Ali Mesiwala, MD, directs neurosurgery at St. Bernardine Medical Center and works as a neurosurgeon for the Chaparral Medical Group. With a background as an educator, Ali Mesiwala, MD, stays informed on the latest developments in the science of the brain. A recent study at the University of California, San Francisco, brought focus to the brain’s neural codes and the ability to imbue words with meaning through pitch. Working with patients who had uncontrolled epileptic seizures, surgeons placed electrodes in the patients’ brains to assist in guiding the scalpel through the surgery. This allowed the neural activity of the patients' sensorimotor cortex to be monitored while hundreds of distinct sentences were spoken aloud. Researchers found that the neurons gather in clusters when they are coordinating approximately 100 separate muscle movements of the lips, jaw, tongue, and larynx.One issue this research may inform is aprosodia, a neurological condition that involves disruption of comprehension and expression of vocal changes used to signal emotional intent in language. Patients with this condition do not understand and are unable to express the subtle changes of rate, pitch, loudness, and rhythm we use to communicate.
Ali Mesiwala received his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA. He went on to earn an MD from the University of California, San Francisco. He is now the chief of neurological surgery at St. Bernardine Medical Center. In addition to his work, Ali Mesiwala, MD, is a founding member of the Claremont Museum of Art in Claremont, California.Incorporated in 2004, the Claremont Museum of Art was formed to revitalize the region’s cultural scene and celebrate the rich artistic legacy of Claremont, which was considered an art mecca in the early 20th century. While paying homage to the past, the museum is dedicated to nurturing budding artists through a wide array of programs, including Project ArtStart.Project ArtStart is a program to make high-quality art accessible to students. In the program, high school students work with college-level mentors to offer multi-visit art appreciation lessons to elementary students, either in a museum or classroom setting. Participating students are taught to use Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) in interacting with artists, teachers, curators, and other students. To learn more, visit ClaremontMuseum.org.
