• BS, Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 1990
• MSE, Biomechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 1993
• PhD, Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 1998
• Postdoctoral , Electrophysiology, Université de Paris V, 1998
• Postdoctoral, Neurophysiology, Oregon Health and Sciences University, 1999-2002

Publications

• Publications on PubMed
• Publications on Google Scholar

Selected Honors

• 1986-1990 Drake Scholarship in Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley
• 1991-1994, National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship
• 1997-1998, Chateaubriand Postdoctoral Fellowship, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• 1999-2002, Life Sciences Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship
• 2004 Teaching Excellence Award, Biomedical Engineering Department
• 2006 CETL/BP Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award, Georgia Tech
• 2007 Arthur C. Guyton Award for Excellence in Integrative Physiology,American Physiological Society
• 2007 Above and Beyond Award, Georgia Tech BMES Chapter
• 2007-2012 Regular Member, NIH Sensorimotor Integration Study Section
• 2008 Visiting Miller Professor, University of California, Berkeley
• 2016 Fellow, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers
• 2017 Hidden Gem Award, Emory University School of Medicine
• 2018 Invited Visiting Research Scholar, Simons Institute, University of California, Berkeley
• 2018 Biomedical Engineering Visiting Professorship, Northwestern University
• 2018 Visiting Scholar, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
• 2018 Health Care Hero Award, Allied Health Professional Category, Atlanta Business Chronicle
• 2018 Mentoring Award, Emory University School of Medicine

My research program is at the forefront of the nascent area of neuromechanics, and pioneers new understanding of how movement intention translates to action through the complex interplay between the nervous system and the musculoskeletal system. Our basic science findings have facilitated advances in understanding movement disorders and in identifying mechanisms of rehabilitation. We focus on complex, whole body human movements such as bipedal walking, standing balance, which have strong clinical relevance, as well as skilled movements involved in dance and sport. By drawing from neuroscience, biomechanics, rehabilitation, robotics, and physiology we have discovered exciting new principles of human movement. Using computational and experimental methods, we have been able to take electrical neuromotor signals from the body and link changes in neural sensorimotor mechanisms to functional biomechanical outputs during movement. Our novel framework is being used by researchers across the world to understand both normal and impaired movement control in humans as well as animals as well as to develop better robotic devices. 

My lab’s research is rapidly expanding to include a wide variety of sensorimotor disorders including Parkinson’s disease, stroke, spinal cord injury, lower limb loss, depression, and normal aging. We collaborate with several physical therapy researchers who are developing novel gait rehabilitation interventions for Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and spinal cord injury to understand how to understand and optimize treatment outcomes. We are examining the effects of lower limb loss on gait and balance with implications for improved prosthesis design. We are exploring psychomotor metrics to help optimize deep brain stimulation treatment for Parkinson’s and depression. We are also studying highly skilled behaviors seen in dancers and athletes to inform development of rehabilitation strategies as well as devices to improve gait and balance. To understand the neural basis of the movements we measure, we are recording brain activity during balance control to see how neural mechanism controlling movement change with impairment and rehabilitation. We are also developing a new foundational understanding and computer simulations of how muscle proprioceptive sensors provide information to the brain and nervous system for movement that have translational impact in informing the mechanisms underlying impairments such as sensory loss after cancer treatment, spasticity, and other balance disorders.