Krucoff Laboratory

Location

Marquette University
160F Cramer Hall
604 N. 16th St.
Milwaukee, WI 53233

General Interests

-Neuroplasticity induction
-Electrophysiological biomarkers of brain plasticity
-Neurophysiology of motor systems
-Brain control of hand movement
-Neural interfaces to improve function in central nervous system injury
-Neurorehabilitation

View Max Krucoff, MD Bio

About the PI

Dr. Krucoff is a neurosurgeon-scientist on faculty in the Departments of Neurosurgery and Biomedical Engineering at the 皇家华人 and Marquette University. He received his Bachelor of Science (BS) in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University (NU) in Evanston, IL, and his Doctor of Medicine (MD) from George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, DC. Dr. Krucoff completed his neurosurgical residency at Duke University in Durham NC, where he received extensive training in brain tumor surgery from some of the biggest names in the field. Additionally, Dr. Krucoff underwent a year of specialized training in functional and epilepsy surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he learned about the latest implantable bidirectional neural interfaces and brain mapping techniques. Dr. Krucoff's excellent surgical technique and bedside manner have been recognized by his mentors and peers, earning him the prestigious Surgical Excellence Award as a chief resident and election into the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) medical honor society as a medical student. As a neurosurgeon, Dr. Krucoff specializes in brain tumor operations that preserve critical neurological functions when they are at risk, like language and movement. He integrates the latest technological advancements with microscopic surgical technique to get the best outcomes for his patients, and his lab is set up to continue advancing what is possible when interacting with the human brain.

Dr. Krucoff’s post-graduate research career began at Northwestern University (NU) in Lee Miller, PhD’s lab where he served as a research technician learning about the dynamics of the primate motor cortex during limb movement. In medical school, Dr. Krucoff was one of 20 medical students nationwide awarded the 2010 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Medical Student Research Scholarship to return to NU and work with Marc Slutzky, MD, PhD, on decoding hand movement from the human motor cortex with electrocorticography (ECoG). Later, while at Duke, Dr. Krucoff worked as a postdoctoral research associate in the lab of Miguel Nicolelis, MD, PhD, which included receiving an R25 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to neural interfaces in non-human primates.

Dr. Krucoff's scientific pursuits have earned him widespread recognition, including election into the Robert J. Lefkowitz Society for physician-scientists at Duke University and the Tau Beta Pi (TBP) engineering honor society at Northwestern University, amongst others.

Dr. Krucoff currently lives in Wisconsin with his wife, Kate, and three daughters, Josephine, Maya, and Isabelle. When he’s not at work or with his family, you can probably find him in his music studio playing the drums.

Read and watch more about Dr. Krucoff here:
MCW Neurosurgeon-Scientist Seeks to Unlock the Mysteries of the Brain Through Research with Tumors

Joining the Lab

Members of the Krucoff lab have unique opportunities to partner with consenting neurosurgical patients to learn more about how motor systems organize and reorganize in response to brain tumor growth, removal, and direct electrical stimulation. We partner with clinicians and scientists throughout the world in collaborative efforts to learn more about the physiology of human motor systems, and to improve outcomes for patients with central nervous system injuries by expanding what is possible.

Collaborating Labs

, Marquette University. PI: Brian Schmit, PhD
, UCLA. PI: Nanthia Suthana, PhD
, Northwestern University. PI: Marc Slutzky, MD, PhD
, Indiana University. PI: Amol Yadav, PhD
, Moscow, Russia. PI: Mikhail Lebedev, PhD

Current Projects

all

Restructuring and Retraining the Motor Cortex When Brain Tumors Invade

We are examining ways to induce functional plasticity of the brain’s motor cortex in patients who have tumors invading these areas. We hope this will one day enable us to perform complete resections of such lesions without causing permanent functional deficits. We have teamed up with the company NeuroPace to help us develop this technique.

Searching for Electrophysiological Biomarkers of Brain Plasticity

When the function of critical nodes of the brain move or change, what does that look like electrophysiologically? Can we decode movements from already fully implanted neural interfaces? We are recording electrographic signals from the brain before and after neuroplastic events to examine this phenomenon.

