Principal Investigator
Shahab Vahdat, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Shahab joined the Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology at the University of Florida (UF) in 2019 as an Assistant Professor. Before starting at UF, he was a postdoctoral scholar in the Departments of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, and Neurosurgery at Stanford University, where he studied neurotreatment and pathophysiology of ischemic stroke in rodent models. His earlier postdoctoral fellowship was at University of Montreal, focused on of spinal cord functional neuroimaging and electrophysiology in humans. He received his PhD degree in the field of human motor neuroscience from McGill University, Canada, in 2012. He obtained his MSc and BSc degrees in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology and University of Tehran.
His areas of research include neuroplasticty in motor learning and stroke recovery, with a particular focus on spinal cord circuits using advanced neuroimaging and neurostimulation techniques.
Assistant Professor
Shahab joined the Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology at the University of Florida (UF) in 2019 as an Assistant Professor. Before starting at UF, he was a postdoctoral scholar in the Departments of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, and Neurosurgery at Stanford University, where he studied neurotreatment and pathophysiology of ischemic stroke in rodent models. His earlier postdoctoral fellowship was at University of Montreal, focused on of spinal cord functional neuroimaging and electrophysiology in humans. He received his PhD degree in the field of human motor neuroscience from McGill University, Canada, in 2012. He obtained his MSc and BSc degrees in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology and University of Tehran.
His areas of research include neuroplasticty in motor learning and stroke recovery, with a particular focus on spinal cord circuits using advanced neuroimaging and neurostimulation techniques.
Lab Assistants
Elizabeth Rose Roberts
Laboratory Manager
Rose earned her BSc in biology at UF and is currently the lab manager of the Sensorimotor Plasticity Lab, splitting her time coordinating both human and animal team projects. Her work in the lab involves conditioning mice to learn a cued motor sequence task, and comparing deficits in learning and motor performance after induction of stroke. She loves her Siamese cat Sylvia, biking the Hawthorne trail, and cooking unnecessarily elaborate dishes.
Laboratory Manager
Rose earned her BSc in biology at UF and is currently the lab manager of the Sensorimotor Plasticity Lab, splitting her time coordinating both human and animal team projects. Her work in the lab involves conditioning mice to learn a cued motor sequence task, and comparing deficits in learning and motor performance after induction of stroke. She loves her Siamese cat Sylvia, biking the Hawthorne trail, and cooking unnecessarily elaborate dishes.
PhD Students
Vishwas Jindal
Applied Physiology and Kinesiology
Vishwas is a first year Ph.D. student in the Applied Physiology and Kinesiology Department at the University of Florida. He has graduated with a B.S. and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering and has worked in the industry prior to starting his PhD. He is keen on learning the deep-rooted concepts of Neural System and Neuroimaging and aims to develop novel engineering solutions to problems associated with neurological limitations and dysfunctions.
In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, exploring the outdoors and binging on Bollywood movies.
His research primarily involves determining the neural and behavioral mechanism of intact and lesioned mice undergoing motor skill learning and optogenetic stimulation.
Applied Physiology and Kinesiology
Vishwas is a first year Ph.D. student in the Applied Physiology and Kinesiology Department at the University of Florida. He has graduated with a B.S. and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering and has worked in the industry prior to starting his PhD. He is keen on learning the deep-rooted concepts of Neural System and Neuroimaging and aims to develop novel engineering solutions to problems associated with neurological limitations and dysfunctions.
In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, exploring the outdoors and binging on Bollywood movies.
His research primarily involves determining the neural and behavioral mechanism of intact and lesioned mice undergoing motor skill learning and optogenetic stimulation.
Master Students
Cho-Lun Chaing
Biomedical Engineering
Cho-Lun is now a second year Master’s student in the Biomedical Engineering Department. His interest is mainly in physiological signal processing and constructing the user interface. He's now working on the topic of investigating the electromyographic correlations of force control and learning, which aim to analyze the motor learning behavior in human subjects. He uses LabVIEW to program motor sequence learning paradigms.
Biomedical Engineering
Cho-Lun is now a second year Master’s student in the Biomedical Engineering Department. His interest is mainly in physiological signal processing and constructing the user interface. He's now working on the topic of investigating the electromyographic correlations of force control and learning, which aim to analyze the motor learning behavior in human subjects. He uses LabVIEW to program motor sequence learning paradigms.
Jasmine Singh
Biomedical Engineering
Jasmine is a second year Master’s student in the Biomedical Engineering Department. She has experience in MATLAB coding and Python for processing and analysis of biological signals. She has keen interest in understanding the complex neurological pathways in the CNS involved in motor learning and analyzing the physiological signals. She is now working on the script code on Spike 2 software for collecting impulse stimulation data using wireless EMG electrode system, in order to analyze the neural activity behind the flexor carpi radialis muscle during the preparatory phase for a motor task.
Biomedical Engineering
Jasmine is a second year Master’s student in the Biomedical Engineering Department. She has experience in MATLAB coding and Python for processing and analysis of biological signals. She has keen interest in understanding the complex neurological pathways in the CNS involved in motor learning and analyzing the physiological signals. She is now working on the script code on Spike 2 software for collecting impulse stimulation data using wireless EMG electrode system, in order to analyze the neural activity behind the flexor carpi radialis muscle during the preparatory phase for a motor task.
Shailini Nigam
Biomedical Engineering
Shailini is a second year Master’s student at the Department of Biomedical Engineering. She has an inherent interest in data science and is keen on drawing statistical inferences from medical data. Her work is majorly concentrated on multivariate pattern analysis and independent component analysis of fMRI data in order to examine the pattern of functional connectivity between the brain and spinal cord.
Biomedical Engineering
Shailini is a second year Master’s student at the Department of Biomedical Engineering. She has an inherent interest in data science and is keen on drawing statistical inferences from medical data. Her work is majorly concentrated on multivariate pattern analysis and independent component analysis of fMRI data in order to examine the pattern of functional connectivity between the brain and spinal cord.
Sushain Kaul
Biomedical Engineering
Sushain is pursuing his Masters in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UF. He has an undergraduate degree in Biotechnology Engineering and has diverse experience in various segments of Biomedical Research. His current work focuses on studying stroke impacts and recovery in the spinal cord in rodent models. This is done using Optogenetic techniques along with fMRI to help understand neural interactions at the system level.
Biomedical Engineering
Sushain is pursuing his Masters in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UF. He has an undergraduate degree in Biotechnology Engineering and has diverse experience in various segments of Biomedical Research. His current work focuses on studying stroke impacts and recovery in the spinal cord in rodent models. This is done using Optogenetic techniques along with fMRI to help understand neural interactions at the system level.