Steven Schiff
DIRECTOR, Penn State Center for Neural Engineering | Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA, UNITED STATES
Dr. Schiff's research focuses on understanding the physics of dynamical disease of the nervous system
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Industry Expertise (3)
Research
Education/Learning
Medical/Dental Practice
Areas of Expertise (9)
Control Theory
EEG
Wave Mechanics
Epilepsy
Neural Engineering
Neurosurgery
Parkinsons Disease
Brain Machine Interfaces
Electrical Fields
Biography
I am a Pediatric Neurosurgeon, with particular interests in understanding the physics of dynamical disease of the nervous system, developing smart prosthetics to treat those diseases, and an interest in global health.
Accomplishments (4)
Fellow of the The American Association for the Advancement of Science (professional)
2012
Fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (professional)
2010
Fellow of the American Physical Society (professional)
2005
Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (professional)
1994
Education (6)
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Pediatric Neurosurgery Fellowship 1990
Duke University: Neurosurgery Residency 1989
Duke University: PhD, Physiology, G. Somjen 1985
Duke University: General Surgery Internship 1981
Duke University: MD 1980
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: SB 1977
Affiliations (1)
- Neuroscience Graduate Program
Links (5)
Media Appearances (3)
A neurosurgeon and an engineer walk into a lab ...
Penn State News online
2017-09-18
Steve Schiff has the soothing voice and gentle manner of someone who has spent a large part of his career dealing with children, and frequently, children in pain. As a pediatric neurosurgeon, he has lent his skills and bedside manner to treating diseases of the brain in children. As a researcher, he is joining forces with electrical engineer Srinivas Tadigadapa to develop technology to understand and treat diseases of the brain.
Penn State develops first-of-a-kind model to research post-malaria epilepsy
Penn State News online
2017-03-23
A first-of-its-kind mouse model could lead to an understanding of how cerebral malaria infection leads to the development of epilepsy in children, and to the prevention of seizures. The model — a way for researchers to simulate the effects of malaria in children by using mice — was developed in a collaboration between researchers at Penn State's colleges of medicine, engineering, science and agriculture.
Schiff receives NIH Pioneer Award
Penn State News online
2015-06-02
Steven Schiff, professor of neurosurgery and Brush Chair Professor of Engineering in Engineering Science and Mechanics, has received a $4.1 million National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award, for research aimed at reducing the number of infant deaths from neonatal sepsis in developing countries by identifying the roots of infection, from season of birth to home environment.
Articles (5)
Observability and Controllability of Networks: Symmetry in Representations of Brains and Controllers for Epidemics
Bulletin of the American Physical Society
Steven Schiff
2017 Observability and controllability are essential concepts to the design of predictive observer models and feedback controllers of networked systems. We present a numerical and group representational framework, to quantify the observability and controllability of nonlinear networks with explicit symmetries that shows the connection between symmetries and nonlinear measures of observability and controllability. In addition to the topology of brain networks, we have advanced our ability to represent network nodes within the brain using conservation principles and more accurate biophysics that unifies the dynamics of spikes, seizures, and spreading depression. Lastly, we show how symmetries in controller design can be applied to infectious disease epidemics.
Improving the magnetoelectric performance of Metglas/PZT laminates by annealing in a magnetic field
Smart Materials and Structures
S. Freeman, E. Harper, J. Goel, N. Gilbert, I. Unguris, J. Schiff, S. J. Tadigadapa
2017 A comprehensive investigation of magnetostriction optimization in Metglas 2605SA1 ribbons is performed to enhance magnetoelectric performance. We explore a range of annealing conditions to relieve remnant stress and align the magnetic domains in the Metglas, while minimizing unwanted crystallization. The magnetostriction coefficient, magnetoelectric coefficient, and magnetic domain alignment are correlated to optimize magnetoelectric performance. We report on direct magnetostriction observed by in-plane Doppler vibrometer and domain imagining using scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis for a range of annealing conditions. We find that annealing in an oxygen-free environment at 400 ${}^{\circ }{\rm{C}}$ for 30 min yields an optimal magnetoelectric coefficient, magnetostriction and magnetostriction coefficient. The optimized ribbons had a magnetostriction of 50.6 ± 0.2 $\mu {\rm{m}}\,{{\rm{m}}}^{-1}$ and magnetoelectric coefficient of 79.3 ± 1.5 µm m−1 mT−1. The optimized Metglas 2605SA1 ribbons and PZT-5A (d31 mode) sensor achieves a magnetic noise floor of approximately 600 pT ${{\rm{H}}{\rm{z}}}^{-1/2}$ at 100 Hz and a magnetoelectric coefficient of 6.1 ± 0.03 MV m−1 T−1.
Expansion of C9ORF72 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis correlates with brain-computer interface performance
Scientific Reports
Andrew Geronimo, Kathryn E Sheldon, James R Broach, Zachary Simmons, Steven J Schiff
2017 Abnormal expansion of hexanucleotide GGGGCC (G4C2) in the C9ORF72 gene has been associated with multiple neurodegenerative disorders, with particularly high prevalence in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Repeat expansions of this type have been associated with altered pathology, symptom rate and severity, as well as psychological changes. In this study, we enrolled twenty-five patients with ALS and fifteen neurologically healthy controls in a P300 brain-computer interface (BCI) training procedure. Four of the patients were found to possess an expanded allele, which was associated with a reduction in the quality of evoked potentials that led to reduced performance on the BCI task. Our findings warrant further exploration of the relationship between brain function and G4C2 repeat length. Such a relationship suggests that personalized assessment of suitability of BCI as a communication device in patients with ALS may be feasible.
A Murine Model to Study Epilepsy and SUDEP Induced by Malaria Infection
Scientific Reports
Paddy Ssentongo, Anna E Robuccio, Godfrey Thuku, Derek G Sim, Ali Nabi, Fatemeh Bahari, Balaji Shanmugasundaram, Myles W Billard, Andrew Geronimo, Kurt W Short, Patrick J Drew, Jennifer Baccon, Steven L Weinstein, Frank G Gilliam, José A Stoute, Vernon M Chinchilli, Andrew F Read, Bruce J Gluckman, Steven J Schiff
2017 One of the largest single sources of epilepsy in the world is produced as a neurological sequela in survivors of cerebral malaria. Nevertheless, the pathophysiological mechanisms of such epileptogenesis remain unknown and no adjunctive therapy during cerebral malaria has been shown to reduce the rate of subsequent epilepsy. There is no existing animal model of postmalarial epilepsy. In this technical report we demonstrate the first such animal models. These models were created from multiple mouse and parasite strain combinations, so that the epilepsy observed retained universality with respect to genetic background. We also discovered spontaneous sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) in two of our strain combinations. These models offer a platform to enable new preclinical research into mechanisms and prevention of epilepsy and SUDEP.
Prevalence and correlates of MRSA and MSSA nasal carriage at a Ugandan regional referral hospital
Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Lisa M Bebell, Arnold Ayebare, Yap Boum, Mark J Siedner, Joel Bazira, Steven J Schiff, Joshua P Metlay, David R Bangsberg, Stephen Ttendo, Paul G Firth
2016 Despite increasing antimicrobial resistance globally, data are lacking on prevalence and factors associated with Staphylococcus aureus (SA) and MRSA carriage in resource-limited settings.