Rajani Sebastian
Post-Doctorate Research Fellow
Rajani is a Speech Language Pathologist who studies recovery from aphasia with particular interest in brain plasticity. She received her bachelor's degree in Speech and Hearing Science and master's degree in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Mysore, India. Her doctoral training took place at the University of Texas at Austin under the guidance of Dr. Swathi Kiran. Her Ph.D. work focused on examining the neural correlates of lexical-semantic processing in chronic stroke patients with aphasia using fMRI. She completed her clinical fellowship in Speech Language Pathology before joining Johns Hopkins University in the lab of Dr. Argye Hillis as a postdoctoral fellow in 2012.
The primary focus of her postdoctoral fellowship is to investigate the effects of cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation on language therapy in patients with chronic aphasia and to study neural plasticity related changes associated with aphasia therapy.
She is also involved in investigating the longitudinal neural changes associated with language recovery after a stroke using multimodal imaging techniques.
Recent Representative Publications:
1. Sebastian, R., Long, C., Purcell, J. J., Faria, A. V., Lindquist, M., Jarso, S., ... & Hillis, A. E. (2016). Imaging network level language recovery after left PCA stroke. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 34(4), 473-489.
2. Sebastian, R., Tsapkini, K., & Tippett, D. C. (2016). Transcranial direct current stimulation in post stroke aphasia and primary progressive aphasia: Current knowledge and future clinical applications. NeuroRehabilitation, 39(1), 141-152.
3. Kodumuri, N., Sebastian, R., Davis, C., Posner, J., Kim, E. H., Tippett, D. C., ... & Hillis, A. E. (2016). The association of insular stroke with lesion volume. NeuroImage: Clinical, 11, 41-45.
4. Sebastian, R., Schein, M. G., Davis, C., Gomez, Y., Newhart, M., Oishi, K., & Hillis, A. E. (2014). Aphasia or neglect after thalamic stroke: the various ways they may be related to cortical hypoperfusion. Frontiers in Neurology, 4, 231.
5. Sebastian, R., Gomez, Y., Leigh, R., Davis, C., Newhart, M., & Hillis, A. E. (2014). The roles of occipitotemporal cortex in reading, spelling, and naming. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 31(5-6), 511-528.
6. Faria, A. V., Sebastian, R., Newhart, M., & Hillis, A. E. (2014). Longitudinal imaging and deterioration in word comprehension in primary progressive aphasia: Potential clinical significance. Aphasiology, 28(8-9), 948-963.
The primary focus of her postdoctoral fellowship is to investigate the effects of cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation on language therapy in patients with chronic aphasia and to study neural plasticity related changes associated with aphasia therapy.
She is also involved in investigating the longitudinal neural changes associated with language recovery after a stroke using multimodal imaging techniques.
Recent Representative Publications:
1. Sebastian, R., Long, C., Purcell, J. J., Faria, A. V., Lindquist, M., Jarso, S., ... & Hillis, A. E. (2016). Imaging network level language recovery after left PCA stroke. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 34(4), 473-489.
2. Sebastian, R., Tsapkini, K., & Tippett, D. C. (2016). Transcranial direct current stimulation in post stroke aphasia and primary progressive aphasia: Current knowledge and future clinical applications. NeuroRehabilitation, 39(1), 141-152.
3. Kodumuri, N., Sebastian, R., Davis, C., Posner, J., Kim, E. H., Tippett, D. C., ... & Hillis, A. E. (2016). The association of insular stroke with lesion volume. NeuroImage: Clinical, 11, 41-45.
4. Sebastian, R., Schein, M. G., Davis, C., Gomez, Y., Newhart, M., Oishi, K., & Hillis, A. E. (2014). Aphasia or neglect after thalamic stroke: the various ways they may be related to cortical hypoperfusion. Frontiers in Neurology, 4, 231.
5. Sebastian, R., Gomez, Y., Leigh, R., Davis, C., Newhart, M., & Hillis, A. E. (2014). The roles of occipitotemporal cortex in reading, spelling, and naming. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 31(5-6), 511-528.
6. Faria, A. V., Sebastian, R., Newhart, M., & Hillis, A. E. (2014). Longitudinal imaging and deterioration in word comprehension in primary progressive aphasia: Potential clinical significance. Aphasiology, 28(8-9), 948-963.