David King-Stephens
Professor of Clinical Neurology, Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine
Chief, Epilepsy Division, Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine
Biography
David King-Stephens, M.D., FAES, is Professor of Clinical Neurology and Chief of the Epilepsy Division in the Department of Neurology at the University of California, Irvine. He received his M.D. from Escuela Mexicana de Medicina in Mexico City and completed his neurology residency at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, followed by an EEG/Epilepsy fellowship at Yale School of Medicine. Before joining UC Irvine in 2024, King-Stephens held faculty positions at Yale School of Medicine, where he served as Co-director of the Center for Neuromodulation in Epilepsy, and at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He also served as Medical Director of the Sutter Pacific Epilepsy Program at California Pacific Medical Center for nearly two decades.
King-Stephens is a Fellow of the American Epilepsy Society and serves on its Professional Advisory Board. His research focuses on neuromodulation therapies for refractory epilepsy and the use of chronic electrocorticography for seizure localization. He has been principal investigator on multiple clinical trials evaluating antiepileptic medications and neuromodulation approaches, including studies on responsive neurostimulation (RNS), lacosamide, and eslicarbazepine acetate. His work on long-term ambulatory electrocorticography for lateralizing mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and on responsive brain stimulation outcomes has contributed to the understanding of epilepsy treatment options for patients with drug-resistant seizures.
King-Stephens has authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications and numerous book chapters on epilepsy surgery, neuromodulation, and antiepileptic drug therapy. He has served as an ad hoc reviewer for multiple neurology journals including Neurology, Epilepsia, and Epilepsy Research. He has been active in international epilepsy education, delivering lectures in Mexico, Brazil, Morocco, and Chile, and participating in neurology outreach programs to Ecuador and Morocco. At UC Irvine, he directs the Clinical Neurophysiology and Epilepsy Fellowship program and maintains regular teaching activities with residents and fellows.
Return to topAreas of Expertise
- Clinical Epilepsy Management
- Temporal Lobe Seizure Localization
- Hippocampal Atrophy Imaging Correlation
- Antiepileptic Drug Trials
- Responsive Neurostimulation Therapy
- Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation
- Memory Encoding Neural Dynamics
Recent Publications
- Spencer T. Brinker, Wei Qi, David King-Stephens, Shy Shohama, “Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Stimulation in Dynamic Clinical Settings: Initial Strategy in Schizophrenia and Status Epilepticus” (opens in new tab), Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, vol. 51, pp. 725-726, 2025.
- Byron Alexander Sandoval-Bonilla, Alvaro Garcia-Perez, Maria dela Cerda Vargas, Daniel SanJuan, Alejandra Calderon Vallego, Nelly Cisneros Gonzalez, Jose Carrillo Ruiz, Maximo Leon Vazquez, Enrigue de Font-Reaulx, David King-Stephens, “Inequalities in epilepsy mortality: A decade-long analysis of insured versus uninsured adults in Mexico”, Public Health, vol. 242, pp. 192-198, 2024.
- Traner CB, King-Stephens D, “Insights From Chronic ECoG by RNS” (opens in new tab), Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 195-199, 2024.
- King-Stephens D, “AI and EEG: Should EEGers RIP (Rest in Peace)?” (opens in new tab), Epilepsy Currents, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 111-113, 2024.
- King-Stephens D, “Old Diagnostic Meets Newer Therapy; ECoG During LiTT” (opens in new tab), Epilepsy Currents, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 233-234, 2023.
- King-Stephens D., “Seizures and Cardiac Dysrhythmias: And the Beat (Sometimes) Goes On” (opens in new tab), Epilepsy Currents, vol. 23, pp. 32-34, 2023.
- King-Stephens D., “Approximation Is Not Randomization; Lessons From Comparative Observational Studies of Invasive EEG Methods” (opens in new tab), Epilepsy Currents, vol. 22, pp. 117-119, 2022.
- King-Stephens D., “Cheers for SANTĖ: Long Term Safety and Efficacy of Anterior Nucleus of the Thalamus DBS” (opens in new tab), Epilepsy Currents, vol. 21, pp. 334-336, 2021.
- King-Stephens D., “Deep-Seated Interictal Epileptiform Activity: Another Reason to Lose Sleep” (opens in new tab), Epilepsy Currents, vol. 21, pp. 19-20, 2021.
Most Cited Publications
- Heck CN, King-Stephens D, “Two-year seizure reduction in adults with medically intractable partial onset epilepsy treated with responsive neurostimulation: Final results of the RNS System Pivotal trial” (opens in new tab), Epilepsia, vol. 55, no. 3, pp. 432-441, 2014.
- Bergey GK, Morrell MJ, Mizrahi EM, Goldman A, King-Stephens D, “Long-term treatment with responsive brain stimulation in adults with refractory partial seizures” (opens in new tab), Neurology, vol. 84, pp. 810-817, 2015.
- King-Stephens D, Mirro E, Weber PB, Laxer KD, Van Ness PC, Salanova V, Spencer D, “Lateralization of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with long-term ambulatory electrocorticography” (opens in new tab), Epilepsia, vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 959-967, 2015.
- Riès SK, Dhillon RK, Clarke A, King-Stephens D, “Spatiotemporal dynamics of word retrieval in speech production revealed by cortical high-frequency band activity” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 114, no. 23, pp. E4530-4538, 2017.
- Johnson EL, King-Stephens D, Weber PB, Laxer KD, Lin JJ, Knight RT, “Spectral imprints of working memory for everyday associations in the frontoparietal network” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, vol. 12, pp. Article 65, 2019.
- Foo F, King-Stephens D, Weber P, “Differential processing of consonance and dissonance within the human superior temporal gyrus” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, vol. 10, pp. Article 154, 2016.
- King-Stephens D, James W. Wheless, Calvin Krogh, Matthew Bettles, Jeff Niemira, Robert Stolper, “Burden of disease in patients with a history of status epilepticus and their caregivers” (opens in new tab), Epilepsy and Behavior, vol. 112, 2020.
- King-Stephens D., “The treatment of epilepsy in the elderly” (opens in new tab), CNS Drugs, vol. 12, pp. 21-33, 1999.
- King-Stephens D., “Is STN Neuromodulation of Focal Motor Seizures Ready for Prime Time?” (opens in new tab), Epilepsy Currents, vol. 21, pp. 83-84, 2021.
- King-Stephens D., “The Ambiguous Nature of Fast Ripples in Epilepsy Surgery” (opens in new tab), Epilepsy Currents, vol. 19, pp. 91-92, 2019.
Contact Information
Email: dkingste@uci.edu
Phone: (714) 456-6808
Address: UCI Medical Center, Pav 1, 101 The City Drive South, Building 30, Irvine, CA 92868
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Last updated on 3/11/2026.