Research Assistant Professor
Boston University
Boston, MA, United States
Dr. Porciuncula is a Research Assistant Professor at Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences at Boston University. Trained as a Physical Therapist and as a rehabilitation scientist, Dr. Porciuncula’s research focuses on developing innovative gait rehabilitation interventions in Parkinson’s disease (PD) by targeting biomechanical, cognitive, and behavioral processes that underlie gait dysfunction. His research seeks to develop and leverage next-generation wearable technologies including sensors, robotics and digital health solutions to improve gait outcomes in PD.
Dr. Porciuncula received his Doctorate in Movement Sciences (Motor Learning & Control) from Columbia University. He completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in clinical biomechanics from Harvard University, focusing on the development of wearable robots to improve walking in neurological disorders, including PD. At Harvard, he co-led a study with Professors Conor Walsh (Harvard) and Terry Ellis (Boston University) on the use of robotic apparel to avert freezing of gait in PD, which was published recently in Nature Medicine. At Boston University, Dr. Porciuncula was Principal Investigator for a recently completed randomized controlled trial that examined the effects of a novel autonomous music-based rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) intervention on real-world walking in people with PD. Dr. Porciuncula’s work has been recognized through awards from the National Institutes of Health/ National Institute on Aging, American Parkinson Disease Association, and The Michael J. Fox Foundation.
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