VISE Spring Seminar Charles F. Caskey, PhD 2.26.26
VISE welcomes Charles Caskey, PhD, to our Spring 2026 Seminar Series.
Charles F. Caskey, Ph.D.
Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Date: Thursday, February 26, 2026
NEW Location: Light Hall 214
Time: 11:45 am for lunch,12:00 start
Title:
How to Tickle the Brain Without Touching It
Abstract:
Focused ultrasound (FUS) offers a rare combination in neuroscience: the ability to deliver millimeter-scale, noninvasive energy to deep brain structures with exquisite spatial precision. When paired with MRI, FUS becomes a fully image-guided neuromodulation platform capable of accurate targeting, real‑time monitoring, and whole-brain functional readout through fMRI. This talk will highlight collaborative efforts across Vanderbilt to engineer and validate this platform in preclinical models and move it along the translational pipeline to humans.
Recent advances include optical tracking to minimize targeting error, multi-element FUS arrays enabling rapid beam steering and multi-site stimulation, and MR acoustic radiation force imaging (MR‑ARFI) for robust visualization of the acoustic focus. These tools have enabled reliable modulation of both cortical and deep nuclei and have revealed network-level mechanisms of action. Functional studies show that low-intensity FUS can selectively suppress thalamic responses to tactile and nociceptive input, disrupt thalamocortical information flow, and reconfigure distributed brain networks. Comprehensive safety assessments combining MR thermometry, acoustic pressure simulations, and histology demonstrate safe operating windows suitable for translation.
Together, these engineering and preclinical advances are driving MRI‑guided FUS toward clinical neuromodulation studies, including early applications in essential tremor and post-stroke pain. By integrating imaging, modeling, and therapeutic ultrasound, this work lays the groundwork for precise, noninvasive brain stimulation approaches that extend the reach of both neuroscience and medicine.
Bio:
Charles F. Caskey, Ph.D. is a Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he leads the Laboratory for Acoustic Therapy and Imaging at the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science. He has worked in ultrasound research since 2004 and completed his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Davis, studying the biophysical mechanisms of microbubble‑enhanced drug delivery under Dr. Katherine Ferrara. His subsequent work advanced MR‑guided focused ultrasound neuromodulation technologies, and in 2018 he received the Fred Lizzi Early Career Award from the International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound.
Dr. Caskey’s laboratory develops ultrasound technologies for neuromodulation, drug delivery, and functional imaging, integrating ultrasound with MRI, electrophysiology, and molecular imaging. He leads multiple projects aimed at first‑in‑human neuromodulation systems, mechanistic foundations of focused ultrasound stimulation, and next‑generation transcranial therapeutic strategies. His work emphasizes advancing ultrasound technologies toward clinical translation, along with precision targeting, and multimodal approaches to noninvasive modulation of brain circuits, supported by extensive interdisciplinary collaborations within and beyond Vanderbilt.