Top Researchers
Top Neuroscience Researchers at University of Colorado Denver for 2026
Research at the University of Colorado Denver spans a wide range of neuroscience topics, from hearing and sensory function to epilepsy, addiction, and child health. Looking across the last year of work in the field, a clear picture emerges of a community connecting basic mechanisms with clinical questions that matter in everyday care.
Below, you’ll find a snapshot of researchers whose recent output reflects that mix of laboratory insight, patient-centered studies, and practical innovation. Together, their work shows how neuroscience at the University of Colorado Denver is being applied across hearing care, neurodevelopment, mental health, and neurological disease.
Featured Researchers
De Wet Swanepoel
De Wet Swanepoel’s recent University of Colorado Denver work centers on Cognitive Neuroscience, Sensory Systems, and Otorhinolaryngology, with publications on speech-in-noise testing, hearing aid access, and self-fitting devices.
Activity over the last year: 19 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Automatic development of speech-in-noise hearing tests using machine learning (Apr 2025)
- An overview of World Health Organization guidance aiming to increase global access to critical hearing aid services (Apr 2025)
- Gain Analysis of Self-Fitting Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids: A Comparative and Longitudinal Analysis (Feb 2025)
Vinaya Manchaiah
Vinaya Manchaiah’s recent output connects Cognitive Neuroscience, Sensory Systems, and Neurology, especially through studies on self-fitting over-the-counter hearing aids and community health worker-facilitated hearing aid provision.
Activity over the last year: 16 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Gain Analysis of Self-Fitting Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids: A Comparative and Longitudinal Analysis (Feb 2025)
- Usability and Performance of Self-Fitting Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids (Jan 2025)
- Feasibility, efficacy and effectiveness of community health worker-facilitated hearing aid provision: a systematic review (Nov 2025)
Tim A. Benke
Tim A. Benke’s recent work at the University of Colorado Denver links Genetics and Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, with studies on ketamine in Rett syndrome, MECP2-related diagnosis, and NMDA receptor potentiation.
Activity over the last year: 7 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- A randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial of ketamine in Rett syndrome (Jan 2025)
- Medical Biases and Misconceptions Impact Diagnoses in Males With Loss of Function MECP2 Variants (Jun 2025)
- Selective enhancement of the interneuron network and gamma‐band power via GluN2C/GluN2D NMDA receptor potentiation (Jun 2025)
Jacob Pellinen
Jacob Pellinen’s recent publications span Psychiatry and Mental health, Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health, and Cognitive Neuroscience, including work on focal epilepsy diagnosis, responsive neurostimulation, and the epilepsy drug pipeline.
Activity over the last year: 6 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Cognitive function at the time of focal epilepsy diagnosis is not associated with treatment resistance (Feb 2025)
- Electrographic seizures on responsive neurostimulation: An early and objective measure of response to cenobamate (Aug 2025)
- The Epilepsy Drug Pipeline: Update on Near-to-Market Therapies (Apr 2025)
Caitlin Frisby
Caitlin Frisby’s recent University of Colorado Denver publications focus on Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental and Educational Psychology, and Sensory Systems, with attention to hearing aid access and stigma in low- and middle-income settings.
Activity over the last year: 4 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Feasibility, efficacy and effectiveness of community health worker-facilitated hearing aid provision: a systematic review (Nov 2025)
- Hearing loss configurations in low- and middle-income countries (Mar 2025)
- Hearing loss and hearing aid stigma in low- and middle-income settings: a scoping review (Aug 2025)
Sunah S. Hwang
Sunah S. Hwang’s recent work emphasizes Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health, Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine, and Endocrine and Autonomic Systems, including studies of the Eat, Sleep, Console approach and safe sleep practices in the NICU.
Activity over the last year: 3 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Eat, Sleep, Console Approach: Effectiveness, Outcomes, and Future Considerations (Apr 2025)
- Barriers and facilitators to modeling safe sleep practices in the NICU: A qualitative study of nursing & parent perspectives (Dec 2025)
- The Need to Continue to Invest in Public Health Surveillance Systems to Reduce Infant Mortality (Sep 2025)
Kelly G. Knupp
Kelly G. Knupp’s recent publications bridge Psychiatry and Mental health, Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health, and Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, with work on fenfluramine for seizures in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and cognitive function in focal epilepsy.
Activity over the last year: 4 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Final analysis from an open-label extension study of fenfluramine for the treatment of seizures in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome: long-term impact on patients and caregivers (Oct 2025)
- Cognitive function at the time of focal epilepsy diagnosis is not associated with treatment resistance (Feb 2025)
- Safety and Effectiveness of Fenfluramine for the Treatment of Seizures in Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome: Results from the Final Analysis of an Open-Label Extension Study (Sep 2025)
Joseph P. Schacht
Joseph P. Schacht’s recent work spans Epidemiology, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, and Pathology and Forensic Medicine, including studies of cue craving biomarkers, alcohol use disorder medication development, and inhibitory processing.
Activity over the last year: 4 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Electrophysiology and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Cue Craving: Potential Biomarkers for Therapeutic Neuromodulation in Addiction (Oct 2025)
- The alcohol cue‐exposure paradigm as a screening tool for alcohol use disorder medication development: A critical review (Sep 2025)
- Effects of COMT Suppression in a Randomized Trial on the Neural Correlates of Inhibitory Processing Among People With Alcohol Use Disorder (Jun 2025)
What University of Colorado Denver's Neuroscience Community Is Working On
The most common subfields in this group are Cognitive Neuroscience, Sensory Systems, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health, and Psychiatry and Mental health, suggesting an active mix of research on how the brain processes sensation, how neural circuits and genes shape disease, and how neurological conditions are understood across the lifespan. At the University of Colorado Denver, that combination appears to support both mechanistic neuroscience and work aimed at improving diagnosis, treatment, and access to care.- Cognitive Neuroscience - seen across 5 of the featured researchers
- Sensory Systems - seen across 3 of the featured researchers
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience - seen across 3 of the featured researchers
- Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health - seen across 3 of the featured researchers
- Psychiatry and Mental health - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
These recent projects show a neuroscience community moving between mechanism, measurement, and care delivery. If you want to track similar activity at your own institution, Resub can help with citation discovery, manuscript formatting, and submission preparation for the workflows that come next.
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