Edward F. Chang

Edward F. Chang, MD is a distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. He co-directs the Center for Neural Engineering and Prostheses, a collaborative enterprise between UCSF and UC Berkeley, and leads the Chang Lab focused on speech neuroscience and neural engineering. As a practicing neurosurgeon, he specializes in treating adults with difficult-to-control epilepsy, brain tumors, trigeminal neuralgia, hemifacial spasm, and movement disorders.

Dr. Chang's educational background includes a B.A. in Chemistry from Amherst College (1997), an M.D. from UCSF (2004), a Neurological Surgery residency at UCSF (2010), and a postdoctoral fellowship in Cognitive Neuroscience at UC Berkeley (2009).

His research focuses on the brain mechanisms for speech, movement, and learning, with particular emphasis on advanced brain mapping methods to preserve crucial areas for speech and motor functions. He has pioneered work in speech neuroprostheses, developing technology that allows patients with paralysis to communicate through brain signals. His work integrates engineering, neurology, and neurosurgery to develop state-of-the-art biomedical technology to restore function for patients with neurological disabilities such as paralysis and speech disorders.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong trend toward developing advanced neuroprosthetic technologies, particularly speech decoding systems, and exploring the neural basis of speech production across multiple languages. His research also spans epilepsy surgery optimization, deep brain stimulation for psychiatric conditions, and molecular profiling of brain tumors.

• Blavatnik National Laureate for Life Sciences (2015)
• Elected to the National Academy of Medicine (2020)
• Inaugural Bowes Biomedical Investigator at UCSF
• HHMI Faculty Scholar

Dr. Chang leads multiple NIH-funded research projects totaling millions of dollars, including a pilot clinical trial for speech neuroprosthesis and studies on the neural coding of speech across human languages. He has mentored numerous researchers in the field of neural engineering and speech neuroscience, though specific student names aren't listed in the provided materials. His work has resulted in groundbreaking technologies that have helped restore communication abilities to individuals with paralysis.

As co-director of the Center for Neural Engineering and Prostheses, Dr. Chang leads a multidisciplinary team of engineers, neurologists, and neurosurgeons working at the intersection of neuroscience and technology. His lab has been instrumental in developing brain-computer interfaces that translate neural activity into speech, with recent publications demonstrating streaming brain-to-voice neuroprostheses that restore naturalistic communication.