News & Awards
Awards
2026 Kumar New Investigator Award — North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS)
Dr. Iahn Cajigas was awarded the 2026 Kumar New Investigator Award by the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS), recognizing his contributions as an emerging leader in the field of neuromodulation. This award honors investigators who have made significant early-career contributions to advancing the science and clinical application of neuromodulation.
Funded Research
Michael J. Fox Foundation — Sensing-Enabled Directional Deep Brain Stimulation of the Cuneiform Nucleus for Levodopa-Resistant Freezing of Gait in Parkinson's Disease
Freezing of gait (FOG) is one of the most disabling symptoms of Parkinson's disease. This symptom often does not improve with medication or with typical deep brain stimulation. A small region deep in the brain called the cuneiform nucleus (CnF) plays a key role in starting and stopping walking. Our team recently completed a pilot study that showed that targeting this region with directional DBS may help reduce FOG. This new multi-center clinical trial, funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation, will enroll 18 participants across three medical centers to further test this approach. The study uses advanced sensing-enabled DBS along with walking tests, wearable sensors, and brain signal recordings to measure changes in mobility and brain activity.
Open Source
Cajigas Lab GitHub
Our lab is committed to open science. Visit our GitHub page to explore our code repositories, tools, and resources developed by the lab.