Nicholas Au Yong, MD
Dr. Nicholas Au Yong, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Au Yong’s surgical practice focuses on neuromodulation for movement disorders, surgical treatments of pain, peripheral nerve injury, spinal cord neuromodulation, and spinal diseases. Dr. Au Yong has received subspecialty training in both functional neurosurgery and complex spinal surgery.
Dr. Au Yong’s preclinical research program centers on the development of neurosurgical therapies aimed at restoring function and homeostasis following central nervous system trauma or disease. With a diverse neuroscience background and strong training in neurophysiology, Dr. Au Yong has research expertise in in vivo and ex vivo neurophysiology, machine learning, biological signal analysis, and complex sensor systems.
Board Certifications
American Board of Neurological Surgery
Affiliations
Emory
Education & Training
- Medical School: Drexel University College of Medicine
- Internship: University of California
- Residency: UCLA
Locations and Directions
Grady Memorial Hospital
Emergency Care: 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
Outpatient Care: Monday-Friday: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Visiting hours are from 8 a.m. – 10:30 p.m. daily
Publications
- A generalizable speech neuroprosthesis.
Fogg ZM, Card NS, Wairagkar M, Srinivasan A, Singer-Clark T, Hou X, Okorokova E, Peracha H, Iacobacci C, Brailow T, Jude J, Levi-Aharoni H, Le T, Mifsud D, Deevi PI, Nason-Tomaszewski SR, Pritchard AL, Zhang Y, Richards B, Bechefsky P, Hochberg LR, Williams Z, Shahlaie K, AuYong N, Rubin DB, Pandarinath C, Brandman DM, Stavisky SD
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology. 2026;
PMID: 42619707 - Preparatory encoding of intended movement in the human motor cortex and implications for brain-computer interfaces.
Rigotti-Thompson M, Nason-Tomaszewski SR, Bechefsky PH, Acosta A, Hahn NV, Avansino DT, Richards BA, Nicolas C, Ali YH, Henderson JM, Hochberg LR, AuYong N, Pandarinath C
Current biology : CB. 2026;36(17):4283-4296.e7.
PMID: 42580347 - A mosaic of whole-body representations on the human precentral gyrus.
Deo DR, Okorokova EV, Pritchard AL, Hahn NV, Card NS, Nason-Tomaszewski SR, Jude J, Hosman T, Choi EY, Qiu D, Meng Y, Wairagkar M, Nicolas C, Kamdar FB, Iacobacci C, Acosta A, Hochberg LR, Cash SS, Williams ZM, Rubin DB, Brandman DM, Stavisky SD, AuYong N, Pandarinath C, Downey JE, Bensmaia SJ, Henderson JM, Willett FR
Nature. 2026;656(8128):680-687.
PMID: 42310450 - Neural decoding of speech using deep neural ensembles.
Yoon S, Avansino DT, Madugula S, Levin AD, Fan C, Abramovich Krasa B, Singh A, Vo C, Hahn NV, Card NS, Fogg Z, Wairagkar M, Nason-Tomaszewski SR, Jacques BG, Bechefsky PH, Iacobacci C, Deo DR, Hochberg LR, Brandman DM, Stavisky SD, Au Yong N, Pandarinath C, Henderson JM, Willett FR
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology. 2026;
PMID: 42282632 - Encoding of speech modes and loudness in ventral precentral gyrus.
Srinivasan A, Wairagkar M, Iacobacci C, Hou X, Card NS, Jacques BG, Pritchard AL, Bechefsky PH, Hochberg LR, AuYong N, Pandarinath C, Brandman DM, Stavisky SD
Nature communications. 2026;
PMID: 41986329 - Cross-brain transfer of high-performance intracortical speech and handwriting BCIs.
Levin AD, Avansino DT, Kamdar FB, Card NS, Wairagkar M, Jacques BG, Jude JJ, Iacobacci C, Lacayo BE, Bechefsky PH, Nason-Tomaszewski SR, Deo DR, Hochberg LR, Rubin DB, Williams ZM, Brandman DM, Stavisky SD, AuYong N, Pandarinath C, Linderman SW, Henderson JM, Willett FR
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology. 2026;
PMID: 41648134 - An algorithmic procedure for measuring deep brain stimulation-induced capsular activation using motor evoked potentials.
Cole ER, Opri E, Borgheai SB, Han Y, Isbaine F, Boulis N, Willie JT, AuYong N, Gross RE, Miocinovic S
Journal of neural engineering. 2025;
PMID: 41406617 - Bilateral Deep Brain Stimulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus or Globus Pallidus Internus Improves Gait Impairment in Parkinson's Disease.
Al Ali J, McKay JL, Nocera JR, Isbaine F, Tran JT, Testini P, Triche SD, Esper CD, Aia P, Scorr LM, Higginbotham L, Tripathi R, Au Yong N, Miocinovic S, Buetefisch CM
Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society. 2026;41(3):699-708.
PMID: 41340592 - Spinal interneuron population dynamics underlying flexible pattern generation.
Wimalasena LN, Pandarinath C, AuYong N
Nature communications. 2025;16(1):9634.
PMID: 41173881 - Preparatory encoding of diverse features of intended movement in the human motor cortex.
Rigotti-Thompson M, Nason-Tomaszewski SR, Bechefsky P, Acosta A, Hahn N, Avansino D, Richards B, Nicolas C, Ali YH, Henderson JM, Hochberg LR, AuYong N, Pandarinath C
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology. 2025;
PMID: 41040179
PLANNING
PREPARING FOR YOUR VISIT
Whether you’re a patient or you’re visiting one, a little planning beforehand can make your visit to Grady easier and more comfortable. Here, you’ll find everything you need to prepare for your visit, including an appointment checklist, admissions information, dining options, and much more.