Principal Investigator
Professor Raviraj Nataraj, Ph.D., is investigating innovative rehabilitation solutions to improve function following injury or neuromuscular disease. His current research interests include simulation-based development of exoskeleton controllers for gait, optimizing rehabilitation of hand function following stroke, and developing novel training paradigms to minimize musculoskeletal injury. He has previously performed clinical research involving restoration of standing following spinal cord injury at the Louis Stokes VAMC and investigation of hand sensorimotor control at the Cleveland Clinic. He has received postgraduate degrees in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering from Stanford University and Case Western Reserve University.
Stevens Faculty Profile LinkedIn ResearchGatePh.D. Students
Sophie Dewil
| PhD Candidate, Lab Manager
Sophie Dewil, B.A., joined the lab to pursue her Ph.D. degree after completing her Bachelor's degree in neuroscience and cognitive science from Vassar College in 2017 and working four years in the healthcare and rehabilitation field. Sophie is interested in rehabilitation, prosthetics, and brain-computer interfaces. After graduation she hopes to work towards bridging the gap between biomedical innovation and clinical implementation.
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Yu Shi
| Ph.D. Student
Yu Shi, M.S., joined the lab to pursue his Ph.D. degree after completing his master's degree in Robotics from the University of Bristol in the UK in 2022. He is developing a robot arm platform with an adaptive control system to achieve better rehabilitation performance for patients with upper limb neuromuscular disorders. Yu's concentration is in biomechanics, and his interests are in rehabilitation engineering, control system design and development.
LinkedInUndergraduate Students
Kevin Castner
Kevin is a junior mechanical engineering student. He is working in the lab sponsored by the Pinnacle scholar program. In the future, Kevin would like to work in the prosthetics and medical device industry. In the lab, he has worked on designing various parts for a robotic arm, haptic feedback gloves, and helped with revisions to an arm brace. Kevin also plans to work on data analysis and design the motor functionality of the robotic arm.
Ishaan Wanikar
Ishaan Wanikar graduated with a Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering in Spring of 2022. Ishaan's interests are in medical device design and development, biomechanics, orthopaedics and prosthetics.
Daniel Yu
Daniel Yu is an undergraduate Computer Science major with a planned concentration in machine learning. He was a member of the Center for Neuromechanics summer research program who assisted in researching how machine learning can be applied to aid efforts in rehabilitation. In the future, he hopes to further deepen his understanding of artificial intelligence to create new ways of benefiting society.
Amanda Clemente
Amanda Clemente is a senior Mechanical Engineering degree with a Biomedical Engineering concentration. She is assisting in visual and haptic feedback research for the optimization of assisted devices. In the future, she is passionate about working in the medical device field.
Sarah Kuptchik
Sarah Kuptchik is a senior Biomedical Engineering undergraduate student. She is assisting in literature review and scientific writing about the utilization of virtual reality for accelerating motor-learning and increasing cognitive-integration with myoelectric devices. She enjoys volunteering in the community, and she hopes to attend medical school to eventually work with pediatric patients.
Elena Davis
Elena Davis is a 3/4 Biomedical Engineering undergraduate at Stevens. She is assisting in researching how memory and attention can be leveraged for the optimization of assisted devices. Elena hopes to pursue a career in the medical field, whether that be achieved by going to medical school or working in the medical device field.
Trevor Dameika
Trevor Dameika is a 3/4 Biomedical Engineering student. He has assisted in finding innovations for the brace project. As he continues his role with the lab, he hopes to find a role in innovating the medical device industry or working with potential consumers to customize medical devices.
Linda Vataksi
Linda Vataksi is an undergraduate Biomedical Engineering student. She assists in the CAD development of the upper-body restrictive brace device and the Robot Arm Project. In the future, she plans to work in the medical device industry.
Highschool Students
Kwabena Boateng
Kwabena Boateng is a Junior at Ossining High School. He assists in the development of the Virtual Reality Education Module through his development of virtual rehabilitation training tasks for the sense of agency and movement control. In the future, he is focused on pursuing a career in biomedical engineering.
Aqsa Owais
Aqsa Owais is a senior at the Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences. She has developed a virtual reality game to improve the upper-extremity rehabilitation of stroke patients. Her research focuses on the relationship between cognitive engagement and the degree of freedom with rewards. She currently acts as a mentor for our VR education program. In the future, Aqsa would like to pursue a career in biomedical engineering as a physician-scientist.
Matthew Neissen
Matthew Neissen is a junior at High Tech High School, where he's a Biomedical Sciences major with a strong interest in biomedical engineering, mathematics, and computer science. He is in the early stages of developing a virtual reality game to aid in the movement and cognitive rehabilitation of stroke patients suffering from aphasia. He's also the founder of High Tech's SHPE chapter and enjoys coaching his brother's middle-school basketball team in his free time.
Joseph Gisoldi
Joseph Gisoldi is a junior at Wall High School. He is working alongside Micah Rubin and Liam Sittig to develop a virtual reality program designed to provide rehabilitation for hand tremors. He is a member of Wall's Pre-Engineering Academy, and is focused on a future career in Engineering.
