Meet One of Our Health Board Advisors Expert
Albert Fenoy, MD, EMBA
Bio:
Dr. Al Fenoy is a leading functional neurosurgeon at Northwell Health who's performed 900+ deep brain stimulation (DBS) procedures since 2009. He uses DBS to achieve 80% sustained response rates for treatment-resistant depression in his ongoing clinical trial. He is the principal investigator on two NIH grants advancing DBS research to better understand how the brain responds to such treatment, in both depression and tremor. He also is pioneering focused ultrasound therapy for tremor.
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Top Keynote Talk Topics:
The Future of Depression Care: What Weʼre Learning From 900+ DBS Surgeries A talk that breaks down how deep brain stimulation helps people with severe depression, what the newest NIH-funded research is showing, and how imaging helps predict who will benefit.
When Treatment Fails: New Hope for Patients With Tremor, Parkinsonʼs, and Depression A practical look at what happens when medications stop working and how DBS and focused ultrasound offer strong, lasting results — with real data and clear explanations for clinicians and leaders.
Why Advanced Brain Treatments Are Underused — And How We Can Fix It A keynote for health systems, policymakers, and investors about the barriers that keep patients from life-changing treatments, how much this costs the system, and what solutions can improve access.
Building Better Brain Implants: What Doctors, Industry, and Patients Really Need Based on Dr. Fenoyʼs experience working with medical device companies and inventing new tools. Covers what makes technology adoptable, what the field is missing, and how to design devices people will actually use.
Using Brain Imaging to Guide Care: How fMRI and DTI Are Changing Neurosurgery A simple explanation of how imaging shows brain networks changing over time — and how this helps predict outcomes, improve device placement, and personalize care for movement and mood disorders.
Functional Neurosurgery
Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)
Treatment-Resistant Depression
Parkinson's Disease
Essential Tremor
Medical Device Innovation
Brain Imaging (fMRI/DTI)
NIH Research
Top Interview Questions:
You've done more than 900 deep-brain stimulation surgeries. What has that taught you about who truly benefits from DBS for tremor, Parkinson's, or depression?
Your NIH-funded research tracks how the brain changes after DBS. What big findings are you seeing, and how might this improve care for people who haven't responded to other treatments?
As someone leading a new clinical trial at Northwell, what are you hoping this study will prove, and what could it mean for the future of depression care?
For patients with severe depression who have tried everything, how do you explain DBS in simple terms and what results have you seen so far?
You often say advanced brain treatments are underused. What are the biggest barriers keeping patients from getting the help they need, and how can health systems fix this?
You work closely with medical device companies to improve implant technology. What do you think industry still gets wrong, and what makes a device easy for doctors and patients to adopt?
What do you think needs to change in the mental health system so more people who need DBS or advanced care can access it?
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