The Esteller Lab focuses on demonstrating proof of concept for promising neurotechnologies with the potential to transform patient care and enhance human conditions. We translate scientific insights into early-stage clinical solutions that deliver targeted stimulation energy to modulate the nervous system, using feedback-driven approaches informed by physiological signals, patient-reported measures, or other relevant sensing modalities to identify biomarkers and enable personalized therapy.

Our work brings together computational modeling from the neural element to the systems level, advanced signal processing and machine learning for biomarker extraction, rapid device prototyping and algorithm development, and translational studies spanning preclinical to human investigations. This multidisciplinary integration accelerates innovation from concept to real-world application, positioning technologies for the next stage of development and impact.

Education

• PhD, Electrical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2000
• MS, Biomedical Engineering, Universidad Simon Bolivar
• BS, Electrical Engineering
   

Selected Publications

• Edhi M., Zhu C., Jeong K., Rogness V., Esteller R., and Saab C. Y., “Spinal Cord Stimulation using time-dynamic pulses achieves faster and longer reversal of allodynia compared to tonic pulses in a rat model of neuropathic pain,” bioRxiv (2023).
• Zhu, C., Esteller, R., Block, J., Lechleiter, K., Frey, R., & Moffitt, M. Exploratory Evaluation of Spinal Cord Stimulation with Dynamic Pulse Patterns: A Promising Approach to Improve Stimulation Sensation, Coverage of Pain Areas, and Expected Pain Relief. Frontiers in Pain Research, 4, 2023.
• Boriss S., Zhang T., Abdollahi N., Yousefpour N., Mdelock L., AI-Basha D., Ribeiro-da-Silva A., Esteller R., Ratte S., and Prescott S. A., “Absence of paresthesia during high-rate spinal cord stimulation reveals importance of synchrony for sensations evoked by electrical stimulation,” Neuron (2023).
• Gilbert J. E., Zhang T., Esteller R., & Grill W. M., “Network model of nociceptive processing in the superficial spinal dorsal horn reveals mechanisms of hyperalgesia, allodynia, and spinal cord stimulation” J. of Neurophysiology, 130, no. 5 (2023).
• Heijmans L., Zhang T., Esteller R., & Joosten E. A., “Ninety-Hz Spinal Cord Stimulation–Induced Analgesia Is Dependent on Active Charge Balance and Is Nonlinearly Related to Amplitude: A Sham-Controlled Behavioral Study in a Rodent Model of Chronic Neuropathic Pain,” Neuromodulation Technology at the Neural Interface (2023).
• Sharma, M., Bhaskar, V., Yang, L., FallahRad, M., Gebodh, N., Zhang, T., Esteller, R., et. al. “Novel evoked synaptic activity potentials (ESAPs) elicited by spinal cord stimulation”. Eneuro. 10, 5, 2023.
• Huh, Y., Xu, J., Zhang, T., Hershey, B., Esteller, R., Ji, R. “Combination of 1 kHz and 60 Hz Spinal Cord Stimulation Inhibits Mechanical and Cold Hypersensitivity With Prolonged Wash-Out In A Rat Spared Nerve Injury Model Of Neuropathic Pain” The Journal of Pain, Vol. 24, No. 4., 2023.
• Kuo, S., Zhang, T., Esteller, R., el. al. "In vivo measurements reveal that both low-and high-frequency spinal cord stimulation heterogeneously modulate superficial dorsal horn neurons". Neuroscience. 520, 2023.
• Gilbert J. E., Titus N., Zhang T., Esteller R., & Grill W. M., “Surround inhibition mediates pain relief by low amplitude spinal cord stimulation: modeling and measurement,” Eneuro 9, no. 5 (2022).
• Gilbert J.E., Zhang T., Esteller R., & Grill W. M., “Evaluating optimized temporal patterns of spinal cord stimulation (SCS),” Brain Stimulation 15, no. 5 (2022).
• Søren N. Rønborg, Rosana Esteller, Thomas K. Tcheng, et al., “Acute effects of brain-responsive neurostimulation in drug-resistant partial onset epilepsy”, Clinical Neurophysiology, 2021.
• Tao, X., Luo, X., Zhang, T., Hershey, B., Esteller, R., et. al. “Spinal cord stimulation attenuates mechanical allodynia and increases central resolvin D1 levels in rats with spared nerve injury.” Frontiers in Physiology. 12, 2021.
• M. Edhi, L. Heijmans, K. Vanent, K. Bloye, A. Baanante, Ki-Soo Jeong, J. Leung, C. Zhu, R. Esteller, and C. Saab. "Time-dynamic pulse modulation of spinal cord stimulation reduces mechanical hypersensitivity and spontaneous pain in rats", Scientific reports 10, no. 1 (2020): 1-10.