Micah Rubin
Micah Rubin is a junior member of the pre-engineering academy at Wall High School. Currently he is working in collaboration with Joseph Gisoldi and Liam Sittig to create a virtual reality application designed to reduce hand tremors and improve manual dexterity. In the future Micah would like to pursue a career in the field of biomedical engineering.
Liam Sittig
Liam Sittig is a junior in Wall High School's Pre-Engineering Academy. Liam is working with Joseph Gisoldi and Micah Rubin to develop a virtual reality program designed to provide rehabilitation for those who suffer from hand tremors. In the future, Liam hopes to pursue a career in computer engineering.
Ashita Birla
Ashita Birla is a junior and ISEF finalist at Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School. She is working to leverage virtual reality towards working memory rehabilitation therapy for patients with neurological injuries/disorders by testing visuospatial retention. In the future, Ashita hopes to pursue her passion in computer science and biomedical engineering.
Shruti Tyagi
Shruti Tyagi is a senior and ISEF alum at the Middlesex County Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences. She is working to develop a rehabilitation game for amblyopia that seeks to improve vision of the weaker eye. Her interests lie in biomedical engineering and health care research.
Mayur Srinivas
Mayur Srinivas is a senior at the Academy for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering. He is developing a simulation that addresses problems with motor control in patients with neuromuscular disorders. In the future, Mayur would like to pursue Biomedical Engineering, specifically Biomechanics, and aid in the design of prosthetic devices.
Raj Shah
Raj Shah is a senior at Monroe Township High School. He is working to develop a VR game that will aid in the rehabilitation of spinal cord injury patients by focusing on improving fine motor skills and enabling full-body mobility in patients. In the future, Raj wishes to pursue a career in biomedical engineering as a physician-scientist.
From left to right: Mia Petrolino, Kristina Szumski, Jalen Bailey, Andrew Kim, Mingxiao Liu, Raviraj Nataraj, Sophie Dewil
Alumni
Mingxiao Liu - PhD
Mingxiao Liu graduated with a PhD in Biomedical Engineering in the summer of 2023. His dissertation was titled, 'Multimodal augmented sensory feedback during motor rehabilitative training and its influence on psychophysiological measures'.
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Sean Sanford - PhD
| 2022 BME Outstanding Dissertation Award Winner
Sean Sanford graduated with a PhD in Biomedical Engineering with a focus in Biomechanics in the Spring of 2022. His dissertation was titled 'Augmented Sensory Feedback to Accelerate Motor Performance with Computerized Interfaces for Rehabilitation'.
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Samuel Wilder
| 2020 BME High Academic Achievement Award Winner
Samuel Wilder graduated with a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering with a focus in Neuroprosthetics in the Summer of 2020. His dissertation was titled 'Sense of Agency and Performance in Using 6-DOF Devices'.
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Kevin Walsh
| 2019 Outsanding Dissertation Award
Kevin Walsh graduated with a Master of Science in Bioengineering in the Spring of 2019. His dissertation was titled 'Simulated Nervous System Lesions in Machine Learning for Myoelectric Control'.
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David Hollinger
David Hollinger graduated with a Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering in the Fall of 2018. His dissertation was titled 'Accelerating Neuromotor Learning with Reward Feedback'.
LinkedInGraduate
Troy Bradbury, 2021
Samuel Wilder, 2021 - BME High Academic Achievement Award Winner
Fady Elgindy, 2021
Kevin Walsh, 2019 - Outstanding Master's Dissertation Award
Anthony Santo, 2019
Aniket Shah, 2019
Zheng Xia, 2019
David Hollinger, 2018
Tariq Charleston, 2018
Norika Cheng, 2018
Anna Kedzierska, 2017
Felix Chen, 2017
Jialin Su, 2017
Michael Pacelli, 2017
Undergraduate
Aurora Madera, 2022
Ria Shahi, 2022 - Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summer Scholar
Michelle Wolf, 2022 - Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summer Scholar
Linda Vataksi, 2021 - Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summer Scholar
Trevor Dameika, 2021
Alex Phipps, 2020 - Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summer Scholar
Ian Daley, 2020 - Visiting student, Notre Dame - Mech Eng
Peter Damianov, 2020
Thomas Selvaggi, 2020
Daniel Kang, 2019 - Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summer Scholar
Olivia Poplawski, 2019
Brian Collins, 2019 - Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summer Scholar
Corrine Rybarski, 2018 - Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summer Scholar
Michael Blas, 2018
Gabriella Borodyansky, 2018
Vasu Srevatsan, 2018
Dylan DeBoer, 2017
Harshith Alluri, 2017
Ivette Marte, 2017
High School
Johanna Gomez, 2021
Jeevanantham Sundaram Murugan, 2019
Alec Rybarski, 2019
Edward Kim, 2019
Aarya Mehta, 2019
Claudia Malleti, 2018
Brandon Mooney, 2018