Neural engineering
Imaging tools to better understand the brain
The Akkin Lab develops non-contact optical imaging tools to study tissue structure and function, with an emphasis on better understanding the brain. Non-invasive or minimally invasive applications in medicine are possible, because the techniques use back-scattered light.
How brains respond to stimulation therapies
Matthew Johnson's research lab aims to understand how the nervous system responds and adapts to stimulation-based therapies, such as deep brain stimulation. Their studies are improving these therapies to help people with Parkinson's disease and Essential Tremor reclaim control over their motor function.
Technologies to treat hearing issues and pain
Hubert Lim’s lab develops neural interfaces and medical technologies, working with clinicians and companies to bring ideas to trials so they can potentially become real-world solutions. The team uses approaches like electrical stimulation and neural recordings, with a focus on hearing loss, tinnitus, and pain.
Optimizing stimulation therapy algorithms
The NeuralNetoff lab aims to give patients the best outcomes from electrical stimulation, a patient-specific therapy that varies widely in its effectiveness. They’re testing therapies and optimizing algorithms, to help people with conditions like Parkinson’s, epilepsy, and chronic pain.
Technology that tackles brain disorders
Alexander Opitz's lab aims to improve non-invasive brain stimulation technology, which people respond very differently to. The team is identifying individual predictors, to help create a future where there are personalized treatments for brain disorders like depression.
Advanced technology for nerve stimulation therapies
The Precision Electroceutical Research Lab (PERL) develops nerve stimulation therapies that combine advanced computational tools with recordings from the nervous system. This work aims to create safe, energy-based treatment options for diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and neurological disorders.
Implantable brain chips
Zhi Yang’s lab studies the emerging area of implantable brain devices that can understand thoughts, such as to help amputees control robotic limbs or enable new electroceuticals. They’re developing neural recording, processing, and stimulation chips, and have devices in clinical trials.
Research from our graduate faculty
Mechanisms of impaired mobility
Sommer Amundsen-Huffmaster of the Movement Disorders Lab aims to better understand the mechanisms causing movement problems in people with neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. The ultimate goal is to develop novel therapies and interventions (e.g., neuromodulation) to improve movement function, mobility, and quality of life.
Quantitative imaging of brain energy metabolism
Wei Chen’s lab has developed a variety of X-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging methodologies and advanced radiofrequency coil technologies for noninvasively studying cellular metabolism, bioenergetics, function and dysfunction of the brain and other organs at ultrahigh field.
Human cognitive neuroscience and neuromodulation
The Herman-Darrow Human Neuroscience Lab combines intracranial and non-invasive recordings with targeted brain stimulation to map the circuits of cognition, mood, and pain in people. These insights drive closed-loop neuromodulation trials that restore movement, relieve symptoms, and improve quality of life.
Advanced brain imaging for neuromodulation
The Harel Lab develops imaging tools that use ultra-high field MRI technology (e.g., 7 Tesla) to visualize the brain’s intricate anatomical structures. Research focuses on generating highly detailed maps of brain target areas and their anatomical connections — critical for improving deep brain stimulation treatments.
Technologies for neurorehabilitation
The goal of Rachel Hawe's lab is to improve arm function in individuals with neurologic impairments including stroke and cerebral palsy. The lab develops novel assessments of sensorimotor impairments using robotics, gaze tracking, and computer vision to better inform interventions.
Motor control in adults with stroke
The Movement Control and Rehabilitation (MCR) lab studies fundamental questions about the neural basis of movement control. The team uses motion capture and electrophysiological approaches to study cognitive-motor interactions that affect upper limb movement in older adults and stroke survivors.
Neuromodulation for Parkinson’s disease
Luke Johnson is one of the faculty in the Neuromodulation Research Center. The center carries out complimentary human clinical and preclinical studies to better understand motor and sleep dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease and improve neuromodulation (e.g., deep brain stimulation) therapies.
Understanding brain-wide circuits mediating complex behaviors
Bridging neuroscience, genomics, and engineering, Suhasa Kodandaramaiah’s laboratory invents transformative technologies for ultra-large-scale neural recordings during complex cognitive behaviors. More recently, efforts have expanded to apply these tools to fundamental neuroscience questions.
Linking single neuron activity to complex behavior
Jean-Paul Noel's lab aims at understanding perception and decision-making by recording large datasets of single neuron activity associated with complex behaviors, and then building computational models bridging across these levels of description.
Tracking RNA in the living brain
Hye Yoon Park’s lab visualizes how neurons store memories by tracking RNA molecules in real time. This helps reveal how learning shapes the brain and opens new paths for diagnosing and treating neurological diseases.
Finding new therapies for spinal cord injury
The Parr Lab combines cutting edge 3D bioprinting technology with advancements in stem cell derived, regionally specific spinal neural progenitor cells to develop new treatments for spinal cord injury patients.
Development of large-scale brain networks
Gordon Smith’s lab aims to understand how the large-scale networks that process sensory information and guide behavior form during development. His team uses cutting-edge optical tools together with computational modeling to measure and manipulate networks in vivo in the developing cortex.
Novel deep brain stimulation strategies for neurological disorders
Jing Wang's research focuses on the development of novel deep brain stimulation strategies such as coordinated reset stimulation for treating neurological disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease and essential tremor). Studies aim to understand the pathophysiology and the mechanism of deep brain stimulation.
Engineering brain networks of mental illness
Alik Widge's Translational NeuroEngineering Lab (TNEL) develops brain stimulation therapies for severe mental illnesses, including depression, addiction, OCD, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Their work includes computational models, animal experiments, and human trials.
Neural foundations of complex cognition
Jan Zimmermann’s lab explores the neural foundation of decision-making. The interdisciplinary team uses approaches from neuroscience, economics, psychology, math and physics to figure out how organisms adaptively use their finite neural coding capacity to make choices.