Göttingen Graduate Center for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences

Focke, Niels, Prof., MD

Professor for Epileptology


  • 1998 – 2005: Student of human medicine, University of Göttingen, Germany
  • 2005: Licence to practice human medicine (Approbation)
  • 2005: Dr. med. / MD, University of Göttingen, Germany
  • 2005 – 2011: Neurological Training, University of Göttingen, Germany, Depts. of Clinical Neurophysiology, Neurology, Neuroradiology and Psychiatry
  • 2007: Clinical and Research Fellow, Institute of Neurology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, Queen Square, London, UK
  • 2011: Board certification for Neurology
  • 2012 – 2017: Consultant for Neurology, University of Tübingen, Germany, Dept. of Neurology and Epileptology
  • 2014: Venia legend (“Habiliation”), University of Tübingen, Germany
  • 2014 – today: Group Leader (“Translational Imaging”) and Hertie Faculty Member, University of Tübingen
  • 2017 – today: Professor for Epileptology, University of Göttingen, Clinical Neurophysiology



Major Research Interests

MRI (structural and functional), high-density EEG

The focus of our research group is the structural and functional imaging of neurological diseases with a particular focus on epileptology. We use multimodal imaging techniques to improve the understanding of disease development and translate it into clinically relevant applications. We aim at early diagnoses, automated lesion detection and developing imaging-based biomarkers for the clinical routine. For this, we use several computer-based techniques such as voxel-based morphometry, machine learning and networks analysis based on MRI, HD-EEG/MEG and PET.

In epileptology, we are interested in analyzing the structural and functional changes responsible for seizures (the "epileptogenic zone"). An important method for this is post-processing of structural MRI data using statistical techniques. This allows very small, previously overlooked lesions to be discovered. We also use diffusion imaging to investigate the link between epilepsy and seizures on the structural networks. For the analysis of functional networks, we use a very wide range of methods, including fMRI (BOLD), HD-EEG/MEG and PET. The different spatial and temporal resolution of these techniques allows unique insights into the very dynamic neuronal processes in humans in vivo.


Homepage Department/Research Group

http://www.neurologie.uni-goettingen.de/epilepsie-und-bildgebungsforschung.html


Selected Recent Publications


  • Martin P, Winston GP, Bartlett P, de Tisi J, Duncan JS, Focke NK. Voxel-based magnetic resonance image postprocessing in epilepsy. (Epilepsia 2017;58:1653-1664)
  • Elshahabi A, Klamer S, Sahib AK, Lerche H, Braun C, Focke NK. Magnetoencephalography Reveals a Widespread Increase in Network Connectivity in Idiopathic/Genetic Generalized Epilepsy (PloS one 2015; 10(9):e0138119)
  • Klamer S, Rona S, Elshahabi A, Lerche H, Braun C, Honegger J, Erb M, Focke NK. Multimodal effective connectivity analysis reveals seizure focus and propagation in musicogenic epilepsy (Neuroimage 2015; 113:70-7)
  • Focke NK, Diederich C, Helms G, Nitsche MA, Lerche H, Paulus W. Idiopathic-generalized epilepsy shows profound white matter diffusion-tensor imaging alterations (Human Brain Mapping, 2014;35(7):3332-42)
  • Focke NK, Yogarajah M, Symms MR, Gruber O, Paulus W, Duncan JS. Automated MR image classification in temporal lobe epilepsy. (Neuroimage, 2012; 59(1):356-362)
  • Yogarajah M, Focke NK, Bonelli SB, Thompson P, Vollmar C, McEvoy AW, Alexander DC, Symms MR, Koepp MJ, Duncan JS. The structural plasticity of white matter networks following anterior temporal lobe resection. (Brain, 2010; 133(8):2348-64)
  • Focke NK, Bonelli SB, Yogarajah M, Scott C, Symms MR, Duncan JS. Automated normalized FLAIR imaging in MRI-negative patients with refractory focal epilepsy (Epilepsia, 2009; 50(6):1484-90)
  • Focke NK, Yogarajah M, Bonelli SB, Bartlett PA, Symms MR, Duncan JS. Voxel-based Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Patients with Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and Hippocampal Sclerosis (Neuroimage, 2008; 40(2):728-37)