Research
My work is aimed at one problem: making brain stimulation personal. I work on imaging-guided neuromodulation for mood and neuropsychiatric disorders — using an individual's own functional imaging to decide where to stimulate, and newer physical methods to reach circuits that conventional stimulation cannot.
[Optional CV link. Save a current PDF at /assets/pellionisz-cv.pdf, then replace this whole placeholder with: <a href="/assets/pellionisz-cv.pdf">Download CV (PDF)</a>. Check the version you upload — it will be publicly indexed, so remove home address, personal phone, and any unpublished data before uploading.]
Active Work
Current projects
Active neuromodulation studies [the homepage stat says "3 active neuromodulation trials" — confirm the count is still current and that it matches the studies listed below], and the optical-imaging program that preceded them.
Focused Ultrasound for Treatment-Resistant Depression
Low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) neuromodulation for drug-resistant major depressive disorder — precise, incisionless stimulation of deep brain targets that TMS cannot reach.
fMRI-Guided TMS for Chronic Tinnitus
An fMRI connectivity-guided TMS trial that uses each participant's individualized functional connectivity to place the stimulation target, rather than a single anatomical landmark applied to everyone. Run in collaboration with neurology, radiology, and head and neck surgery.
kTMP for Anhedonic Major Depression
Kilohertz Transcranial Magnetic Perturbation (kTMP) is a new class of noninvasive electromagnetic brain stimulation. We are evaluating it against the anhedonic dimension of major depression — the loss of pleasure and motivation that responds least well to existing treatment.
Label-Free Optical Imaging for Cancer Surgery
Dynamic Optical Contrast Imaging (DOCI) uses fluorescence-lifetime contrast to identify tumor margins and parathyroid glands during head and neck surgery, without dyes or labels. The work was NIH R01-funded, produced two patents, and was clinically translated at UCLA.
Research is not the same as treatment
The studies above are research protocols. Taking part in one is not a substitute for clinical care, and enrollment depends on study-specific eligibility criteria rather than on being a patient of this practice.
[State clearly which of these modalities — TMS, focused ultrasound, kTMP, or none of them — you actually offer as clinical treatment in this practice, versus research only. Patients will read this page as a service menu unless you tell them otherwise. If you offer none clinically and instead refer out, say that and name the referral pathway.]
Bibliography
Selected publications
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Thalamic transcranial ultrasound stimulation in treatment resistant depression
Fan JM, et al., incl. Pellionisz PA. Brain Stimulation. 2024;17(5):1001–4.
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A tool to locate parathyroid glands using dynamic optical contrast imaging
Hu Y, Han AY, Huang S, Pellionisz P, et al. The Laryngoscope. 2021;131(10):2391–7.
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Head & neck melanoma: a 22-year experience of recurrence following sentinel lymph node biopsy
Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology. 2021;6(4):738–46.
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Clinical Translation of Dynamic Optical Contrast Imaging for Label-Free Tissue Identification and Surgical Navigation in Head and Neck Oncology
Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles.
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Biaxial sensing suture breakage warning system for robotic surgery
Dai Y, et al., incl. Pellionisz PA. Biomedical Microdevices. 2019;21(1):10.
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Vibroacoustographic system for tumor identification
The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. 91(3):215–23.
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Detection of surgical margins in oral cavity cancer: the role of Dynamic Optical Contrast Imaging
Current Opinion in Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery. 2018.
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Use of a novel polymer in an animal model of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. 2017.
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Assessment of risk of bias in translational science
Journal of Translational Medicine. 2013;11(1):184.
Plus conference proceedings (SPIE, OSA, IEEE EMBC), three book chapters, and two patents in optical imaging for image-guided surgery. Full bibliography available on request.
Podium Presentations
Selected talks
All podium presentations.
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Ratiometric autofluorescence imaging system standardization and application for head and neck cancer
Photonics Asia, SPIE/COS.
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Standardization of Relative Lifetime Imaging System
Optics Society of America, IONS.
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Parathyroid detection with dynamic contrast imaging
1st Symposium on Parathyroid Fluorescence.
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Dynamic optical contrast imaging: wide-field optical detection and characterization of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Annual Meeting.
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Novel device for in vivo head and neck squamous cell carcinoma margin detection
American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery.
Plus 15+ poster presentations at national and regional meetings (AACR, IEEE EMBC, COSM, Triological Society, Gordon Research Conference).
People
Teaching & mentorship
I supervised junior residents at the UCSF Bipolar Clinic and on inpatient psychiatry services.
Earlier, I mentored undergraduate and medical students in the biomedical engineering laboratory at UCLA. Several have since gone on to medical school and residency at UCSF and Stanford, including in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery.
I also co-founded Sling Health LA, a student-run medical device incubator that brings medical, law, engineering, and business graduate students together on longitudinal device-development projects — the kind of cross-disciplinary team a real device actually requires.
Recognition
Honors
Paul & Daisy Soros Graduate Fellowship
NIH Medical Scientist Training Program Fellowship
Focused Ultrasound in Psychiatry — Travel Award
John H. Bent Merit Scholarship
Department of Medicine Research Award
Triological Society Travel Award
Leon D. & Leah E. Rivenburg Fellowship
Viola Hyde Excellence in Surgical Research Award
Most Outstanding Senior Award & Dean's Prize for Outstanding Research
Interested in taking part in a study?
Eligibility is set separately for each protocol, and enrollment opens and closes over the life of a study — so the honest answer to "can I join?" is always specific to the trial and to your history. If you would like to be considered, start by getting in touch.
[Say how trial inquiries are actually handled: which address or phone they should use, who screens them, roughly how long a reply takes, and that an inquiry does not establish a physician–patient relationship. If study coordinators rather than you handle screening, name that here.]
[Optional: note which of the studies above are currently enrolling, and any broad eligibility limits (age range, diagnosis, geography, prior treatment). Update or delete this line whenever recruitment status changes — a stale "now enrolling" is worse than none.]