Research in Therapeautic and Reparative Neurotechnology focuses on biologically inspired technologies to interface with the nervous system to repair and promote recovery of lost function after trauma or disease. Research in this area includes behavioral studies, electrophysiology techniques, computational neuroscience, and machine learning methods to determine the mechanism of disease, to create new research paradigms and develop new treatments.
Research also spans both pre-clinical (i.e., animal) and clinical (i.e., human) neural engineering and neuropathophysiology, and includes investigations of motor and sensory function before, during, and after neuroprosthetic, pharmacological, and physical therapy-based interventions.
Current efforts focus on leveraging the differential effects of brainstem neuromodulatory centers on spinal motor and sensory circuits to gain insights into the mechanisms underlying neurological impairments. Topics of particular interest within this area include:
- Pathologies: stroke, spinal cord injury, whiplash associated disorders, and chronic pain.
- Physiology: neuromodulation (chemical and electrical), cortical and spinal reorganization, function and integrity of motor and sensory pathways post-injury, and activity-dependent neural plasticity.
- Techniques: robotics/quantification of motor deficits, biophysical signal processing, recurrent neural-computer interfaces, neuropharmacology, physical therapy, electrical stimulation of the central nervous system, magnetic resonance imaging.
Zachary Danziger, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests:Neural Engineering, Brain-Computer Interfaces, Neurourology
Research Advancements: Zachary Danziger is making strides in understanding bladder control in aging and spinal cord injury.
Research Area: Therapeutic and Reparative Neurotechnology
Lab: Applied Neural Interfaces Laboratory
Website: https://bme.fiu.edu/people/faculty-instructors/zachary-danziger/
Brian Hillen, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Research Area: Therapeutic and Reparative Neurotechnology
Kenneth Horch, Ph.D.
Research Professor
Research Interests: Neuroprostheses, Sensory Perception, Motor Control
Research Area: Therapeutic and Reparative Neurotechnology
Ranu Jung, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair of Biomedical Engineering, Wallace H. Coulter Eminent Scholars Chair in Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Neural Engineering, Computational Neuroscience, Sensorimotor Integration
Research Advancements: Ranu Jung is developing neural technologies for functional restoration in individuals with limb loss or spinal cord injury.
Research Area: Therapeutic and Reparative Neurotechnology
Lab: Adaptive Neural Systems Laboratory
Website: https://bme.fiu.edu/people/faculty-instructors/ranu-jung/
Raj Pulugurtha, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Advancements: Raj Markondeya develops packaging of bioelectronics implants for health monitoring and curing neurological disorders
Research Area: Therapeutic and Reparative Neurotechnology
Lab: Bioelectronic and Electronic Packaging Lab
Website: https://bme.fiu.edu/people/faculty-instructors/raj-pulugurtha/
Jorge Riera, Ph.D.
Associate Professor & Graduate Program Director
Research Interests: Biophysical Foundations of Neuroimaging in Normal Aging and Brain Disorders
Research Advancements: Jorge Rivera is making strides in treating multiple brain disorders.
Research Area: Therapeutic and Reparative Neurotechnology
Lab: Neuronal Mass Dynamics Laboratory
Website: https://bme.fiu.edu/people/faculty-instructors/jorge-riera/