Examining the Effects of Direct Cortical Stimulation Parameters on Hand Strength and Function

We are testing the effects of modulating stimulation parameters and locations on the performance of hand strength and function in patients undergoing awake neurosurgical procedures or with electrodes already implanted so that we can learn how best to induce beneficial neuroplasticity of the motor cortex.

Rehabilitating Chronic Spinal Cord Injury Using Spinal Cord Stimulation

We are conducting a trial of spinal cord stimulation in patients with chronic spinal cord injury to see if it can improve baseline daily function and participation in rehabilitation.

Current Members

Timothy Boerger, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Neurosurgery

Nada Botros

Medical Student

Brian Conway

Medical Student

Sarah Cornell

Research Coordinator

Kaitlin Goetschel

Clinical Research Coordinator II

Edward Harwick

Medical Student

Bryce Laurin

Medical Student

Leon Taquet

Engineer II

Krish Vasudev

High School Student

Krucoff Lab Image Gallery

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(Laurin BJ, Treffy R, Connelly JM, Straza M, Mueller WM, Krucoff MO.) World Neurosurg. 2024 Nov 02 PMID: 39419169 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85208505671 10/18/2024
(Aaronson DM, Laing B, Singhal I, Boerger TF, Beck RT, Mueller WM, Krucoff MO.) J Neurooncol. 2024 Nov;170(2):419-428 PMID: 39316313 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85204800093 09/24/2024
(Bobholz SA, Lowman AK, Connelly JM, Duenweg SR, Winiarz A, Nath B, Kyereme F, Brehler M, Bukowy J, Coss D, Lupo JM, Phillips JJ, Ellingson BM, Krucoff MO, Mueller WM, Banerjee A, LaViolette PS.) Neurosurgery. 2024 Sep 01;95(3):537-547 PMID: 38501824 PMCID: PMC11302944 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85201436914 03/19/2024
(DeGroot AL, Morris E, Hussain O, Smullen D, Ivanovic V, Krucoff M.) Radiol Case Rep. 2024 Aug;19(8):3376-3381 PMID: 38841601 PMCID: PMC11152923 06/06/2024
(Bobholz SA, Hoefs A, Hamburger J, Lowman AK, Winiarz A, Duenweg SR, Kyereme F, Connelly J, Coss D, Krucoff M, Banerjee A, LaViolette PS.) J Neurooncol. 2024 Apr;167(2):233-241 PMID: 38372901 PMCID: PMC11024025 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85185314152 02/19/2024
(Laing BR, Prah MA, Best BJ, Krucoff MO, Mueller WM, Schmainda KM.) Neurosurg Pract. 2024 Mar;5(1) PMID: 38919518 PMCID: PMC11198967 06/26/2024
(Boerger TF, DeGroot AL, Schwartz S, Botros N, Schmit BD, Krucoff MO.) Neurosurgery Practice. 11 July 2024;5(3) SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85205512729 07/11/2024
(Botros NE, Polinger-Hyman D, Beck RT, Kleefisch C, Mrachek EKS, Connelly J, Schmainda KM, Krucoff MO.) J Neurosurg Case Lessons. 2023 Dec 18;6(25) PMID: 38109728 PMCID: PMC10732321 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85185333375 12/18/2023
(Laurin BJ, Straza M, Noid G, Connelly JM, Mueller WM, Bovi J, Krucoff MO.) J Neurosurg Case Lessons. 2023 Oct 16;6(16) PMID: 37870754 PMCID: PMC10584084 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85174582314 10/23/2023
(Conway BJ, Taquet L, Boerger TF, Young SC, Krucoff KB, Schmit BD, Krucoff MO.) Sensors (Basel). 2023 Jun 26;23(13) PMID: 37447773 PMCID: PMC10346473 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85164844180 07/14/2023
(Popp N, Singhal I, Laing B, Krucoff KB, Krucoff MO.) Neurosurgery Practice. 4(4):e00052.. 12/01/2023
(Boerger TF, Pahapill P, Butts AM, Arocho-Quinones E, Raghavan M, Krucoff MO.) Front Hum Neurosci. 2023;17:1170419 PMID: 37520929 PMCID: PMC10372448 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85165910739 07/31/2023