SUMMARY
Kai J. Miller, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician-scientist who studies human brain circuit dynamics and translates scientific understanding into clinical reality. His team records electrophysiological measurements from different areas in the human motor system to study how these regions interact to produce behavior. The team derives a generalized framework from these observations. This has principally involved recordings from human neurosurgery patients performing movement and cognitive tasks, controlling brain-computer interfaces or receiving small pulses of electrical stimulation.
Dr. Miller also is a trained physicist with expertise in signal processing and algorithm development. His lab has developed new methodologies and tools for neuroscience and neurosurgery, contributing to the fields of computational neuroscience, artificial intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, and neuromodulation technologies.
Focus areas
- Large-scale brain dynamics through stereoelectroencephalography electrodes. Dr. Miller performs research with patients with epilepsy who have electrodes implanted for seizure monitoring. This allows for large-scale characterization of brain dynamics during movement, cognitive and brain-machine interface tasks. His lab demonstrated that representation of different body parts extends into the depths of the central sulcus and discovered a previously unknown motor association area they named the Rolandic Motor Association Area.
- Microscale electrophysiology during deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. An additional area of focus involves electrophysiology recordings during DBS procedures. Dr. Miller and his team analyze microelectrode and local field potential recordings from the thalamus and basal ganglia to identify biomarkers of movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease and essential tremor. The goals are to improve DBS treatment and develop closed-loop neuromodulation approaches. Dr. Miller and his team also conduct experiments related to thalamocortical circuits by placing surface electrocorticography strips over the motor cortex.
- Device ecosystem development. Through close collaborations with Gregory A. Worrell, M.D., Ph.D., and Nuri F. Ince, Ph.D., and other investigators at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Miller's team works to develop new device ecosystems that can leverage scientific findings into patient therapies. Devices are tested longitudinally to validate their safety and long-term viability, as well as troubleshoot the technical aspects of the hardware. The goal is to provide patients with novel neuromodulation devices that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Significance to patient care
Research in Dr. Miller's lab works to translate basic understanding of the human motor system into new, practical, and widely used technologies that target the brain. The goals are to restore function in people who are paralyzed, help the brain make new connections after injury or disease, and provide personalized stimulation to reduce symptoms in people with movement disorders.
Professional highlights
- Member, Device Advisory Board Panel, FDA, 2024-present.
- William P. Van Wagenen Fellowship, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 2018-2019.