• J. Levitt, M. Edhi, R. V Thorpe , J. Leung , M. Michishita, S. Koyama, S. Yoshikawa, K Scarfo, A. Carayannopoulos, W. Gu, K. Srivastava, B. Clark, R. Esteller, D. Borton, S. R Jones, C. Saab, “Pain phenotypes classified by machine learning using electroencephalography features”, Neuroimage, 2020.
• Esmaeilpour, Zeinab, Mark Jackson, Greg Kronberg, Tianhe Zhang, Rosana Esteller, Brad Hershey, and Marom Bikson. "Limited sensitivity of hippocampal synaptic function or network oscillations to unmodulated kilohertz electric fields."  Eneuro 7, no. 6 (2020).
• Zannou, Adantchede L., Niranjan Khadka, Dennis Q. Truong, Tianhe Zhang, Rosana Esteller, Brad Hershey, and Marom Bikson. "Temperature increases by kilohertz frequency spinal cord stimulation."  Brain stimulation 12, no. 1 (2019): 62-72.
• FallahRad, Mohamad, Adantchede Louis Zannou, Niranjan Khadka, Steven A. Prescott, Stéphanie Ratté, Tianhe Zhang, Rosana Esteller, Brad Hershey, and Marom Bikson. "Electrophysiology equipment for reliable study of kHz electrical stimulation."  The Journal of physiology 597, no. 8 (2019): 2131-2137.
• Lesperance, L. Stephen, Milad Lankarany, Tianhe C. Zhang, Rosana Esteller, Stéphanie Ratté, and Steven A. Prescott. "Artifactual hyperpolarization during extracellular electrical stimulation: Proposed mechanism of high-rate neuromodulation disproved.”  Brain stimulation 11, no. 3 (2018): 582-591.
• Pizarro, Diana, Adeel Ilyas, Emilia Toth, Andrew Romeo, Kristen O. Riley, Rosana Esteller, Ioannis Vlachos, and Sandipan Pati. "Automated detection of mesial temporal and temporoperisylvian seizures in the anterior thalamic nucleus." Epilepsy research 146 (2018): 17-20.
• Dheer, Puneet, Ganne Chaitanya, Diana Pizarro, Rosana Esteller, Kaushik Majumdar, and Sandipan Pati. "Seizure detection and network dynamics of generalized convulsive seizures: towards rational designing of closed-loop neuromodulation." Neuroscience journal (2017).
• Zannou, L., Khadka, N., Jackson, M., FallahRad, M., Hershey, B., Esteller, R., et. al. “Temperature increases during conventional and high frequency Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS).” Brain Stimulation. 10, 4, 2017.
• Haider H. A., Esteller R., Hahn C. D., et al., “Sensitivity of Quantitative EEG for Seizure Identification in the Intensive Care Unit”, Neurology, Apr 2016.
• Smith J., Fountas K., Murro A., Park Y., Jenkins P., Morrell M., Esteller R., Greene D., “Closed-Loop Stimulation in the Control of Focal Epilepsy of Insular Origin”, J. of Stereotactic & Functional Neurosurgery, 2010.
• Díaz M. and Esteller R., “Comparison of the nonlinear energy operator and the Hilbert transform in the estimation of the instantaneous amplitude and frequency”, IEEE Latin America Trans., vol. 5, pp. 1-8, Mar. 2007.
• Esteller R., Echauz J., D’Alessandro M., Worrell G., Cranstoun S., Vachtsevanos G., Litt B., “Continuous energy variation during the seizure cycle: towards an on-line accumulated energy.”  Clin Neurophys. 2005, 116(3).
• Alessandro, M., G. Vachtsevanos, R. Esteller, et al. "A multi-feature and multi-channel univariate selection process for seizure prediction." Clin Neurophysiol 116 (2005): 506-16.
• M. D’Alessandro, R. Esteller, J. Echauz, G. Vachtsevanos, and B. Litt, “Epileptic Seizure Prediction using Hybrid Feature Selection over Multiple Intracranial EEG Electrode Contacts:  A Report on four Patients”, IEEE Trans Biomed Engineering, 2003 May;50(5):603-15.
• J. J. Niederhauser, R. Esteller, J. Echauz, G. Vachtsevanos, and B. Litt, “Detection of Seizure Precursors from Depth-EEG using a Sign Periodogram Transform”, IEEE Trans. on Biomed. Enginering, 2003 Apr;50(4):449-58.
• Litt B., Esteller R., Echauz J., D’Alessandro M., Shor R., Henry T., Pennel P., Epstein C., Bakay R., Dichter M., Vachtsevanos G., “Epileptic Seizures May Begin Hours in Advance Clinical Onset: A Report of Five Patients”, Neuron, 2001; 30 (1):51-64.
• Esteller R, Vachtsevanos G, Echauz J, Litt B, "A comparison of fractal dimension algorithms using synthetic and experimental data", IEEE Trans. on Circuits and Systems I: Fundamental Theory and Applications, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 177-183, February 2001.
• Ginart A., Esteller R., Maduro A., Piñero R., Moncada R., "High starting torque for AC SCR controller", IEEE Trans. on Energy Conversion, September 1999.
• Esteller R., Mendoza I., Marquez J., Albornoz A., Mora F., “Database of ECG & R-R Intervals from chagasic patients at the moment of death”, Mexican Magazine of Biomedical Engineering, Vol. 14 (2), Sept. 1993, pp. 17-21.