Congratulations to Can Sarica

Congratulations to CPIN student member Can Sarica (Institute of Medical Science, supervised by Drs. Andres Lozano and Robert Chen) on completing the CPIN requirements and graduating from his PhD program. 

During his doctoral studies at the Krembil Research Institute, Dr. Sarica focused on the clinical translation of focused ultrasound (FUS) neuromodulation for patients with Parkinson's disease. FUS is an emerging non-invasive technology with the potential to modulate deep brain circuits without the need for surgically implanted electrodes. He first evaluated this approach in a pilot clinical trial published in Movement Disorders (2023). Recognizing that successful clinical translation will likely require repeated treatment sessions, Dr. Sarica aimed to better understand the effects of a single FUS session on human brain circuits. Together with his colleagues, he developed a novel method to record local field potentials from implanted DBS electrodes while applying FUS. This approach was first reported in Nature Communications (2025), followed by a more comprehensive study published in Science Translational Medicine (2026). 

These studies provide a unique framework for investigating the neurophysiological mechanisms of FUS and may help accelerate its translation into clinical practice across neurological disorders. Dr. Sarica’s work has attracted international recognition, leading to invitations to deliver plenary lectures at the ASSFN biennial meeting and the WSSFN congress as a keynote speaker.