# Orrin Devinsky > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Orrin_Devinsky > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Orrin_Devinsky.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrin_Devinsky > Source revision: 1352057739 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Orrin Devinsky** (born February 12, 1957) is an American neurologist who is the Director of the [NYU](/source/New_York_University) [Comprehensive Epilepsy Center](/source/Comprehensive_Epilepsy_Center) and the Saint Barnabas Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery (INN). He is also a professor of [Neurology](/source/Neurology), [Neurosurgery](/source/Neurosurgery), and [Psychiatry](/source/Psychiatry) at NYU Langone School of Medicine. Devinsky specializes in [epilepsy](/source/Epilepsy) and [behavioral neurology](/source/Behavioral_neurology). ## Education and academic career Devinsky graduated from [Columbia High School](/source/Columbia_High_School_(New_Jersey)) in [Maplewood, New Jersey](/source/Maplewood,_New_Jersey) in 1974 and was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 1995.[1] Devinsky was mentored by [Norman Geschwind](/source/Norman_Geschwind), who stimulated his interest in both epilepsy and behavioral neurology. He received his B.S. and M.S. from [Yale University](/source/Yale_University) (1977) and his M.D. from [Harvard Medical School](/source/Harvard_Medical_School) (1982). He interned at [Boston](/source/Boston)'s [Beth Israel Hospital](/source/Beth_Israel_Deaconess_Medical_Center), completed neurology training at the [New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center](/source/New_York_Hospital-Cornell_Medical_Center), and his epilepsy fellowship at the [National Institutes of Health](/source/National_Institutes_of_Health) (NIH). Devinsky arrived at [Saint Barnabas Medical Center](/source/Saint_Barnabas_Medical_Center) in 1998. In 2009, Saint Barnabas’ Neurology and Neurosurgery Program became the first in [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey) to make U.S. News & World Report top 50 in the nation list. Devinsky directs [The Comprehensive Epilepsy Center](http://www.med.nyu.edu/cec/) (CEC) at [New York University Langone Medical Center](http://www.med.nyu.edu/). The CEC has 16 inpatient video-EEG-monitored beds in a specialized Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. Each bed has the capacity for 64 channels of [EEG](/source/EEG) data with on-line computer analysis for 24-hour [seizure](/source/Seizure) and spike detection. He has chaired several committees of the American Epilepsy Society and has served as a board member. He is active in the [American Academy of Neurology](/source/American_Academy_of_Neurology) and the [Epilepsy Foundation](/source/Epilepsy_Foundation). He is an associate editor of Epilepsy & Behavior and co-founded Reviews in Neurological Disorders, and serves as a reviewer for more than 30 journals. Devinsky founded [Finding A Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures](http://faces.med.nyu.edu/) (FACES) and co-founded [epilepsy.com](http://epilepsy.com). He co-founded the [Epilepsy Therapy Project](http://www.epilepsy.com/etp/about_etp), where he serves as the Vice President for Translational programs. Devinsky has appeared on many [television news](/source/Television_news) programs, including [NBC Nightly News](/source/NBC_Nightly_News), [Today Show](/source/Today_(NBC_program)), and [Good Morning America](/source/Good_Morning_America), and he has been featured several times on [Mystery Diagnosis](/source/Mystery_Diagnosis). He was invited to the [White House](/source/White_House) to ask [President Obama](/source/Barack_Obama) a [question](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5VPCtxh7ow) about Health Care.