We are excited to continue the ISTU On-Air webinar series in 2026. These webinars are designed to promote knowledge of Therapeutic Ultrasound and increase discussion among the ISTU community. The Education Committee, led by Tanya Khokhlova, Ph.D., is actively working on the programming for the webinar series.
The May webinar will feature W. Apoutou N'Djin, M. Eng., M.S., Ph.D. from LabTAU in Lyon, France, presenting:
"Single-Pulse MHz-Range Focused Ultrasound Neurostimulation"
The webinar will be held on Thursday, May 28 or Friday, May 29, 2026 at the following times depending upon your local time zone:
- 8:00 - 9:00 (West Coast, USA/Canada) Thursday, May 28
- 11:00 - Noon (East Coast, USA/Canada) Thursday, May 28
- 16:00 - 17:00 (UK) Thursday, May 28
- 17:00 - 18:00 (Continental Europe) Thursday, May 28
- 23:00 - Midnight (China) Thursday, May 28
- Midnight - 1:00 (Korea and Japan) Friday, May 29
This session will be moderated by Mark E. Schafer, Ph.D., from Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University.
Registration for this event is required. The Webinar Series will be recorded and available to members for later review. Confirmation of your registration and the Zoom Conference Link Info will be emailed to all registered attendees prior to the meeting.
W. Apoutou N’Djin received the M. Eng. degree in Instrumentation from the National Graduate School of Engineering & Research Center of Caen (Ensicaen, France) in 2004, the M.S. degree in Image & Signal Processing from the Centrale Graduate School of Lyon (ECL, France), in 2005, and the Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University Claude Bernard Lyon I (UCBL, University of Lyon, France), in 2008. From 2005 to 2008, he completed his PhD thesis at the LabTAU laboratory (Lyon, France) of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) and UCBL, on intraoperative USgHIFU therapies for focal thermal ablations of liver metastases. From 2009 to 2011, he joined the Imaging Research Laboratory of Sunnybrook (SRI, Toronto, Canada) and University of Toronto (U of T, Canada), as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow to study endocavitary/interstitial MRgHICU therapies for conformal thermal ablations of localized tumors in prostate and brain. In 2012, he returned to LabTAU as a Junior Researcher, and has worked there since 2013 as a Research Associate (PI). His research interests include focal/conformal image-guided HIFU/HICU therapies, novel MEMs-based CMUTs technologies, and the mechanisms/applications of FUS neurostimulation. Dr. N’Djin has been a member of the ISTU since 2011, the national SFGBM since 2015, the IEEE UFFC since 2016 and the ITRUSST consortium since 2021, among others. Since 2022, he has served as a Member of INSERM’s national Specialized Scientific Commission “Technologies for Health”. In 2019, he received the international Frederic LIZZI Early Career Award of the ISTU (ISTU/EUFUS symposium, Barcelona, Spain) and is currently an ISTU Board Member.
About the Moderator
Mark E. Schafer, Ph.D.
Director, Ultrasound Engineering for Neuromodulation
Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute
West Virginia University
Dr. Mark Schafer is the Director of Ultrasound Engineering for Neuromodulation at the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, where he’s developing new approaches to treating neurological conditions using transcranial ultrasound. He is an internationally recognized expert in multiple aspects of ultrasonic/acoustic technology, including transducers, systems, acoustic output, biological interactions, and standardization/regulatory affairs. He has over 35 years of experience as an entrepreneur, consultant, and executive in the field, with hands on development and program management experience that spans R&D through regulatory and commercialization. He is best known for his work and expertise in ultrasound measurement, dosimetry and standardization for diagnostic, surgical, therapeutic and shock wave ultrasound systems; he has published key works in those fields, and developed several international standards. He is a named inventor on over 40 patents. Dr. Schafer is a former president of the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society and the Ultrasound Industry Association, and has been elected to the Board of the IEEE. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, the Acoustical Society of America, the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, and the Ultrasound Industry Association. His career passion has always been the application of acoustic technology in service to patients.
2026 Webinar Schedule
- January 22 / 23, 2026: Arik Hananel, M.D., MBA, BsCs "FUS Mobile: The Road to Commercialization"
- February 19 / 20, 2026: Timothy J. Ziemlewicz, M.D. "Clinical Experience"
- March: PENDING RESCHEDULE: Gabriela Cantarero, Ph.D. "Risks and benefits of transcranial ultrasound neuromodulation from a regulatory standpoint"
- April 30 / May1: "Rising Scientists in Therapeutic Ultrasound" Special Session featuring topics related to "Technical Advances"
- May 28 / 29, 2026: W. Apoutou N'Djin, M. Eng., M.S., Ph.D. "Single-Pulse MHz-Range Focused Ultrasound Neurostimulation"
- September 17 / 18, 2026: John Eisenbrey, Ph.D. "Ultrasound-sensitive microbubbles for therapeutic applications"
- October 15 / 16, 2026: Keith Wear, M.S., Ph.D. "Hydrophone Measurement Methodology for Therapeutic Ultrasound"
- December 10 / 11, 2026: "Rising Scientists in Therapeutic Ultrasound" Special Session featuring topics related to "Emerging Applications and Bioeffects"
2025 Webinar Schedule
- January 15 / 16, 2025: Ying Meng, M.D., Ph.D. from Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto presenting: "Sonobiopsy: Using Focused Ultrasound to Aid in Diagnosis and Disease Monitoring"
- February 27 / 28, 2025: Maxime Lafond, Ph.D. from LabTAU, Inserm presenting: "Ultrasound Therapy in the Eye"
- March 20, 2025: James Choi, Ph.D. from Imperial College London presenting: "Microbubble Dynamics in Brain Microvessels — Insights into how ultrasound-driven microbubbles alter the blood-brain barrier permeability"
- April 17, 2025: "Rising Scientists in Therapeutic Ultrasound" Special Session
- May 15, 2025: Christy K. Holland, Ph.D. from University of Cincinnati presenting "Sonothrombolysis"
- September 25, 2025: Adam Maxwell, Ph.D. from Virginia Tech presenting: "Burst wave lithotripsy: The road from concept to clinical testing"
- October 16, 2025: Nobuki Kudo, Ph.D. from Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan presenting: "High-Speed Photography of Cavitation Bubbles: micro- and nanobubbles, and drop chain"
- December 11, 2025: "Rising Scientists in Therapeutic Ultrasound" Special Session