Our research

Our laboratory investigates the neural circuit mechanisms underlying consciousness and disorders of consciousness including coma, with the goal of restoring consciousness after injury & disease.

Our interdisciplinary approach employs cutting-edge tools in molecular, cellular, and systems neuroscience to interrogate mouse models, as well as neurophysiology, functional neuroimaging, and computational modeling to gain insights from our human patients.

In addition, we perform clinical research to study patient outcomes and develop better neurosurgical treatments for patients with brain injury, epilepsy, movement disorders, and other brain diseases.

Our team

We are a diverse, dedicated, and collaborative team of scientists, physician-scientists, & students

Athar N. Malik, M.D., Ph.D.
Principal Investigator / Director of the Restorative Neuroscience Laboratory
Director of Brain Injury and Restorative Neurosurgery
Kennison Assistant Professor of Clinical Neuroscience
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery
Brown Medical School / Rhode Island Hospital

Background:
 – B.S., Biomedical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University
 – M.D., Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology (HST), Harvard Medical School
 – Ph.D., Neurobiology, Harvard University
 – Neurosurgery Residency, Massachusetts General Hospital
 – Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Harvard University

Joshua Feler, M.D.
Neurosurgery Resident
Brown / Rhode Island Hospital

Ranjana Ramesh
Undergraduate
Brown University

Publications

Basic research studies
 
Multi-timescale reinforcement learning in the brain.
Masset P, Tano P, Kim HR, Malik AN, Pouget A, Uchida N.
bioRxiv. 2023.

A unified framework for dopamine signals across timescales.
Kim HR*, Malik AN*, Mikhael JG, Bech P, Tsutsui-Kimura I, Sun F, Zhang Y, Li Y, Watabe-Uchida M, Gershman SJ, Uchida N.
Cell. 2020.
 
Evolution of Osteocrin as an activity-regulated factor in the primate brain.
Ataman B, Boulting GL, Harmin DA, Yang MG, Baker-Salisbury M, Yap EL, Malik AN, Mei K, Rubin AA, Spiegel I, Durresi E, Sharma N, Hu LS, Pletikos M, Griffith EC, Partlow JN, Stevens CR, Adli M, Chahrour M, Sestan N, Walsh CA, Berezovskii VK, Livingstone MS, Greenberg ME.
Nature. 2016.
 
MEF2D drives photoreceptor development through a genome-wide competition for tissue-specific enhancers.
Andzelm MM, Cherry TJ, Harmin DA, Boeke AC, Lee C, Hemberg M, Pawlyk B, Malik AN, Flavell SW, Sandberg MA, Raviola E, Greenberg ME.
Neuron. 2015.
 
Genome-wide identification and characterization of functional neuronal activity-dependent enhancers.
Malik AN*, Vierbuchen T*, Hemberg M, Rubin AA, Ling E, Couch CH, Stroud H, Spiegel I, Farh KK, Harmin DA, Greenberg ME.
Nature Neuroscience. 2014.

Using whole-exome sequencing to identify inherited causes of autism.
Yu TW, Chahrour MH, Coulter ME, Jiralerspong S, Okamura-Ikeda K, Ataman B, Schmitz-Abe K, Harmin DA, Adli M, Malik AN, D’Gama AM, Lim ET, Sanders SJ, Mochida GH, Partlow JN, Sunu CM, Felie JM, Rodriguez J, Nasir RH, Ware J, Joseph RM, Hill RS, Kwan BY, Al-Saffar M, Mukaddes NM, Hashmi A, Balkhy S, Gascon GG, Hisama FM, LeClair E, Poduri A, Oner O, Al-Saad S, Al-Awadi SA, Bastaki L, Ben-Omran T, Teebi AS, Al-Gazali L, Eapen V, Stevens CR, Rappaport L, Gabriel SB, Markianos K, State MW, Greenberg ME, Taniguchi H, Braverman NE, Morrow EM, Walsh CA.
Neuron. 2013.

A chemical genetic approach reveals distinct EphB signaling mechanisms during brain development.
Soskis MJ, Ho HY, Bloodgood BL, Robichaux MA, Malik AN, Ataman B, Rubin AA, Zieg J, Zhang C, Shokat KM, Sharma N, Cowan CW, Greenberg ME.
Nature Neuroscience. 2012.

Activity-dependent regulation of inhibitory synapse development by Npas4.
Lin Y, Bloodgood BL, Hauser JL, Lapan AD, Koon AC, Kim TK, Hu LS, Malik AN, Greenberg ME.
Nature. 2008.

