Robert Richardson, MD, PhD
Robert Richardson, MD, PhD
Director, Functional Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery Faculty, Harvard Medical School
Visiting Associate Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
About Robert Richardson, MD, PhD
Dr. Richardson completed the MD-PhD program at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical College of Virginia and neurosurgical residency at the University of California, San Francisco. His clinical expertise includes both awake and asleep DBS for movement disorders, psychiatric indications, and epilepsy, awake brain mapping, robotic-assisted surgery for both stereo-EEG and DBS implantation, and Responsive Neurostimulation for epilepsy. Prior to joining Mass General, Dr. Richardson was Director of the Epilepsy and Movement Disorders Surgery Program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). There, he established one of the world's leading intraoperative-MRI functional neurosurgery programs, encompassing DBS for movement disorders, gene therapy clinical trials for Parkinson’s disease, and laser thermal ablation for epilepsy, work which now continues at MGH.
Dr. Richardson is recognized internationally for his work, having published numerous related papers and book chapters, and frequently speaking at national and international meetings. He is a member of the Executive Board of the American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery.
Dr. Richardson also is a neuroscientist who founded the Brain Modulation Lab, which conducts human systems neuroscience research using intracranial recording and stimulation.
Clinical Interests:
- Epilepsy
- Deep brain stimulation
- Movement disorders
- Functional neurosurgery
- Neurosurgery
Treats:
- Adult & Pediatrics
Locations
Neurosurgery, MGH
55 Fruit Street
Boston, MA 02114-2696
617-726-8849
Medical Education
- MD, PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
- Residency, UC San Francisco
American Board Certifications
- Neurological Surgery, American Board of Neurological Surgery
Accepted Insurance Plans
- Aetna Health Inc.
- AllWays Health (NHP) - ACD
- AllWays Health (NHP) - PBO
- Beech Street
- Blue Cross Blue Shield - Blue Care 65
- Blue Cross Blue Shield - Indemnity
- Blue Cross Blue Shield - Managed Care
- Blue Cross Blue Shield - Partners Plus
- BMC HealthNet Mass Health MCO/ACO
- Cigna (PAL #'s)
- Commonwealth Care Alliance
- Fallon Community HealthCare
- Great-West Healthcare (formally One Health Plan)
- Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan - ACD
- Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan - PBO
- Health Care Value Management (HCVM)
- Humana/Choice Care PPO
- Maine Community Health Options (MCHO)
- MassHealth
- Medicare
- Medicare - ACD
- OSW - Connecticut
- OSW - New Hampshire
- OSW - Rhode Island
- Private Health Care Systems (PHCS)
- Senior Whole Health
- TriCare
- Tufts Health Plan
- Unicare
- United Healthcare (non-HMO) - ACD
- United Healthcare (non-HMO) - PBO
- Well Sense Pediatrics
Note: This provider may accept more insurance plans than shown; please call the practice to find out if your plan is accepted.
Research
Dr. Richardson, who is also Visiting Associate Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, directs the Brain Modulation Lab, a human systems neuroscience lab studying brain electrophysiology and cognition in patients undergoing surgery for epilepsy, movement disorders, and psychiatric diseases. The overall goal of this work is to facilitate the development and optimization of electrical and biological brain modulation therapies, by filling critical gaps in our understanding of human brain function. The lab has received NIH BRAIN Initiative funding to study brain networks involved in speech production and to develop computational methods for closed-loop brain stimulation. Unique contributions of the Brain Modulation Lab include the first studies describing simultaneous cortical and subcortical recordings during speech, and the first study describing biomarkers of therapeutic responsive neurostimulation for epilepsy.