Dr. J Tilak Ratnanather

Bio

My research focus is on the analysis of brain structures which include hippocampus, cingulate gyrus, planum temporale, superior temporal gyrus, and the auditory and prefrontal cortexes. These structures are implicated in neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, epilepsy, major depression, speech and language processing.

Other interests include the physiological fluid mechanics of the cochlear outer hair cell, the study of nonlinear partial differential equations (e.g. EPDiff in Computational Anatomy, Webster's Equation in bioacoustics, boundary layer separation in physiological flows), and continuing education via online web courses in applied mathematics.

Examples of Research Questions

• How different is the shape of the hippocampus in the adolescent female with a risk for depression?
• How can schizophrenia affect thinning in the planum temporale?
• How is it possible for a profoundly deaf child to play music to a high level?
• How can demyelination affect connectivity between structures in the brain?
• How can stress affect the cochlear outer hair cell wall and thus the cochlea?
• is it possible to examine how the deafened brain functions with hearing aids?
• How do we limit the number of CT scans a child undergoes?
• Can MR scans be used to predict outcomes in cochlear implantation?
• Which part of the left ventricle is affected in sudden cardiac death?
• Can we quantify the effect of stroke on speech and language?