Clinical research studies

Neuro-oncology application of next-generation, optically tracked robotic stereotaxis with intraoperative computed tomography: a pilot experience.
Chuck C, Ali R, Lee CK, Malik AN, Svokos KA, Cielo D, Doberstein CE, Rosenberg HJ, Boxerman JL, Rajasekaran J, Asaad WF, Gokaslan Z, Sampath P, Chen CC.
Neurosurgical Focus. 2024.
 
Robot-assisted, CT-guided placement of responsive neurostimulator system with bilateral centromedian thalamus depth electrodes for multifocal intractable epilepsy.
Abdulrazeq H, Feler J, Kimata AR, Asaad WF, Malik AN.
Neurosurgical Focus Video. 2024.
 
Exploring the Role of the Pulvinar Nucleus of the Thalamus in Occipital Lobe Epilepsy: A Case Report.
Abdulrazeq H, Kimata AR, Blum A, Malik AN, Asaad WF.
Cureus. 2024.
 
Al-Zahrawi (936-1013 AD): On the Surgical Treatment of Neurological Disorders by the Father of Operative Surgery.
Abdulrazeq HF, Ali R, Najib H, Doberstein C, Oyelese A, Gokaslan Z, Malik AN, Asaad WF, Greenblatt S.
World Neurosurgery. 2024.
 
Physician Practice Pattern Variations in Common Clinical Scenarios Within 5 US Metropolitan Areas.
Song Z, Kannan S, Gambrel RJ, Marino M, Vaduganathan M, Clapp MA, Seiglie JA, Bloom PP, Malik AN, Resnick MJ.
JAMA Health Forum. 2022.
 
Intraoperative thalamocortical tract monitoring via direct cortical recordings during craniotomy.
Simon MV, Curry WT, Jones PS, Cahill DP, Carter BS, Rapalino O, Malik AN, Nahed BV.
Clinical Neurophysiology. 2021.

Tremor Mimicking Ventricular Tachycardia on Telemetry.
Malik AN, Nahed BV.
World Neurosurgery. 2021.

Neurogenic Stress Cardiomyopathy After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.
Malik AN, Gross BA, Rosalind Lai PM, Moses ZB, Du R.
World Neurosurgery. 2015.

Alternating ictal and postictal nystagmus.
Bhai S, Malik AN, Bakhadirov K, Prasad S.
Neurology Clinical Practice. 2014.

Isolated cerebral mucormycosis of the basal ganglia.
Malik AN, Bi WL, McCray B, Abedalthagafi M, Vaitkevicius H, Dunn IF.
Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery. 2014.

News

Follow us on twitter/X here: https://x.com/RestoreNeuroLab

7/1/2024  – congratulations to neurosurgery residents Hael Abdulrazeq and Joshua Feler, as well as MD/PhD student Anna Kimata on the publication of “Robot-assisted, CT-guided placement of responsive neurostimulator system with bilateral centromedian thalamus depth electrodes for multifocal intractable epilepsy” in Neurosurgical Focus!

4/4/2024  – congratulations to neurosurgery resident Hael Abdulrazeq on the publication of “Al-Zahrawi (936-1013 AD): On the Surgical Treatment of Neurological Disorders by the Father of Operative Surgery” in World Neurosurgery!

3/29/2024  – congratulations to undergraduate student Juwan Shin on being awarded a 2024 Brown SPRINT|UTRA award to support his work in the lab!

3/15/2024  – congratulations to undergraduate student Joanne Lee on being awarded a 2024 Brown PLME Summer Research Assistantship award to support her work in the lab!

1/18/2024  – congratulations to neurosurgery resident Hael Abdulrazeq and and MD/PhD student Anna Kimata on the publication of “Exploring the Role of the Pulvinar Nucleus of the Thalamus in Occipital Lobe Epilepsy: A Case Report.” in Cureus!

2/15/2023  – congratulations to MD/PhD student Anna Kimata on being awarded a 2023 Brown Basic & Translational Research (BTR) program fellowship to support her work in the lab!

Contact us!

We are recruiting talented staff scientists, post-doctoral fellows, students, and research assistants to join our team!

If interested, please send CV and references to Athar_Malik@brown.edu

Our laboratory address is:
Restorative Neuroscience Laboratory / Malik Lab
55 Claverick Street
Rooms 331-337
Providence, RI 02903