Dr. Kevin J. Otto

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Dr. Kevin J. Otto
Professor and Dane A. Miller Head of Biomedical Engineering
kotto@purdue.edu
LinkedIn, Twitter (@OttoKev)
ORCID iD
Neural engineering, device-tissue interfaces and neurostimulation

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Kevin J. Otto is a Professor and the Dane A. Miller Head of the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University, where his research interests include neural engineering, device-tissue interfaces, and neurostimulation. He was at UF from 2014-2024 as part of the UF Pre-eminence program, coming from Purdue University, where he was an Associate Professor in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Biological Sciences.

He received the BS degree in chemical engineering from Colorado State University (1997), and both the MS degree (2002) and PhD degree (2003) in Bioengineering from Arizona State University. From 2003 to 2004 he was a Research Fellow in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan 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 where his work focused on cochlear implants. He was an Assistant Professor and Associate Professor at Purdue University from 2006-2014. An accomplished leader, he served as the Senior Associate Chair of the UF BME Department from 2020-2023, leading the academic programs through the COVID pandemic and initializing ABET Accreditation preparations. Prior to that he served as the Chair of the UF BME Executive Committee (2015-2018) and the Chair of the UF Awards Committee (2015-2020). He also led by serving as PI on several multidisciplinary, multi-investigator research projects including a 4-year NIH Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Program U01, and two separate DARPA Programs, a 4-year Targeted Neuroplasticity Training (TNT) Program and a 3-year Reliable Neural Interface Technologies (RE-NET) Program. While faculty at Purdue University he served as the Awards Committee Chair for the Weldon School from 2011-2014 and as the Faculty Advisor for the Weldon School Graduate Student Association from 2007-2014. He was also very active in the Purdue Sigma Xi chapter, serving as the Distinguished Lecture Committee Chair from 2012-2014. A dedicated mentor, he has supervised over 56 post-doctoral and graduate trainees, and over 115 undergraduate students. He has received many honors and recognitions, including the UF Doctoral Dissertation Advisor/Mentoring Award, the UF BME Service Award, the UF BME Research Award, the Weldon School Faculty Service Award, and the Outstanding Faculty Award from the Weldon School Graduate Student Association. He is a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and has served on numerous editorial and advisory boards. Academic Positions

  • 2024-Present: Professor and Dane A. Miller Head of the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering
  • 2020-2023: Senior Associate Chair, the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida
  • 2018-2024: Professor, the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida
  • 2018-2024: Affiliate Faculty, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Florida
  • 2016-2024: Affiliate Faculty, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Florida
  • 2016-2024: Affiliate Faculty, Department of Neurology, University of Florida
  • 2014-2024: Affiliate Faculty, Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida
  • 2014-2018: Associate Professor, the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida (with tenure)
  • 2012-2014: Associate Professor, the Department of Biological Sciences and the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University (with tenure)
  • 2006-2012: Assistant Professor, the Department of Biological Sciences and the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University
  • 2003-2006: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Program in Hearing, Balance and Chemical Senses, Kresge Hearing Research Institute, University of Michigan
  • 2001-2003: Research Staff, Neural Engineering Laboratory, Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Michigan
  • 1998-2001: Research Assistant, Neural Computation Laboratory, Bioengineering Department, Arizona State University
  • Spring 1998: Teaching Assistant, Surgical Techniques, Arizona State University
  • Spring 1998: Teaching Assistant, Heat and Mass Transfer, Arizona State University
  • Fall 1997: Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Bioengineering, Arizona State University

Education

  • Jul 2004 – Feb 2006, Post-Doctoral Fellow Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan
  • Aug 2003 – Jul 2004, Post-Doctoral Fellow Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan
  • Aug 2002 – May 2003, PhD Biomedical Engineering, Arizona State University
  • Aug 1997 – Aug 2002, MS Biomedical Engineering, Arizona State University
  • Aug 1993 – May 1997, BS Chemical Engineering, Colorado State University

 

Anthony Au

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Anthony Au is a senior in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. He joined the NPR Lab in the 2012 as an undergraduate volunteer. He hopes to attain a Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering and pursue a career involving neural engineering.

Kaylin Crosby

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Undergraduate Student

Anna Filley

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Anna is a Sophomore in Biomedical Engineering and joined the NPR lab summer of 2011. She received College of Science Dean’s Choice Award at 2012 Purdue University Undergraduate Poster Competition (primary author: A Filley). She also received College of Engineering Student’s Choice Award at 2013 Purdue University Undergraduate Poster Competition (primary author: A Filley).

Julian Jimenez

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Julian Jimenez is an undergraduate student majoring in Biomedical Engineering. He joined the NPRL in Fall 2012.

Roy Lycke (2012-07/2014)

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Roy Lycke graduated with a B.S. and a M.S. in computer engineering from the Iowa State University in 2011 and 2012 respectively. At Iowa State he worked with Dr. Santosh Pandey in bioengineering and the analysis of C. elegans. He desires to bring his engineering perspective to the field of brain machine interfaces and neuroprostheses. He is currently a Ph.D. student in the NeuroProstheses Research Laboratory of Purdue University.

Derrick McKee

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Derrick McKee is an undergraduate working in the laboratory. He has a degree in physics from Carnegie Mellon and is currently pursuing a computer science degree.

Hanna Prost

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Undergraduate Student

Ryan Slabaugh

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Ryan Slabaugh is a junior in the College of Science majoring in Biology. He joined the NPR Lab team in January 2011. He is interested in researching the rat model of Parkinson’s disease. Ryan hopes to gain entry into IU Medical School and become a general surgeon.

Alan Truong (2010 – 07/2014)

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Alan Truong completed his B.S. in Bioengineering at the University of Utah in 2010. Currently he is pursuing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University. He joined the Neuroprostheses Research Laboratory in the fall of 2010 and is currently involved in Parkinson’s disease research.

Ryan Verner (2013-07/2014)

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Ryan Verner completed his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis in December of 2012. During his undergraduate studies, he worked in the Electrical and Optical Neuroimaging Lab under Dr. Linda Larson-Prior and in Dr. Daniel Moran’s Brain-Computer Interfacing Lab. A majority of his research focused on ECoG data analysis in humans and primates. In January 2013, Ryan began working toward his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University, immediately joining the Neuroprostheses Research Laboratory. While his research aims have yet to be solidified, Ryan is interested in the characterization and mitigation of the reactive tissue response for chronically implanted electrodes.

Education:

  • 2013-Present: Ph.D. Candidate in Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University
  • 2009-2012: B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis

Publications:

Zempel, J., Politte, D., Kelsey, M., Verner, R., Nolan, T., Babajani-Feremi, A., Prior, F., Larson-Prior, L.J. Characterization of scale-free properties of human electrocorticography in awake and slow wave sleep states. Frontiers in Sleep and Chronobiology, 2012; 3:76. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2012.00076

Kelsey, M., Politte, D., Verner, R., Zempel, J.M., Nolan, T., Babajani-Feremi, A., Prior, F., Larson-Prior, L.J. Determination of neural state classification metrics from the power spectrum of human ECoG. IEEE/EMBS Conf. 2012. IEEE Xplore in press.