Ilknur Telkes Ergun
- Assistant Professor
- Member of the Graduate Faculty
- Assistant Professor, Neuroscience - GIDP
Biography
Dr. Telkes is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, and an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Dr. Telkes is an engineer-scientist who was awarded the prestigious NIH K99/R00 grant to investigate the EEG signatures of spinal cord stimulation in patients with chronic pain. Dr. Telkes's research focuses on understanding the neurophysiological mechanisms of chronic pain, identifying quantified neural signatures of pain relief, and developing computational tools for clinical applications. She is dedicated to developing new technologies to enhance treatment outcomes for patients with neuromodulation implants, including deep brain stimulation and spinal cord stimulation.
Additionally, Dr. Telkes served as the Principal Investigator on an FAU COECS/I-SENSE SEED grant, leading her team in exploring the functional utility of multimodal sensing signals in adults with Alzheimer’s disease and chronic pain. As a Co-Investigator, she also contributed to a HEAL Initiative study, where an interdisciplinary team investigated the application of a high-resolution SCS paddle and spinal motor mapping in patients undergoing SCS therapy.
For her contributions to the field, Dr. Telkes has been honored with the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) 2025 Rising Star Early Career Award, 2023 Neurosurgery Pain Paper of the Year Award, the NANS 2023 Krishna Kumar Young Investigator Award, and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) 2021 Ronald R. Tasker Young Investigator Award. Dr. Telkes remains actively engaged in professional organizations, including her service on NIH and VA study sections, on multiple committees for NANS and the NYC Neuromodulation Conference, as well as her editorial board roles for various journals.
Degrees
- Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering
- University of Houston, Houston, Texas, United States
- Investigation of spatio-spectral dynamics of local field potentials in Parkinson’s disease
- M.S. Medical Informatics (Neuroscience track)
- Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
- Phase validation of neurotoxic animal models of Parkinson’s disease
- B.S. Biology
- Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
- Spatial learning and long/short-term memory in young and old Lewis rats exposed to dopamine-blockers
Work Experience
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Florida Atlantic University (2023 - 2024)
- Department of Biomedical Science, Florida Atlantic University (2022 - 2024)
- Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, Florida Atlantic University (2022 - 2024)
- Albany Medical College, Albany, New York (2017 - 2022)
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston (2013 - 2017)
Awards
- CNS Ronald R. Tasker Young Investigator Award
- Congress of Neurological Surgeons, Fall 2025
- NANS 2025 Early Career Travel Fellowship Grant
- North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS), Spring 2025
- NANS 2025 Rising Star Early Career Award
- North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS), Spring 2025
- 2023 Neurosurgery Pain Paper of the Year
- Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), Summer 2023
- 2023 Kumar New Investigator Award
- North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS), Winter 2022
- DNET Employee of the Month
- Albany Medical College, Winter 2021
- NANS Travel Award
- North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS), Winter 2021
- Ronald R. Tasker Young Investigator Award
- Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), Fall 2021
- Best Poster Award on Deep Brain Stimulation
- North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS), Winter 2019
- Junior Scientist Award
- North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS), Winter 2017
- NANS Travel Grant
- North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS), Winter 2014
- International Texas Public Education Grant Award
- The Texas Public Education Grant (TPEG) for International Students, Summer 2014
- Travel Grant
- EGE BINGSS TUBITAK, Summer 2011
- High Education Scholarship of Turkey Medical Informatics Association
- Turkey Medical Informatics Association, Spring 2010
Licensure & Certification
- Computational Modeling in Neuromodulation Workshop, NYC-NANS Summer Series (2018)
- Electrophysiology Workshop, World Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (WSSFN) (2019)
- International workshop on effects of perinatal and adult ethanol intake on brain and behavior with animal studies, Middle East Technical University (2008)
- Hands-On Cadaver Course for Engineers, North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) (2017)
- Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP), Albany Medical College (2022)
- Professional Development Workshop, North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) (2020)
- Postdoctoral Development Program, Albany Medical College (2021)
Interests
Research
• Investigate neural pathways responsible for chronic pain and identify signatures for objective pain assessment.• Develop computational tools for clinical applications such as brain/spinal mapping, target localization, data visualization • Enhance real-time and neural data analysis to improve the precision of therapeutic interventions (e.g., SCS, DBS).• Integrate machine learning and multimodality approach for personalized neuromodulation therapies, adapting treatment to individual patient responses.
Teaching
• biomedical signal processing• neural engineering
Courses
2025-26 Courses
-
Dissertation
BME 920 (Spring 2026) -
Methods In Neuroscience
NRSC 700 (Spring 2026) -
Rsrch Meth Biomed Engr
BME 592 (Fall 2025)
Scholarly Contributions
Journals/Publications
Proceedings Publications
- More infoPublished in Brain Stimulation: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation
