NeuroProstheses Research Laboratory

Departments of Biological Sciences and Biomedical Engineering  

Dr. Kevin J. Otto  received the B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Colorado State University in 1997, the M.S. degree in Bioengineering in 2002 and the Ph.D. Degree in Bioengineering in 2003 from Arizona State University, Tempe.

From 1997 to 2003 he was a Research Assistant in the Bioengineering Department, Arizona State University, where his work was in the areas of neural engineering and sensory neuroprostheses.  From 2003 to 2004 he was a Research Fellow in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where his work focused on brain-machine interface systems and implantable devices.  From 2004 to 2006 he was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Central Systems Laboratory in the Kresge Hearing Research Institute in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where his work focused on cochlear implants. 

He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University.  His research interests include neuroprostheses, systems neuroscience, and neurotechnologies.  Download Dr. Otto's Curriculum Vitae here.

Andrew J. Woolley completed his B.S. in Biology at Indiana University in 2005, also receiving minor degrees in Psychology, Chemistry, and Business.  While at IU, he traveled with a group from Texas A&M to Dominica (field biology research on a rainforest covered island in the Caribbean), worked as assistant to the IU Herbarium director, was Academic Chairperson of the Biology Club, and worked in neuroimaging, primarily with laser confocal microscopy.  Leaving Bloomington, Indiana to pursue graduate studies in far-away West Lafayette, Indiana, he was awarded a Purdue University Life Sciences (PULSe) fellowship, providing him the opportunity to explore more divergent areas of interest, ranging from Arabidopsis hormone transport, to immunohistochemistry applications in hamster cortical tissue and Drosophila reproductive tissue.

In April of 2006 he joined the NeuroProstheses Research Lab to pursue Ph.D. research in the areas of sensory-cortex plasticity and microstimulation of sensory perception in cortex, as well as further the development of animal models for cortical prostheses.

Nnadozie Onunkwo graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in May of 2006 as a Meyerhoff Scholar with a B.S. in Computer Engineering. He is from Riverdale, Maryland in Prince George's County, where he has lived for most of his life. While at UMBC, he participated in various internships with different organizations, including NASA, the University of Colorado, Boulder, and two internships with IBM. On numerous occasions, he also spoke to incoming freshmen about his experiences as an engineer at UMBC. In August of 2006 he joined the NeuroProstheses Research Lab as a Ph.D. candidate. His current work focuses on improving the long-term functionality of cortical prostheses.

Ryan Muir completed his B.S. at Purdue University in electrical and computer engineering technology. As an undergraduate project in this major, he built a heartrate monitor that wirelessly interfaced with a personal computer. He also was part of a microbiology laboratory, as well as a remote medicine laboratory in undergraduate studies, where he learned the fundamentals of research.

Ryan is currently a graduate student in Dr. Kevin Otto's laboratory. His research involves regaining neural signals for output after the reactive tissue response has obscured them.

Seth Wilks received his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering as well as a minor in Psychology from Purdue University in 2007. In the summer of 2006 he joined the NeuroProstheses Research Laboratory through the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. He has been involved with characterization of neural recording and stimulating microelectrodes in vitro and in vivo through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry and has been involved with projects on improving the continuing function of chronically implanted intracortical microelectrodes.

He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Engineering with a research focus in neural engineering. His current project involves improving the functionality of cortical prostheses for chronic stimulation purposes.

Salah (Sal) Sommakia graduated with a B.S. in computer engineering from the University of Aleppo in Syria. Upon coming to the US, he decided to switch vocations, and went for a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering from Rutgers University, where he worked with organic semiconductors for biosensing applications. During the course of his Masters work, he developed a keen in interest in neuroprostheses, and decided to pack up again and head for Purdue, where he is a Ph.D. student in the NeuroProstheses Research Laboratory, co-mentored by Dr. Jenna Rickus.

Building on techniques developed in two different labs, his research will focus on improving the implantable electrode-neural tissue interface.

Julia M. Colby first dabbled in research in high school when she studied gene CD-45 and it's link to lymphoma development in the immuno-supressed at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital. Molecular biology research continued to be a part of her studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (BS Biology, 2001). While attending The Soma Institute for Clinical Massage Therapy (CMT certificate, 2004), she assisted in research on the effects of clinical massage in cancer patients at Northwestern University Hospital. Ms. Colby first joined the Purdue community at the Center for Paralysis Research in May of 2005 where she studied the therapeutic affects of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in traumatic brain injury (TBI). In October 2006, she joined the NPR lab staff and is currently studying rat behavior and training protocols and researching improvements on the biological interface of cortical implants.

Ben Garman is a freshman in Biology with potential plans to further his education in the medical field. Mr. Garman joined the NeuroProstheses Research Lab in early 2007, and has been devout in his temporal training of the rats and in researching temporal threshold detection protocols.

Paul Gilbert is currently taking courses to receive his B.S. in Honors Biochemistry at Purdue University. He plans to attend medical school after graduating and currently has his EMT certification. He joined the NeuroProstheses Research Lab during the end of the first semester as a freshman. He stays very busy as an active member of the University Honors Program, as a College of Science Ambassador, and volunteering for the Purdue Stadium Rescue Squad. He served on the executive board of Purdue Pugwash and was a member of the Emerging Leaders Program. His research interests include signal detection theory and statistical analysis of experimental data. He hopes to help create better training protocols and learn more about neuroprostheses and their implantation into the auditory cortex.

Elizabeth Lenzi is a junior majoring in neurobiology and physiology. Ms. Lenzi will be graduating in May 2008 and plans to continue her studies towards a career in the medical field. Elizabeth has been in the NeuroProstheses Research Lab since October 2006 and is has been focusing on the effects of cortical microstimulation on behavior.

Tracy Liu is a senior in Biomedical Engineering. She joined the NPR lab in the summer of 2007 and plans to pursue a PhD after graduation. Research interests are neuroprostheses and neural regeneration, both of which she has some laboratory experience with now. She is also interested in brain-computer interface research and is considering this as a focus for graduate school.

Andrew Pierce is a Junior in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University.  His past research has focused on orthopedic engineering, with summer research scholar positions held at the Center for Hip and Knee Surgery in Mooresville, Indiana and in the Purdue Orthopedic Bioengineering Lab.  His current research is in the field of neural engineering with a focus in neuroprostheses.  Specific research interests are the mitigation of the reactive tissue response at the brain/electrode interface and applications of neural prostheses for the treatment of chronic disease.   

Harsha Ranganath is a junior in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. He joined the NeuroProstheses Research Lab in the spring of 2007 and is currently working under the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. His research interest is in neural plasticity but he is taking courses to develop a broader knowledge of the principles and methods used in neural engineering.

Casey Roth is an undergraduate student majoring in Neurobiology/Neurophysiology and Psychology. She will graduate in 2009 and plans to continue her studies in medical school. Currently, Ms. Roth's research focus is characterizing the effects of induced electrical currents on cultured neuronal cells.

Rohit Shah is a Biomedical Engineering undergraduate student with plans to graduate in May of 2008. He is minoring in Spanish and Business Management, but would like to attend medical school in the future. Mr. Shah is currently developing a mechanical implantation method for the cortical probes and is assisting Dr. Otto with analyzing data from previous cochlear implant studies.

Send mail to kotto@purdue.edu with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: 04/04/07