Rehabilitation and Neural Engineering Laboratory

People

Faculty

Michael Boninger, MD
Distinguished Professor
Research Interests
Research education, assistive technology, biomechanics, neuroprosthetics, spinal cord injury, wheelchairs, sustainability.
Marco Capogrosso, PhD
Assistant Professor
Research Interests
Neuroprothetics, Computer Models of Electrical Stimulation, arm paralysis, Spinal Cord Injury, Brain Computer Interfaces, Motor control
Jennifer L. Collinger, PhD
Associate Professor
412-383-1274
Research Interests
Brain-computer interfaces, spinal cord injury, neurorehabilitation, assistive technology, neuroprosthetics
Lee Fisher, PhD
Associate Professor
412-383-1326
Research Interests
neuroprosthetics, somatosensory function, spinal cord injury, amputation, balance control
Robert Gaunt, PhD
Associate Professor
412-383-1426
Research Interests
Neuroprostheses, sensorimotor control, bladder function, electrical stimulation
Elvira Pirondini, PhD
Assistant Professor
Research Interests
Stroke, motor control, proprioception, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), biomarkers
George F. Wittenberg, MD, PhD
Professor
Research Interests
Neurorehabilitation, motor control, transcranial magnetic stimulation, functional imaging, stroke, movement disorders, neural network modeling
Lynn Worobey, PhD, DPT, ATP
Assistant Professor
412-383-1409
Research Interests
Spinal Cord Injury, assistive technology, interventional training programs, activity monitoring

Affiliate Faculty

Emily Grattan, PhD, OTR/L
Assistant Professor
Research Interests
Stroke, visual perception, motor recovery, measurement, non-invasive brain stimulation
Amit Sethi, PhD, OTR/L
Associate Professor
Research Interests
motor control, stroke, neuroplasticity, neurorehabilitation
Douglas J. Weber, PhD
Akhtar and Bhutta Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Neuroscience Institute
Research Interests
Bioelectronic medicines, biomechanics, electrophysiology, haptic perception, motor learning, neural coding and computation, neural plasticity, neural prostheses, neuromodulation, neurophysiology, spinal cord injury, stroke

Staff

Olivia Aumiller
Research Coordinator- Lived Experiences Specialist
Research Interests
Neuroscience, Rehabilitative Research, Advocacy
Sydney Bader, MS
Research Coordinator
Research Interests
Spinal Cord Stimulation, Rehabilitation
Amy Boos, MSBME, OTR/L
Kinematic Occupational Therapist
Research Interests
Rehabilitation robotics, neurorehabilitation, biomechanics, motor control
Cierra Clark
Senior Clinical Research Coordinator
Research Interests
Stroke, Spinal Cord Injury, Motor Control
Jina Coleman
Administrative Assistant
Brian Dekleva, PhD
Research Scientist
Research Interests
brain-computer interfaces, motor cortex, movement planning, motor decision-making
Martina Di Folco, MSc
Project Manager
Elizabeth Dunn, MS, RDN, LDN
Research Associate
Adelaide Edgett
Office Administrator
412-383-1077
Xiaoqi Fang, MS
Neurorehabilitation Data Analyst and Engineer
Research Interests
Brain connectivity and network analysis, transcranial magnetic stimulation
Stephanie B Fresh
Administrative Assistant
Chaitanya Gopinath, PhD
Research Scientist
Research Interests
Neuro-urology, neural control of lower urinary tract, spinal cord, bladder and urinary physiology
Debbie Harrington
Senior Research Coordinator
412-383-1355
Research Interests
Rehabilitative research for individuals with disabilities
Irvan Kusumah
Systems Programmer
Fang Liu, PhD
Research Engineer
Research Interests
Applying MRI to brain-computer interface research for patients with disabilities.
Lauren Malacarne, DPT, NCS
Clinical Research Associate and Physical Therapist
Research Interests
Community Reintegration, Peer and Caregiver Support, Quality of Life
Rachel Pitzer
Animal Lab Manager
Tyler Simpson, MS
Senior Bioengineer
Research Interests
assistive technology, electrophysiology, and neuroprostheses
Elizabeth Stanley, DPT
Clinical Research Therapist
Research Interests
Spinal Cord Injury, Community Reintegration and Peer Support, Seating and Wheeled Mobility.
Sam Ward
Information Technologist
David Weir, MS
Engineer
Research Interests
biomechanics, robotics, prosthetic control, assistive technology
Jeff Weiss, MS
Bioengineer
Research Interests
neuroprosthetics, microstimulation, signal processing, robotics
Lori Winkler
Assistant Director of Operations & Administration

