I work to develop implanted Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) that will restore independence and capability to people with high-level paralysis or amputation. After placing electrodes in their brain, the BCI measures neural activity as they attempt to move their disabled hand and arm, using it to move a robotic prosthetic hand and arm instead. Once the prosthetic hand touches an object, the BCI provides electrical stimulation back into the brain, so they feel as though they are touching the object with their own hand. This provides them with natural, intuitive control over a prosthetic hand and arm while restoring their ability to feel and manipulate objects.
My research program is focused on sensorimotor neuroscience and neuroengineering related to hand and arm control. I work to better understand how motor cortex controls functional hand and arm movements in increasingly natural situations, with the goal of improving BCI prosthetics.
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
Ph.D. - Bioengineering
2017
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD
BS - Biomedical Engineering
2010
Intracortical microstimulation in humans: a decade of safety and efficacy.
Intracortical microstimulation in humans: a decade of safety and efficacy. medRxiv. 2025 Aug 13.
PMID: 40832410
Firing rate diversity lowers the dimension of population covariability in neuronal networks.
Firing rate diversity lowers the dimension of population covariability in neuronal networks. bioRxiv. 2025 Jun 01.
PMID: 39257801
How different immersive environments affect intracortical brain computer interfaces.
How different immersive environments affect intracortical brain computer interfaces. J Neural Eng. 2025 Feb 10; 22(1).
PMID: 39883960
Tactile edges and motion via patterned microstimulation of the human somatosensory cortex.
Tactile edges and motion via patterned microstimulation of the human somatosensory cortex. Science. 2025 01 17; 387(6731):315-322.
PMID: 39818881
A Roadmap for Implanting Electrode Arrays to Evoke Tactile Sensations Through Intracortical Stimulation.
A Roadmap for Implanting Electrode Arrays to Evoke Tactile Sensations Through Intracortical Stimulation. Hum Brain Mapp. 2024 Dec 15; 45(18):e70118.
PMID: 39720868
A novel robot-assisted method for implanting intracortical sensorimotor devices for brain-computer interface studies: principles, surgical techniques, and challenges.
A novel robot-assisted method for implanting intracortical sensorimotor devices for brain-computer interface studies: principles, surgical techniques, and challenges. J Neurosurg. 2025 May 01; 142(5):1280-1288.
PMID: 39642366
Evoking stable and precise tactile sensations via multi-electrode intracortical microstimulation of the somatosensory cortex.
Evoking stable and precise tactile sensations via multi-electrode intracortical microstimulation of the somatosensory cortex. Nat Biomed Eng. 2025 Jun; 9(6):935-951.
PMID: 39643730
A mosaic of whole-body representations in human motor cortex.
A mosaic of whole-body representations in human motor cortex. bioRxiv. 2024 Sep 16.
PMID: 39345372
A roadmap for implanting microelectrode arrays to evoke tactile sensations through intracortical microstimulation.
A roadmap for implanting microelectrode arrays to evoke tactile sensations through intracortical microstimulation. medRxiv. 2024 Apr 28.
PMID: 38712177
Microstimulation of human somatosensory cortex evokes task-dependent, spatially patterned responses in motor cortex.
Microstimulation of human somatosensory cortex evokes task-dependent, spatially patterned responses in motor cortex. Nat Commun. 2023 11 10; 14(1):7270.
PMID: 37949923