Bio-X Graduate Student Fellowships 2005/2006

Afsheen Afshar Electrical Engineering Professor Shenoy

My research with the Shenoy group involves the design and implementation of neural prosthetics that patients can use. I will be focusing my efforts on the paradigm of point-to-point movements, such as those done by typing on a keyboard. Specifically, I am developing innovative computational models and algorithms that help elucidate how the brain plans and executes movement. I am concurrently working on improving the electronic infrastructure that can support an extremely fast (i.e., realtime) and accurate 'virtual keyboard' that would allow a patient to type by planning movements to desired keys at desired times. Finally, I am collaborating with neurosurgeon Dr. Jaimie Henderson to apply our work to a Parkinson's Disease patient population. I hope to bring all these avenues together to help create a real, useful prosthetic.