ABOUT US

​Non-invasive neurostimulation is revolutionizing the treatment of depression. At the Carolina Center for Neurostimulation, we are at the forefront of these innovative developments and are offering participation in clinical trials for the treatment of depression and anxiety. Contact us to learn more and see if you are eligible to participate in one of our trials. 

The Carolina Center for Neurostimulation was founded in 2017 in the UNC Department of Psychiatry with the vision of meeting the growing needs of patients and researchers interested in neurostimulation treatment paradigms. Since its inception, the center has become a hub for patients interested in trying experimental treatments for their depression and contributing to the discovery of novel treatments across mental health diagnoses. The Carolina Center for Neurostimulation also has a number of trials aimed at answering questions regarding the function and signature of typical electrical activity in the brain. The leadership at the Carolina Center for Neurostimulation is uniquely positioned to pursue answers to these scientific questions and push the bounds of network neuroscience research and treatment.

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Flavio Frohlich, PhD - Founder & Director

The Carolina Center for Neurostimulation was founded in 2017 by Dr. Flavio Frohlich and is an entity of the UNC Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Frohlich received an International Diploma in electrical engineering from Imperial College in London, a Masters in Electrical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, and a PhD in computational neurobiology from San Diego State University. After completing his postdoctoral work at Yale, where he made the breakthrough discovery that the electric fields generated by the brain represent an active neuronal communication mode, he came to the University of North Carolina. He is currently a tenured professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, Cell Biology and Physiology and holds adjunct appointments Biomedical Engineering and Neurology, as well as positions at North Carolina State University and the University of Bern in Switzerland. Under the leadership of Dr. Frohlich, the Carolina Center for Neurostimulation was brought to life as a place for researchers, patients, students and clinicians to push the boundaries of network neuroscience and explore the mysteries of neural network dynamics.

Tobias Schwippel, MD - Director of Clinical Trials

Following his service in the German Air Force, Dr. Schwippel attended medical school at the University of Tubingen in Germany. During medical school, he became a research group member in the Division of Deep Brain Stimulation at the Neurosurgery Department, Tubingen, and investigated the impact of invasive and non-invasive brain stimulation on cognitive functions. After clinical rotations at Brown University and in Vienna, Austria, Dr. Schwippel graduated medical school and began his residency at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University of Tubingen. At Tubingen, he treated a wide range of patient populations including geriatric, addiction, psychosis and emergency patients, as well as specializing in neurovascular disorders. In addition to his clinical practice, he also worked as a clinician scientist conducting non-invasive brain stimulation studies in depression, addiction and schizophrenia. He was awarded the World Psychiatry Association Early Career Psychiatrists Fellowship in 2019 and the Innovative Young Investigator in Brain Stimulation Award in 2023. After board-certification as a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Dr. Schwippel joined the Carolina Center for Neurostimulation serving as Director of Clinical Research and conducts clinical trials investigating non-invasive brain stimulation to improve mental health and investigate neurophysiological correlates of depressive symptoms and how different mental disorders influence information processing.

Zachary Feldman, MD - Senior Research Clinician

Dr. Zachary Feldman is a board-certified psychiatrist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina. He is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and past-president of the North Carolina Psychiatric Association. Dr. Feldman graduated from the University of Virginia in biology before attending medical school at Duke University. He then completed residency in General Psychiatry and fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UNC. Dr. Feldman practiced psychiatry in private practice and community settings for 11 years before returning to UNC to join the faculty in 2021. He aims to utilize his experience in clinical psychiatry to help direct the study of novel treatments through his work with the Carolina Center for Neurostimulation.