Our People - Stroke

Research Interests:

• Assistive Robotics and Rehabilitation Engineering

• Neuromechanical Modeling; Robot-Based System ID
• Human-Robot Interaction and Neural Control
• Movement Analysis and Sensorimotor Deficit Modeling
• Smart Implants and Prosthetics
• Intelligent Systems and Machine Learning 

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Research Interests

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Boredom
• Mental Health 
• Neuroimaging 

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Research Interests:

• Biological Signal processing
• Brain-computer interface
• Human-machine interface
• Rehabilitation Engineering

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[Office of Research News] March 12, 2018 "Received Early Researcher Award" 

Research Interests:

• Design/discovery of potential therapeutics to target various diseases
• Understanding the structure and pharmacology of membrane proteins
• Development of in silico methods/tools for sequence, structure and functional analysis
• Inferring the structure-function evolution of proteins
• Protein engineering for biotechnology and pharmaceutical applications

[American Chemical Society] January 23, 2012 "Exploring Inhibitor Release Pathways in Histone Deacetylases Using Random Acceleration Molecular Dynamics Simulations"

[Wiley Online Library] July 27, 2013 "Ligand release mechanisms and channels in histone deacetylases"

[Royal Society of Chemistry] December 19, 2013 "A steered molecular dynamics mediated hit discovery for histone deacetylases"

[Nature Methods] May 8, 2017 "ModelFinder: fast model selection for accurate phylogenetic estimates"

[Royal Society of Chemistry] October 24, 2017 "Reverse engineering: transaminase biocatalyst development using ancestral sequence reconstruction"

Research Interests:

• Neuroscience and neurological disorders
• Balance, gait, exercise
• Aging
• Understanding how the brain and other parts of the central nervous system control movements of the body
• Using advanced measurements systems to improve recovery time after a neurological injury (such as a stroke) and minimize age-related effects on movement control (such as reducing the risk of falling). 
• Electroencephalography and electromyography
• Transcranial magnetic stimulation, magnetic resonance imaging, peripheral nerve stimulation
• Galvanic skin measurement
• Eye-tracker, motion analysis, and kinetic measurement

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[Waterloo News] August 19, 2015 "Wearable technologies will improve stroke rehabilitation"

[Waterloo Stories] February 4, 2014 "Finding your way after a stroke"

Research Interests:

• Biomechanics engineering (injury rehabilitation, assistive devices for elderly, athletes, disabled)

• Mechatronic and robotic systems

• Multibody system dynamics

• Computational methods for analysis and design

• Advanced vehicle systems

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Canada Research Chair in Biomechatronic System Dynamics [Canada Research Chair Profile]

NSERC/Toyota/Maplesoft Industrial Research Chair in Mathematics-Based Modelling and Design [NSERC Profile]

[Waterloo Stories] February 20, 2019 "Engineering innovation for wheelchair curlers"

[Waterloo Stories] August 5, 2016 "Rio Olympics 2016: Engineering speed for the Canadian track cycling team"

[Waterloo Stories] June 17, 2015 "Waterloo’s $10M dream facility for smarter, greener cars"

Office of Research - Technology Transfer & Commercialization:

• Vehicle Rollover Control using Pulsed Active Steering Control Strategy

Research interests:

• Identifying interventions to promote well-being of people with, and those at risk for, dementia
• Co-design of technologies, programs, and services with people living with dementia, care partners, and other stakeholders, with a focus on physical activity and other lifestyle strategies
• Co-development of professional development programs for health and community service providers to promote quality and accessibility of health and wellness programs and services for persons living with dementia
• Integration of virtual programs, including virtual reality, to promote physical activity and healthy living

Research interests: 

• Neurobiological embedding of adversity
• Biological characteristics that influence outcome from brain injury
• Drug development, biomarkers
• Stroke; biological characteristics that influence outcomes from brain injury

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Research Interests:

•  design and control of spinal exoskeletons for he prevention of back pain
•  development of assistive robotic devices to increase mobility of older person
•  design studies of lower limb exoskeletons

Research Interests:

• Calcium channel analysis for target drug delivery for treatment of pain, arrhythmias, angina, and potential benefits in treatment of epilepsy and cancer.

• Structure, function and pharmacology of calcium channels and sodium channels

• Structure and function and analysis of NALCN cation channel  and anti-calcium channel toxins

• The Spafford Neurobiology Research Laboratory studies voltage-gated calcium channels, molecular physiology, biophysics, cell biology, protein biochemistry, fluorescence microscopy and tissue cultures.

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[Science News] April 25, 2014 "Waterloo discovers a key regulator in the pacemakers of our brain and heart"

Research Interests:

• Rehabilitation engineering and assistive technologies (gerontology, Osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, fall risk in stroke survivors, and rehabilitation following traumatic brain injury)

• Neuromotor control

• Biomedical signal analysis

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[Waterloo Stories] July 8, 2014 "GPS technology may help detect Alzheimer’s disease earlier"

Research Interests:

• Stem cells, nanofabrication and advancement of biomaterials in healthcare technologies to repair, replace or regenerate damaged tissue and organ structures

• Fabrication and application of nano-structure for biomedical applications in neural, vascular, and cornea tissue engineering

• ​Biomaterial approach to study ex-vivo pluripotent stem cell expansion

• Modulation of cell behavior with nanotopography

• Topography-regulation of stem cells lineage commitment and differentiation

• Differentiation of adult and pluripotent stem cells with nanotopography

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Research Interests:

• Ultrasound imaging innovations: Complex flow imaging, High-performance beamforming platforms, Flow phantom design

• Therapeutic ultrasound discoveries: Sonoporation, Micro/nanobubble cavitation, Wave-matter interactions, Cellular dynamics studies

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