Post Docs

Gary Blumenthal, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Research Interests
Brain Computer Interfaces, Neuroprosthetics, Sensorimotor Systems, Plasticity, Spinal Cord Injury
Roberto Martins de Freitas, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Research Interests
Motor control, spinal neural circuits, electrical stimulation, translational neuroscience, rehabilitation
Daryl Pinion Fields II, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Research Interests
Continuous firing of the neural network controlling breathing is essential for life. In order to protect this critical function the breathing network has encoded an innate capacity to sense neural firing failures and then compensate by modifying neural ou
Camille Gontier, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Research Interests
Brain-Computer Interfaces, Neuro-prosthetics, Motor control, Bayesian inference, Population dynamics, Dimensionality, Non-linear Filtering
Erinn Grigsby, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Research Interests
Stroke, Motor Control, Neuroprosthetics, Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury, Electrical Stimulation, Speech
William Hockeimer, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Research Interests
Brain computer interfaces; Neuroprosthetics; Motor Control; High-dimensional state spaces; Population doctrine approach to neuroscience
Robin Lienkämper, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Research Interests
Brain-Computer Interfaces, Virtual Reality, Somatosensory processing, Neurorehabilitation, Neural Engineering, Neuroprosthetics
Genis Prat Ortega, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Research Interests
Computational neuroscience, perceptual decision making, spinal cord injury, neurorehabilitation. 
Evan Rogers
Postdoctoral Associate
Research Interests
Spinal cord stimulation; computational modeling; electrical biophysics; neurostimulation; neural engineering
Hunter Schone, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Research Interests
Neuroimaging, amputation, plasticity, myoelectric and neuroprosthetics, brain-computer-interfaces
Ceci Verbaarschot, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Research Interests
Human cognition, brain-computer interface, neuro-prosthetics, motor-rehabilitation, consciousness, philosophy of mind, robotics

Graduate Students

Ghaleb Almalki
Advisor: Amit Sethi
Research Interests
I'm interested in upper extremity motor recovery after stroke.
Gilgal Justice Ansah
Advisor: Lee Fisher
Research Interests
Neural Interfaces, Neuroprostheses, Electrical Stimulation
Josep-Maria Balaguer
Advisor: Marco Capogrosso
Research Interests
Neural Engineering; Cognitive Neuroscience; Computational Neuroscience; Philosophy of the Mind
Rohit Bose
Advisor: Lee Fisher
Research Interests
Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuroprosthetics, Network Theory, Machine Learning
Edgar Canario
Advisor: Jennifer Collinger
Research Interests
Brain-computer interfaces, neural prosthetics, Medical Imaging, Neurorehabilitation
Erick Carranza
Advisor: Elvira Pirondini
Research Interests
Neuroprosthetics, Stroke Rehabilitation, Brain-Machine Interfaces, Neurotechnology
Arianna Damiani, MSc
Advisors: Marco Capogrosso & Elvira Pirondini
Research Interests
Motor Control Stroke, Neuroprosthethics, Rehabilitation, Electrical Stimulation
Matteo Del Brocco, MSc
Advisor: Lee Fisher
Research Interests
Spinal Cord Injury, Neurostimulatioin, Neuroprosthetics, Neurorehabilitation, Assistive Technologies
Serena Donadio
Advisor: Marco Capogrosso
Research Interests
Neurorehabilitation ,Spinal cord injury, Neurostimulation, Motor control, Medical imaging, Neural technology
Manuel Duran
Advisor: Lee Fisher
Research Interests
Neuroprosthetics, spinal cord injuries, neural networks
Scott Ensel
Advisor: Elvira Pirondini
Research Interests
Brain-Computer Interfaces, Artificial Intelligence, Neuroprosthetics, Spinal Cord Injury
Juhi Farooqui
Advisor: Lee Fisher
Research Interests
Brain-computer interfaces, neurotechnology
Grace Haas
Advisor: Lee Fisher
Research Interests
Neurostimulation, Neuroprosthetics, Spinal Cord Injury, Neurodegenerative Disease, Motor Rehabilitation
Golnaz Haddadshargh
Advisor: Dr. George Wittenberg
Research Interests
Neural rehabilitation, Brain-Computer Interfaces, Motor Control, Neuroprosthetics, TMS, Neuroimaging
Taylor Hobbs
Advisor: Robert Gaunt
Research Interests
Brain-computer interfaces, sensory neuroprosthetics, neural technology, computer modeling
Nicolas Kunigk
Advisor: Jen Collinger
Research Interests
Brain-computer interfaces, neural engineering, motor control, neural prosthetics
Lucy Liang, MS
Advisor: Elvira Pirondini
Research Interests
Neuroprosthetics, Rehabilitation, Motor Control, Proprioception, Sensorimoter Integration, Brain-Computer Interface
Jennifer Mak
Advisor: George Wittenberg
Research Interests
spatial neglect, TMS, EEG, stroke rehabilitation, robotics, cognitive neuroscience
Rachel Monney
Advisor: Elvira Pirondini
Research Interests
Neural Engineering, Neuroprosthetics, Motor Control, Rehabilitation, Medical Imaging, Neural Stimulation, Bioelectronics
Burçak Carlo Pasqua
Advisor: Marco Capogrosso
Research Interests
Electrical neurostimulation, electrophisiology, electromyography, neurorehabilitation, neural systems modeling
Sreya Pothuraju, MS
Advisor: Robert Gaunt
Research Interests
Motor recovery, Neurorehabilitation, Neural technologies, Stroke, Sensory feedback, Multisensory integration.
Eric Shiao
Advisor: Lynn Worobey
Research Interests
Spinal Cord Injurie, Machine Learning, Assistive Technologies
Erynn Sorensen
Advisor: Marco Capogrosso
Research Interests
Neuroprosthetics, Sensorimotor control, Neurorehabilitation, Spinal cord injury, Electrical Stimulation
Ethan Vega
Advisor: Marco Capogrosso
Research Interests
Stroke Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Stimulation, Machine Learning, Motor Functioning, Neuroimaging, Neurological Impairments
Joel Ye
Advisor: Robert Gaunt
Research Interests
Brain-computer interfaces, electrical stimulation, computation modeling, deep neural networks

