Diana Escalona-Vargas Institution Verified

Research Interests

I specialize in biomedical signal processing and advanced neuroimaging, with a focus on developing and applying novel computational approaches to electrophysiological signals recorded from large-scale sensor arrays. My expertise spans noninvasive brain imaging techniques including magnetoencephalography (MEG), electroencephalography (EEG), intracranial and high-density EEG, and fetal MEG (fMEG). My training includes research internships at the Dynamic Neuroimaging Laboratory at McGill University and the SARA/Fetal MEG Research Center at UAMS, both internationally recognized for their contributions to neuroimaging and biomedical signal analysis. Currently, I serve as Technical Director of the MEG Laboratory at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH), where I lead clinical and translational MEG studies for pediatric epilepsy and brain tumor. I also direct the hospital’s Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) program, expanding noninvasive functional mapping techniques to improve surgical planning in pediatric epilepsy. I maintain active research collaborations with the UAMS fMEG Laboratory to investigate maternal–fetal physiology to study how clinical drug exposure affects fetal brain development and the use of emerging optically pumped magnetometer (OPM) systems for fetal magnetocardiography (fMCG). In parallel, I collaborate on adult EEG studies using intracranial and high-density EEG to investigate epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. My broader research interests include multimodal neuroimaging of cognitive development and brain function across the lifespan, with a strong emphasis on translational applications. I am particularly focused on optimizing pre-surgical mapping of language and memory networks in children with epilepsy to improve post-surgical outcomes. A parallel research track investigates how environmental and psychosocial factors—such as obesity, stress, emotional regulation, and functional seizures—impact brain function in pediatric populations.

Grants & Funding

• GR039097-Escalona-Vargas-ACHRI-Pediatric Language and Memory Mapping in Refractory Epilsy using Magnetoencepahlography UAMS ACHRI Flow Through Principal Investigator
• Magnetomyography of levator muscle complex in pregnancy and postpartum: Adaptation, injury, and recovery patterns NIH Co-Investigator
• Neuroimaging of food-related impulse control and stressors in childhood obesity NIGMS/NIH, Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention, PRL Principal Investigator
• Buprenorphine on fetal brain development UAMS Medical Research Endowment (MRE) Principal Investigator
• Development of Analysis Tools to Enhance Magnetomyographic Assessment of Pelvic Floor Muscles NIH/Nat. Inst. of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering Co-Investigator
• Non-invasive prenatal assessment using optically pumped magnetometers NIH/National Institutes of Health Co-Investigator
• Non-invasive prenatal assessment using optically pumped magnetometers NIH Co-Investigator
• RII Track-2 FEC- Probing and Understanding the Brain: Micro and Macro Dynamics of Seizure and Memory Networks - Continuation - Continuation - Continuation National Science Foundation - Pass Through: Louisiana Tech University Co-Investigator

Frequent Collaborators

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