Institute for Biology, Engineering and Medicine (I-BEAM)

Neuroengineering

Brown is at the forefront of neuroengineering and neurotechnology development to restore mobility, sensation, and communication

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Neuroengineering

Brown is at the forefront of neuroengineering and neurotechnology development to restore mobility, sensation, and communication

Neurotechnology is an emerging field with the potential to be as revolutionary as digital electronics and information technologies. It combines basic science, engineering, computer science, and clinical research to evaluate and treat nervous system disorders and develop technologies to restore lost function. The innovations in this field will have broad applications and impacts—for instance, advanced human neural prosthetics, brain-controlled autonomous robots, implantable technologies to treat and diagnose diseases such as epilepsy, external devices to promote recovery from stroke, and paradigms in information processing that emulate human brain function.

Research Projects

CANARI: Cost-effective Annual Checkup for Neurodegenerative Risk Assessment using Retinal Imaging

Our research began with a breakthrough in tracking brain microvascular changes in mice using advanced optical imaging techniques. We developed a suite of methods leveraging optical coherence tomography (OCT) to monitor vascular structure, blood flow, and network topology in the aging brain.

Chemigenetic voltage probes for monitoring brain activity

Voltron is a tool that emits light bright enough for microscopes to reliably and precisely capture video of action potentials, which happen at millisecond-timescales. Voltron and Voltron 2 can not only effectively detect signals but do so for up to an hour at a time – much longer than with previous tools. For these reasons, the sensors are a breakthrough and provide an alternative to traditional electrode recordings.

Intelligent Spine Interface

The Intelligent Spine Interface (ISI) research program aims to bridge the gap in spinal cord injury through integration of advanced AI/ML strategies, state-of-the-art electronics, and advanced neural interfaces.

Neural interfaces for people living with severe disability resulting from ALS, spinal cord injury, or stroke

As an electrical/computer engineer and neuroscientist, a primary focus of my work, with Dr. Leigh Hochberg, is developing the BrainGate intracortical neural interface system.

New Technologies for Large Scale Brain-Computer Interfaces

The goal in the Nurmikko Lab is to engineer a system of spatially distributed wireless microchips implanted in the brain cortex, each microchip capable of neural recording and electrical stimulation, to add new capabilities to closed-loop adaptive wireless brain-computer interfaces (BCI).

Non-invasive retinal prosthesis to restore vision in blindness

Our research focuses on developing a next-generation retinal prosthesis using plasmonic nanorods and near-infrared (NIR) light to restore vision in individuals with degenerative eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.

Neuroengineering and Neurotechnology Affiliated Faculty

Ahmed Abdelfattah

Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney University Assistant Professor of Brain Science , Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Wael Asaad

Sidney A. Fox and Dorothea Doctors Fox Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Professor of Neuroscience and Neurosurgery, Vice-Chair Research, Director of Functional and Epilepsy Program, Lab for Neurophysiology and Neuromodulation, Fellowship in Functional and Epilepsy Neurosurgery, Associate Director Neurosurgery Training Program
David Borton

Associate Professor of Engineering, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Associate Professor of Brain Science, Interim Director of I-BEAM
Carina Curto

Pablo J. Salame Goldman Sachs Professor of Computational Neuroscience
Leigh Hochberg

L. Herbert Ballou University Professor of Engineering, Professor of Brain Science and Director of the VA Rehabilitation R&D Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology
Diane Hoffman-Kim

Associate Professor of Medical Science, Associate Professor of Engineering, Brown University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
Stephanie Jones

Associate Professor of Neuroscience
Shane Lee

Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery (Research), Director, Computational Neuromodulation Lab, Director, Technical Design and Quantitative Applications
Athar Malik

Samuel I. Kennison, M.D. and Bertha S. Kennison Assistant Professor of Clinical Neuroscience, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Director, Brain Injury & Restorative Neurosurgery; Diector, Restorative Neuroscience Laboratory, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown U
Christoper Moore

Associate Director of the Carney Institute of Brain Science, Professor of Neuroscience, Professor of Brain Science
Arto Nurmikko

L. Herbert Ballou University Professor of Engineering, Professor of Physics
Jacob Rosenstein

Assistant Professor of Engineering
Carl Saab

Adjunct Professor of Engineering, Professor of Neurosurgery (Research), Professor of Neuroscience (Research)
Mohamed Sherif

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
John Simeral

Assistant Professor of Engineering (Research)
Carlos Vargas-Irwin

Assistant Professor of Neuroscience (Research), Principal Investigator, Donoghue Lab