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Q&A Panel Discussion

Part of Building Your Niche in Neuromodulation: Aligning Personal Expertise and Interest With Community and Health System Needs

Details

Date
Friday, January 22, 2027
Time
7:45 AM – 7:55 AM
Session type
Breakfast Session
Schedule
See this day

About

Early-career physicians entering neuromodulation often face the challenge of defining their professional niche while adapting to the clinical and strategic priorities of their healthcare systems. Successfully building a focused practice requires balancing individual interests, emerging technologies, institutional goals, and the needs of the patient population being served. This session will explore practical strategies for early-career clinicians to develop a meaningful and sustainable niche within neuromodulation while contributing to the priorities of their institutions and communities. Panelists will discuss how to identify opportunities for specialization, evaluate gaps in care within their healthcare systems, and align personal clinical or research interests with broader institutional needs. Speakers will also share personal experiences in developing specialized clinical programs, building referral networks, and establishing multidisciplinary collaborations. Topics will include identifying unmet needs within local patient populations, creating new clinical pathways or services, and demonstrating value to hospital leadership and health systems. In addition, the session will explore strategies for balancing professional interests with institutional priorities, navigating early-career decision-making, and building programs that support long-term career growth while improving access to neuromodulation therapies. Through discussion and audience engagement, participants will gain practical insights into how early-career clinicians can strategically build expertise, develop innovative programs, and create lasting impact within their medical communities.

Presenters

  • Rosalynn Conic, MD, PhD, MPH

    Rosalynn Conic, MD, PhD, MPH

    Staff

    Ochsner Health · New Orleans, Louisiana

    Rosalynn R. Z. Conic, is a staff physician at Ochsner Health. She completed her pain medicine fellowship at Mayo Clinic Florida, residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and has a background in Preventive Medicine and Clinical Translational Science. Her interests include interventional pain medicine, neuromodulation, medical education, healthcare policy, and artificial intelligence in medicine.

  • Helen H. Shi, MD

    Helen H. Shi, MD

    Neurosurgeon

    Sutter Medical Center

    Dr. Helen Shi is a functional and epilepsy neurosurgeon at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento, California, specializing in neuromodulation, deep brain stimulation (DBS), epilepsy surgery, and advanced stereotactic techniques. She completed seven years of neurosurgical residency training at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, followed by a fellowship in stereotactic and functional neurosurgery at Oregon Health & Science University, completed in July 2026. Her training has provided extensive experience in the surgical treatment of movement disorders, epilepsy, and other neurologic conditions amenable to neuromodulation.

    Dr. Shi’s academic interests include DBS, stereotactic targeting and surgical accuracy, image-guided neurosurgery, and emerging technologies in functional and epilepsy surgery. Her research has included investigations of stereotactic accuracy, focused ultrasound thalamotomy, robotic stereoelectroencephalography (sEEG), and strategies to prevent sudden cessation of implantable pulse generators in patients undergoing DBS. Her prior work has also examined advanced MRI techniques for DBS targeting.

    Her broader interests center on advancing safe, precise, and durable neuromodulation therapies and translating innovations in neurotechnology, imaging, and stereotactic surgery into improved patient outcomes. She remains actively involved in neurosurgical research, education, mentorship, and professional service.

  • Adam B. Lipson, MD

    Assistant Professor

    Oregon Health and Science University · Portland, Oregon

  • Harsh Shah

  • Efstathios Kondylis, MD

    Efstathios Kondylis, MD

    Senior Staff

    Henry Ford Hospital · Michigan

    EDUCATION
    2017-2024
    Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH
    Resident Physician, Department of Neurological Surgery
    2022/23 Enfolded Functional Fellowship
    2024/25 Post-graduate Epilepsy Fellowship

    2012-2017
    University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
    Physician Scientist Training Program

    2007-2011
    Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
    Barrett Honors College
    BSE, Harrington Department of Biomedical Engineering

    POSITIONS HELD
    2025-Present Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI
    Senior Staff Neurosurgeon

    2020-2025
    Epilepsy Clinical Research Group
    Cleveland Clinic Foundation
    Mentor: William Bingaman, MD

    2020-2021
    NeuroDesign Innovations Fellowship
    Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Case Western Reserve University
    Mentor: Sean Nagel MD

    2012-2017
    Brain Modulation Lab, Department of Neurological Surgery
    University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
    Mentor: Mark Richardson, MD, PhD

    2008-2012
    Brain Dynamics Lab
    Arizona State University, Harrington Department of Bioengineering
    Mentor: Leonidas Iasemidis, PhD