Assistant Director
Kessler Foundation
My background is in biomedical engineering with a Doctor of Philosophy focused on rehabilitation engineering and two postdoctoral training fellowships in wearable robotics, biomechanics, and rehabilitation engineering. Currently, as the Assistant Director in the Center for Mobility and Rehabilitation Engineering Research (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 adults and children with impairments. Not only I have a strong background in the clinical implementation of novel interventions for individuals with neuromuscular disabilities, but I also excel in the research and development of wearable robotics and administrative support in human-machine integration studies while utilizing state of the art technologies/interventions. My work on the development of NJ TREKKER (lower extremity robotic exoskeleton) was nominated as one of 7 best projects and has won the best project award at the International Conference on Wearable and Rehabilitation Robotics (WeRob 2017) in Houston-Texas. The same robot is being used on the current proposal in project D1.
Currently, I direct the Rehabilitation Robotics and Research Laboratory (RRRL), one of the seven laboratories in the CMRE. I am the PI of a funded projects by the department of defense (DoD) (CDMRP, a 4-year level II RCT) to determine the efficacy of upper extremity wearable robotic orthotics, and haptic/visual feedback combined with upper extremity wearable robotic orthosis on improving motor function and activities in persons with SCI. I was the PI of two pilots research project to determine preliminary evidence of the upper extremity wearable robotic orthotics in persons with impairments. Further, I was a PI of one of the five projects in the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Wearable Robots from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (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 was the (PI of two and Co-PI of one) industry funded project looking at the efficacy of electromagnetic stimulation in improving upper extremity function in persons with SCI and stroke.
Finally, I am the PI of a pilot research project (funded by the Avidan Foundation) investigating the effects of clinical utilization of lower extremity robotic exoskeleton (Ekso Bionics) in improving mobility and cognition in persons with MS. I am a Co-PI of a development project on RERC on Wearable Robots from the NIDILRR.
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