Residents and Medical Students

Jonathan Ho
Advisors: Marco Capogrosso and Elvira Pirondini
Research Interests
Stroke, Motor Control, Neurorehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury, Proprioception
Isaiah Levy
Advisors: Doug Weber and Lee Fisher
Research Interests
Neuroprosthetics, amputation rehabilitation, pain medicine
Sirisha Nouduri
Advisor: Elvira Pirondini
Research Interests
Stroke, Neurorehabilitation, Biomarkers, Motor Control
Lilly Tang
Medical Student
Research Interests
Rehabilitation, Motor Control, Deep Brain Stimulation, Neuroscience, Neurosurgery

Undergraduate Students

Naa Kordei Botchway
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Research Interests
Neural Engineering, Neuroprosthetics, Motor Control, Spinal Cord Stimulation
Ian Buscay
Advisor: Jen Collinger
Research Interests
Brain-computer interfaces, neuroprosthetics, neurorehabilitation, motor control, intracortical microstimulation
Ashlyn Casp
Undergraduate Researcher
Research Interests
Neuroprosthetics, Neuroengineering, Biocomputational modeling, Biotechnology
Isabel Gonzalez
Advisor: Jen Collinger
Research Interests
Brain-computer interfaces, neuroprosthetics, motor control, machine learning
Tyler M Hutsko
Undergraduate Researcher
Research Interests
Neural Engineering, Spinal Cord Injury, Neuroprosthesis, Brain-computer interfaces
Alexandra Anton Mahfoud
Advisor: George Wittenberg
Research Interests
Spinal Cord Injury, Motor Control, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Brain-Machine Interfaces
Charles A Oduro, Jr.
Undergraduate Researcher
Research Interests
Neuroprosthetics, Neural Engineering, Biomechanics, Motor Control
Ajay Pathakamuri
Research Assistant
Research Interests
Stroke Rehabilitation; Neuroimaging; Neural Plasticity; TMS
Teagan Posey
Advisor: Lynn Worobey
Research Interests
Neural Engineering, Neuroprosthetics, Spinal Cord Injuries
Nikita Reddy
Advisor: Lynn Worobey
Research Interests
Spinal Cord Injuries, Motor Control, Neuroprosthetics, Stroke Rehabilitation
Camilo Rodriguez Rozas
Advisor: Lee Fisher
Research Interests
Neuroprosthetics, Neural Engineering, Biomechanics, Control Systems
Yufei (Sophia) Shan
Advisor: Jen Collinger
Research Interests
Brain-Computer Interface, Invasive EEG Signal Processing, Neurorehabilation, Neuroprostheses, Machine Learning
Savannah Waymer
Advisor: Rob Gaunt
Research Interests
Bladder Control, Neural Engineering, Spinal Cord Injury, Motor Control

Alumni

Matt Bauman
Advisor: Doug Weber
Kevin King
Advisor: Lee Fisher
Wafa'a Abualrub
Advisor: Doug Weber
Research Interests
Biosignals, Brain-computer interfaces, Neuroplasticity, Neuroscience, Neurotransmitters, Human cognitive abilities, Computational modeling, Neuroprosthetics.
Maxwell Adar
Advisor: Lynn Worobey
Research Interests
Biomedical Devices
Robin Ashmore
Eric Ashuckian
Bioengineer
Research Interests
Assistive technology, neuroprosthetics, biomechanics, brain-computer interfaces.
Dylan Beam
Advisor: Lee Fisher
Research Interests
Neuroprosthetics, sensorimotor integration, somatosensory feedback, neurorehabilitation, assistive technologies
Ernesto Bedoy
Advisor: Doug Weber
Research Interests
Testing and improving neural prosthetics to improve cognitive and motor impairments.
Carl Beringer
Advisor: Robert Gaunt
Research Interests
Myoelectric prosthetics, medical devices, motor control, electromyography (EMG)
Bree Bigelow
Research Coordinator
412-648-4035
Emily Bird, MSW, CCRC
Research Coordinator
Research Interests
Assistive technology, spinal cord injury, wheelchair skills/maintenance, wheelchair transfers
David Bjanes