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Senior Research Scientist
Kessler Foundation
I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
My background is in biomedical engineering with a PhD focused on rehabilitation engineering and two postdoctoral training fellowships in wearable robotics, biomechanics and rehabilitation engineering. Currently, as Senior Research Scientist in the CMRE at Kessler Foundation, my research focuses on investigating the efficacy of wearable robotic for improving activities of daily living, and developing deeper understanding of the usefulness of wearable robots, orthoses and novel technologies in persons with impairments. My work on the development of New Jersey TREKKER (lower extremity robotic exoskeleton) was nominated as one of the seven best projects and has won the best project award at the International Conference on Wearable and Rehabilitation Robotics (WeRob 2017) in Houston-Texas. Currently, I direct the Rehabilitation Robotics and Research Laboratory (RRRL), one of the seven laboratories in the CMRE. I am the PI of two funded projects by the department of defense (DOD) from the Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes Research Program (OPORP, a 2-year and a 3-year projects) to determine the efficacy of haptic/visual feedback combined with upper extremity wearable robotic orthosis on improving motor function and activities in persons with SCI. Further, I am the PI of one of the five projects in the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Wearable Robots from NIDILRR aiming to develop a research-grade lower extremity robotic exoskeleton for persons with mobility disability and to develop and examine a novel controlling mechanism for lower extremity robotic exoskeleton using admittance control. Further, I am the PI of an industry funded project looking at the efficacy of electromagnetic stimulation in improving upper extremity function in persons with SCI. Finally, I am currently the PI of a pilot research project (funded by the Avidan Foundation) investigating the effects of clinical utilization of LE robotic exoskeleton (Ekso Bionics) in improving mobility and cognition in persons with MS.
