NC TraCS RCMU supports groundbreaking study on using focused ultrasound to help patients with epilepsy
Vibhor Krishna, MD, an associate professor of neurosurgery at the UNC School of Medicine, is at the forefront of focused ultrasound research—making UNC the only medical institution in the world using high frequency sound waves to inactivate brain tissue that causes epilepsy.
Krishna's latest endeavor is an FDA-regulated study intervention aimed at advancing care for patients experiencing disruptive seizures.
Needing clinical research coordinators and project managers to help move his research forward, Krishna reached out to UNC's Research Coordination & Management Unit (RCMU) in 2025. The RCMU team assisted during the project's early startup phase, helping develop the operational plan and address logistical challenges in order to successfully launch the study.
Today, RCMU personnel continue to function as Krishna's sole research team. Colleen Rice serves as the study's project manager. Tory Scott coordinates and leads study visits, including those for research participant Thatcher Carr—a former Naval Academy student who was experiencing an average of 85 seizures per month.
"I was so angry and embarrassed, honestly," said Carr. "It took so much away from me, even my military career. I was discharged because I was experiencing uncontrollable seizures and left feeling like damaged goods."
But that is in the past. Thanks to a new investigational procedure at UNC that uses sound waves to redirect electric signals in the brain, Carr is down to less than one seizure a month. Now, he can get back to what matters most: fixing boats and enjoying life with his cats, dogs, and wife, Debbie, uninterrupted.*
*from the UNC Health Newsroom article: Former Marine Undergoes First-of-its-Kind Procedure to Reduce Life-Altering Seizures
The team is in the process of discussing initial safety data with the FDA in hopes of obtaining approval to recruit more participants.
If you or a loved one is suffering from treatment-refractory focal onset epilepsy, make an appointment with one of UNC's neurosurgeons by calling 984-974-4175 to schedule. Learn more about the clinical study.
See also: research.unc.edu/story/beams-of-hope
The Research Coordination & Management Unit (RCMU) supports UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care System investigators in conducting high quality clinical and translational research—ensuring regulatory compliance, procedural efficiency, and data collection best practices.
As part of the NC TraCS Institute, RCMU provides study coordinators and project managers equipped to perform a wide range of study coordination services to investigators across UNC and the UNC Health Care System.