Lab Members

Principal Investigator: J. Nicole Bentley, MD

Dr. Nicole Bentley is an associate professor and board certified neurosurgeon at UAB Neurosurgery and specializes in deep brain stimulation and epilepsy surgery. She is the Director of the Center for Neuroengineering and Brain-Computer Interfaces (CNBCI) and Associate Program Director for the UAB Neurosurgery residency program. She is Co-Director of the Stereotactic and Functional fellowship program. Dr. Bentley attended Medical College of Georgia, completed her neurosurgical residency and post-doctoral research at the University of Michigan, and completed a fellowship in functional neurosurgery at Emory University. Dr. Bentley received a NIH K23 grant award to fund research in cognitive dysfunction and Parkinson’s disease.

Research Scientist: Anas Khan, MD, PhD

Anas is a first year surgery resident at UAB, where he also completed his MD and PhD degrees. His academic interests relate to understanding the neural mechanisms of learning, memory, and the involvement of attention and associative features such as music in these processes. When not in the lab, he spends his time golfing, playing video games, traveling, and hosting dinner parties.

Graduate Student: Autumn Key, BS

From Atlanta, Georgia, Autum completed a master’s degree in behavioral neuroscience and biomedical research, where she developed experience in cellular and molecular approaches to neuroscience questions. She later expanded into high-throughput sequencing work, gaining exposure to data-intensive experimental workflows.

She is currently a PhD student in the GBS program at UAB, where she is developing computational and systems neuroscience skills to study brain network function, with a focus on basal ganglia dynamics in Parkinson’s disease. Her current work centers on understanding how oscillatory activity in the subthalamic nucleus relates to sensorimotor processing.

Outside the lab, she enjoys volunteer work, fitness classes, game nights, movies, and the performing arts.

Postdoctoral trainee: Archana Mysore, PhD

Medical Student: Latham Girona, BS

Latham Girona is a medical student at UAB Heersink School of Medicine. Latham attended UAB where he completed his degrees in a BS of Neuroscience and a BGS in General Studies. 

Medical Student: Alex Varghese, BS

Alex has experience studying intraoperative brain recordings gathered during deep brain stimulation surgeries and is currently focused on broadening his understanding of neural network dynamics. Outside of lab and studies, Alex loves to play soccer and go on evening runs.

Undergraduate Student: Sujith Madhusudhana

My name is Sujith Madhusudhana, and I recently completed my Master’s in Data Science at UAB. I’ve worked as a Lead Graduate Research Assistant focusing on analytics, modeling, and operational data workflows, and I’ve also supported clinical operations through my role at the UAB Student Health Clinic. I’m especially interested in applying data science in clinical‑oriented environments, and my goal is to work as a clinical data analyst supporting healthcare and patient‑focused projects.

Undergraduate student: Tanisha Chandra

Research Assistant: Nicholas Langkau

Research Assistant: Ella Dunbar, BS

Ella is a data analyst for the Bentley and Walker labs. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering with a specialization
in data science and systems from Rice University in 2024. Her strong signal processing, coding, and mathematical skills give her the tools to excel in her new roles. Ella is looking forward to meeting new people and getting to know the Department of Neurosurgery as she continues to grow in her professional career. She enjoys hearing diverse viewpoints that help her think in new ways and encourage expanding her brain. She loves solving hard problems and collaborating with others to work
through them together. When not at work, Ella enjoys listening to music, going on walks and taking pictures, and watching films.

Clinical Research Coordinators:

Jessica Schweikart

Britt Biesinger

Lab Alumni

Ashley White, MD - UT Southwestern Neurology Residency

Gitanjali Alapati - UAB Medical School

Amazing Collaborators

UAB

Center for Neuroengineering and Brain-Computer Interfaces

Comprehensive Neuroscience Center

Mark Bolding, PhD

Harrison Walker, MD

Kristina Visscher, MD

Jamie Tyler, PhD

Rachel Smith, PhD

Adam Goodman, PhD

Marshall Holland, MD

Jasmine Thum, MD

Adeel Ilyas, MD

External

Sabine Kastner, MD, PhD

Robert Knight, MD

Peter Brunner, PhD

Caterina Gratton, PhD