Bronte-Stewart Laboratory Members

Bronte-Stewart Lab Members

Helen M. Bronte-Stewart, MD, MSE
Principal Investigator

The John E. Cahill Professor,
Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences
Professor, Neurology and Neurological Sciences
Director Stanford Movement Disorders Center
Director Stanford Human Motor Control and Balance Laboratory

Dr. Helen Bronte-Stewart is the John E Cahill Family Professor in the department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences. She is a neurologist, neurophysiologist and movement disorders specialist, who has used her training in mathematics and physics, bioengineering, neurology, movement disorders, and single unit electrophysiology in primates to develop a rigorous translational program in motor control research in human subjects with movement disorders. Dr. Bronte-Stewart is the Director of the Stanford Comprehensive Movement Disorders Center, the Co-Director of the Stanford Balance Center, and the Division Chief of Movement Disorders in the department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences. She directs the Stanford Human Motor Control and Balance Laboratory, where she has developed computerized, quantitative measurements of motor behavior, which are being implemented in a wide range of Movement Disorders. Her research investigates the brain’s contribution to abnormal movement in human subjects, using synchronous brain recordings and quantitative kinematics, and how these are modulated with different frequencies and patterns of neurostimulation. Dr. Bronte-Stewart’s team was the first in the United States to implant a sensing neurostimulator, from which they can record brain signals directly, and use the patient’s own neural activity to drive the first closed loop neurostimulation studies in Parkinson’s disease. This work has led to the first multicenter national clinical trial in closed loop deep brain stimulation for people with Parkinson’s disease, which Dr. Bronte-Stewart will lead. Dr. Bronte-Stewart's passion for understanding how the brain controls movement comes from a background in classical and modern dance.

Kevin Wilkins, PhD

Senior Research Scientist

Kevin completed his PhD in Neuroscience at Northwestern University under Dr. Jun Yao in the Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences Department. Kevin then completed a postdoctoral fellowship under Dr. Helen Bronte-Stewart sponsored by the Parkinson’s Foundation. He continues to work with Dr. Bronte-Stewart as a research scientist. He is the project lead for a pilot clinical trial evaluating a novel deep brain stimulation approach for mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease. Additionally, he investigates the efficacy of closed-loop adaptive deep brain stimulation for motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease. It’s his hope that a deeper understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease, as well as other related neurodegenerative diseases, will aid in the development of more targeted and effective interventions for patients. Outside of lab, Kevin enjoys sports, playing with his dog, and cooking

Fayed Rassoulou, PhD

Fayed earned his PhD in Neuroscience from Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, where he was supervised by Dr. Jan Hirschman at the Institute for Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology. His doctoral research combined magnetoencephalography (MEG) and deep brain local field potential (LFP) recordings with machine learning to identify electrophysiological signatures that predict which deep brain stimulation (DBS) contacts will be most effective for individual patients with Parkinson's disease. At Stanford, Fayed studies cognitive-motor symptoms, gait impairment and freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease, combining subthalamic nucleus LFP dynamics, DBS lead localization, and deep learning-based decoding to help inform the next generation of adaptive DBS systems. In his free time, he enjoys chess and running

Dillan Newbold, MD, PhD

Dillan earned his MD and PhD in Neuroscience from the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at Washington University in St. Louis. His doctoral thesis, mentored by Dr. Nico Dosenbach, used dense longitudinal functional MRI to measure human network plasticity during limb disuse. He then completed a residency in Neurology at New York University Langone Medical Center, where he developed a project, mentored by Dr. Un Kang, using 3D computer vision to characterize abnormal movements in Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Systems Atrophy, and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. At Stanford, Dillan is using quantitative digitography (QDG) to understand the sequence effect, a characteristic feature of Parkinsonism that causes involuntary shrinking of repeated movements. He will also enter Stanford’s Movement Disorders Fellowship in 2027.

Khushi Chimni

Research Assistant

Khushi graduated from the University of Toledo with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering. As an undergraduate, she worked in human-subject neuroscience research across psychiatric and translational studies, contributing to the $20M SOAR Study through EEG data acquisition and experimental support examining emotion regulation, reward learning, and error-related processing. She also gained experience in neuromodulation research using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), supporting stimulation sessions and neuronavigation-based targeting.

Alongside her research experience, Khushi has a strong interest in translating science into practical, human-centered technologies. This is reflected in her senior design project, PosturePal, a wearable system designed to make posture and movement habits measurable in daily life. She additionally completed a co-op at Guardian Medical, where she worked within an ISO 13485–compliant environment supporting validation testing and quality documentation. At Stanford, Khushi hopes to study motor control and neuromodulation in Parkinson’s disease and contribute to translational research aimed at improving functional mobility and quality of life for patients. Outside of the lab, she enjoys running, painting, playing guitar, writing, and exploring new cafés.

Maria Papworth

Research Assistant

Maria graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University, where she developed a strong interest in cognitive neuroscience and neurotechnology. As an undergraduate, she worked in Laura Gwilliam's language neuroscience lab studying speech comprehension and was selected as a Wu Tsai Human Performance Undergradute Fellow to support and conduct her summer research project. She also completed and presented a capstone project on Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), developing a research proposal that addressed personality-related side effects in Parkinson's disease.

Looking ahead, Maria aims to pursue graduate training in neuroscience and contribute to the development of neural tools that improve human health and performance. Having recently retired from professional diving, she enjoys using her extra time to explore a new hobby each month. January has been crocheting. She also frequents local art galleries and cooking for her friends.

Cady Chen

Research Assistant

Cady graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in Neuroscience & Behavior. She previously worked in the Bartoli Brain Tumor Lab, where she studied neuron-microglia-glioma interactions in the tumor microenvironment. As an undergraduate, she also developed a strong interest in narrative medicine and chronic disease management. She is particularly excited about leveraging technology to improve quality of life for people living with chronic illness, most recently co-leading a study to evaluate and adapt automatic speech recognition models for patients with Huntington’s Disease. At Stanford, Cady hopes to contribute to translational research that addresses the challenges that matter most to patients living with Parkinson’s Disease. In her free time, Cady enjoys rock climbing, reading a good book, watercolor painting, and trying out new matcha recipes!

Nicole Lu

Research Assistant

Nicole graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Computational Neuroscience. At USC's Imaging Genetics Center, she worked under Dr. Paul Thompson and Dr. Katherine Lawrence to complete an honors thesis using a diffusion MRI technique called NODDI to investigate white matter microstructural differences in the comorbid autism and ADHD population. While her undergraduate interests center on exploring neurodevelopment through both imaging and stem cell organoid models, Nicole is broadly invested in the potential of biomarker precision for earlier detection and more effective treatment of neurological disorders. At Stanford, she is excited to apply this focus to Parkinson's disease, contributing to deep brain stimulation research and quantitative measures of motor function. She plans to attend medical school and continue pursuing research at the intersection of computational neuroimaging and clinical care. Outside of work, Nicole enjoys reading, getting back into running, and relearning the piano.