable and experienced working with children and their families. Interested candidates should forward their CV and a letter of interest to Dr. Fiona Baumer (fbaumer@stanford.edu).