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Derek Southwell

Associate Professor of Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery
DUMC 3807, Durham, NC 27710
DUMC 3807, 1542 Blue Zone Duke South, Durham, NC 27710

Research Interests


Human neuroscience, inhibitory circuits, interneurons, cerebral cortex, cell transplantation, epilepsy, movement disorders.

Selected Grants


A Study of Inhibitory Interneurons (NRTX1001) for the Treatment of Drug-resistant Bilateral Temporal Lobe Focal Seizures

Clinical TrialPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Neurona Therapeutics, Inc · 2024 - 2039

Neurobiology Training Program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029

Neurocognitive mechanisms of control over cognitive stability and flexibility

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Mental Health · 2023 - 2028

The overlap of speech production and verbal working memory

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke · 2023 - 2028

Exploring cortical inhibitory circuit design in the human brain

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2027

A Wireless µECoG Prosthesis for Speech

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2021 - 2026

Cell and Molecular Biology Training Program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2021 - 2026

Investigating the design of human cortical inhibitory circuits

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Whitehall Foundation, Inc. · 2024 - 2025

NTE002 NRTX-1001

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Neurona Therapeutics, Inc · 2024 - 2025

Next-Generation Wireless Intracranial Electrode Arrays for Post-traumatic Epilepsy

ResearchCollaborating Investigator · Awarded by United States Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity · 2021 - 2025

NINDS Research Education Programs for Residents and Fellows in Neurosurgery

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke · 2009 - 2025

Advancing the therapeutic potential of inhibitory interneuron transplantation

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund · 2020 - 2024

Realistic Measurements of tDCS-Modulated Activity and Electric Fields in the Human Brain In Vivo

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2022

Medical Scientist Training Program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1997 - 2022

Examining the therapeutic potential of interneuron transplantation in a human organotypic epilepsy model

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Albert Einstein College of Medicine · 2020 - 2021

External Relationships


  • Guidepoint
  • NeuroPace
  • NovoGlia

This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported outside activities with the companies, institutions, or organizations listed above. This information is available to institutional leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts of interest.