Stephen M. LaConte

Stephen M. LaConte is a Professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC and holds joint appointments in the College of Engineering (Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics) and the School of Medicine (Departments of Emergency Medicine and Radiology). He leads the LaConte Lab, focused on advanced neuroimaging techniques, particularly real-time fMRI and TABS fMRI for understanding brain function and developing therapies for neurological and psychiatric conditions.

Education: B.S. in Biomedical Science and Electrical Engineering from the University of Denver, Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.

Research Interests: His work spans neuroimaging technology development, addiction recovery, brain rehabilitation, and translational neuroscience. Key innovations include TABS fMRI for real-time brain state decoding and GPU-accelerated medical image processing. He explores applications in addiction (e.g., alcohol and cocaine use disorders), traumatic brain injury, and mental health.

Awards and Recognition: Recipient of the 2014 Dean’s Award for Outstanding New Assistant Professor from the Virginia Tech College of Engineering.

Lab and Collaborations: The LaConte Lab collaborates with institutions like Baylor College of Medicine and industry partners such as BRAINBox Solutions. Their work is funded by grants from NIH, the Army Medical Research Command, and private foundations. The lab develops tools like the 3dsvm plugin for AFNI, enhancing fMRI analysis.

Students and Mentoring: Advises students like Jeremy Myslowski, whose work focuses on neuroimaging in alcohol use disorder. The lab supports undergraduate and graduate trainees through programs like the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship.