Philip A. Starr

Philip A. Starr, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Co-Director of the UCSF Surgical Movement Disorders Clinic. He is a leading expert in functional neurosurgery, particularly in deep brain stimulation (DBS) for movement disorders like Parkinson's disease and dystonia.

• Harvard Medical School, MD (1989)
• Brigham and Women's Hospital, Neurosurgery Residency (1997)
• Emory University Hospital, Movement Disorders Fellowship (1997)

His research focuses on basal ganglia physiology, electrocorticography, and neurotechnology development, including bidirectional neural interfaces. He pioneered chronic multisite brain recording in Parkinson's patients and developed the Clearpoint MRI-guided DBS delivery system.

Recent publications emphasize adaptive DBS, gamma/theta oscillations in Parkinson's, and neural biomarkers for mood and motor symptoms. Key themes include closed-loop neuromodulation, sleep-brain interaction, and precision neurosurgical tools.

Scientific honors include the Dolores Cakebread Endowed Chair (2005) and Israeli B.R.A.I.N. prize finalist (2013). He leads NIH-funded projects on neuroprosthetics and adaptive stimulation algorithms.