Dr. Casey Halpern is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and, by courtesy, of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University Medical Center. He focuses on the surgical treatment of movement disorders and epilepsy and has particular interest in minimally invasive surgical approaches, as well as neurostimulation procedures. Dr. Halpern's research lab is a collaborative and joint effort with Dr. Robert Malenka, investigating the effects of deep brain stimulation in various mouse models of human behavior related to behavioral disinhibition. Obesity is not only one of the largest public health threats in the world, but it also provides a model to examine behavioral disinhibition, manifested by impulse control disorders. Some of Dr. Halpern's work has investigated the effects of deep brain stimulation in obesity using mouse models of human behavior, and a recent focus involves a clinical trial using neurostimulation devices as a novel therapeutic approach for loss of control over (LOC) eating in persons with treatment-refractory obesity, specifically those who have failed gastric bypass surgery.
Dr. Halpern received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and remained at Penn to complete residency in Neurological Surgery and a fellowship in Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery.