University of Arizona- Biomedical Engineering Class of 2013
Focus: Biosensors and Microtechnologies
Honors College
Career and Educational Objective:
To be involved in the research, development, and clinical integration of fully implantable brain-body neural prosthetics that return fine motor control to individuals who have been paralyzed due to spinal cord injury or stroke.
Professional Experience:
August 2011-Present
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ Dr. Andrew Fuglevand and Dr. Katalin Gothard
Undergraduate Research Assistant
• Train and handle non-human primate subjects to prepare for participation in studies
• Assist in aseptic surgeries and post surgical care
• Collect and analyze EMG data from subjects
• Lead programmer for Functional Electrical Stimulation experiments
Research Experience:
August 2011- Present Dr. Andrew Fuglevand
Departments: Physiology and Biomedical Engineering
Functional Electrical Stimulation
Generation of complex motor movements in a Rhesus Macaque after implantation of electrodes in 27 muscles of the right forelimb. Use of a probabilistic approach to predict the level of muscle activity associated with a diverse array of complex movements. The long term goal of the project is to return complex motor movement to individuals with paralysis due to spinal cord injury or stroke.
June 2012-August 2012 Dr. Chet Moritz
University of Washington, Departments of Rehabilitation Medicine and Physiology & Biophysics
Examining differences in intra-spinal microstimulation (ISMS) evoked movement and muscle activity in intact and spinal cord injured rats
Examine ISMS-evoked upper limb movement and EMG in uninjured rats and rats with a moderate unilaterial contusion injury. Create somatotopic map of rat cervical spinal cord (C4-T1) of uninjured as well as 3 week, 6 week, and 9 week injured animals. Determine how injury and time after injury affects the ability of ISMS to evoke muscle activity and functional muscle synergies.
January 2012-May 2012 Dr. Katalin Gothard
Departments: Physiology and Neuroscience
Role of the primate amygdala in gaze following and social mimicry
Determine the role of the primate amygdala in two fundamental building blocks of social behavior: gaze following and facial mimicry. The experiment involves intracranial injections of minute quantities of drug that inactivate neurons in subdivisions of the amygdala and determine the role different areas of the amygdala play in the aforementioned social behaviors.
May 2011-August 2011 Dr. Jonathan Vande Geest
Departments: Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering
Deformationally dependent fluid transport properties of porcine coronary arteries based on location in the coronary vasculature
Determine relationship between location of tissue within the coronary vasculature (proximal, middle and distal sections) and the biomechanical properties of the tissue. Examine how location within the coronary artery will influence the success of drug-eluting stents. Test mechanical properties of various polymer samples with the goal to create a material to be used in biodegradable stents.
Abstracts and Publications:
Buckmire, A., Johnson, L.A., Lockwood D.R., Gothard K.M., & Fuglevand A.J. Probabilistic
Control of Functional Electrical Stimulation, XIX Biennial International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology Congress, July 19-21, Brisbane, Australia.
Keyes, J. T., Lockwood D.R., & Vande Geest J.P., Alterations in Finite Element Results Given
Constitutive Models from Tubular and Planar Biaxial Testing of the Same Porcine Coronary Arteries, ASME 2012 Summer Bioengineering Conference, June 20-23, Farjardo, Puerto Rico, USA.
Keyes, J. T., Lockwood D.R., & Vande Geest J.P., Deformationally dependent fluid transport
properties of porcine coronary arteries based on location in the coronary vasculature, Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomaterials. ...
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