[2] In 2017, Devinsky became the chairman[3] of [Tilray's](/source/Tilray) Medical Advisory Board. ## Research Devinsky's epilepsy research interests include translational therapies, [sudden unexpected death in epilepsy](/source/Sudden_unexpected_death_in_epilepsy) (SUDEP), devices to deliver [drugs](/source/Drug) directly to the [brain](/source/Brain), [quality of life](/source/Quality_of_life), cognitive and behavioral issues in epilepsy, surgical therapy, and new [medications](/source/Medication). Other areas of active interest include [autism](/source/Autism), [tuberous sclerosis](/source/Tuberous_sclerosis), and [head trauma](/source/Head_trauma). Devinsky serves as the director of the Phenome Core for the [Epilepsy Phenome/Genome Project](/source/Epilepsy_Phenome/Genome_Project), funded by an NIH multi-institutional grant. Devinsky and his co-investigators are conducting studies of several investigational [antiepileptic](/source/Antiepileptic) medications such as [topiramate](/source/Topiramate), [tiagabine](/source/Tiagabine), [lamotrigine](/source/Lamotrigine), [vigabatrin](/source/Vigabatrin), [oxcarbazepine](/source/Oxcarbazepine), and [remacemide](/source/Remacemide), as well as [vagal nerve stimulator](/source/Vagus_nerve_stimulation) implantation. He is also collaborating with other researchers to develop a device to deliver antiepileptic drugs directly to the brain to treat seizures. He was involved in pivotal drug studies for [felbamate](/source/Felbamate), oxcarbazepine, [intravenous](/source/Intravenous_therapy) [valproate](/source/Valproate) and other drugs. He was the lead investigator of the Quality of Life in Epilepsy group that developed the four inventories that were translated into many languages and used in over 150 academic studies.[4] ## Publications ### Articles Devinsky has published more than 350 [articles](http://www.med.nyu.edu/biosketch/od4) and book chapters. ### Books Devinsky has authored more than 20 books and monographs. Alternative Therapies for Epilepsy (Orrin Devinsky, Steven C. Schachter, Steven V. Pacia) 2012 Epilepsy (Orrin Devinsky) 2007 Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Epilepsy (Orrin Devinsky, Steven C. Schachter, and Steven V. Pacia) 2005 Managing Epilepsy and Co-Existing Disorders, i.e. (Alan B. Ettinger and Orrin Devinsky) 2001 Epilepsy and Developmental Disabilities, 1e (Orrin Devinsky and Lauren Westbrook) 2001 Examination of the Cranial and Peripheral Nerves, i.e. (Orrin Devinsky and Edward Feldman) 1987 Neurological Complications of Pregnancy (Advances in Neurology) (Orrin Devinsky, Edward Feldmann, and Brian Hainline) 1994 ## References 1. [Hall of Fame](https://www.somsd.k12.nj.us/Page/448) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20181118212026/https://www.somsd.k12.nj.us/Page/448) 2018-11-18 at the Wayback Machine, Columbia High School. Accessed November 12, 2018. 1. Jake Tapper & Karen Travers. ["President Obama Defends Right to Choose Best Care"](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/HealthCare/story?id=7919991&page=1). ABC News. 1. ["Tilray Announces Medical Advisory Board"](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170605005403/en/Tilray-Announces-Medical-Advisory-Board). *www.businesswire.com*. 2017-06-05. Retrieved 2019-07-26. 1. ["Orrin Devinsky, M.D."](http://www.med.nyu.edu/biosketch/od4). NYU Langone Medical Center. Retrieved 26 October 2013. ## External links ### Lectures - [FACES 2008 Epilepsy Conference](http://faces.med.nyu.edu/education/conferences/2008-epilepsy-conference-0) - [Orrin Devinsky, Part I: Limbic Lessons from Epilepsy - Neuropsychoanalysis Lecture Series](http://www.viddler.com/explore/npsa/videos/13/) - [Orrin Devinsky, Part 2: Limbic Lessons from Epilepsy - Neuropsychoanalysis Lecture Series](http://www.viddler.com/explore/npsa/videos/14/) ### Websites - [NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center](http://www.med.nyu.edu/cec/) - [NYU Finding a Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures (FACES)](http://faces.med.nyu.edu/) - [Epilepsy.com](http://www.epilepsy.com/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Orrin Devinsky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrin_Devinsky) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrin_Devinsky?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.