Dr. Scott Thourson (2018-2020)

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Dr. Scott Thourson
Post-Doc
Biomedical Engineering
sthourson@ufl.edu
Neural electrodes

Scott received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Bradley University in Peoria, IL in 2013. His undergraduate research studied how the concentration used for primary protein adsorption affected the binding efficiency of secondary analyze binding for biosensing applications. Scott also designed and tested custom MEMS devices to investigate silicon “micro-welding” or electric current-induced fusion of silicon-silicon surfaces. Scott completed his PhD in Bioengineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA in 2018. His graduate research aimed to develop flexible wire electrodes composed of conductive polymer to electrically interface with individual cells. Scott started his postdoctoral research in the Otto lab in Fall 2018.

Dr. Francisco Delgado (2016-2018)

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Dr. Francisco Delgado
Post-Doc
Biomedical Engineering
fdelgado@ufl.edu
Neural interfaces
[expand title=”Read more”]Francisco received his B.S. in biomedical engineering with a minor in mechanical systems design from Florida International University in Miami. After completion of his degree he moved to Gainesville to begin his doctoral research. In 2010 he joined the Epilepsy Research Lab under the leadership of Dr. Paul R. Carney; here Francisco garnered experience in the field of central nervous disorders and the tools and techniques used to study and treat them. During his tenure in the Epilepsy research lab he was awarded a prestigious CTSI TL1 fellowship, which supported his study of nanotechnological methods for the treatment of epilepsy. His work focused on the interplay of drug delivery technologies and disease, and he wrote his dissertation on the influence of tissue structure and delivery environments on treatment strategies for neurological diseases.

After graduating with his PhD, Francisco joined the Neural Prosthetics Research Lab under Dr. Kevin Otto as a postdoctoral fellow. His current research includes novel methods of stimulating and recording in the peripheral nervous system in vivo, and understanding the outcomes of these methods as they pertain to the restoration of function or improvement of learning. In the future, he hopes to extend this work to create novel technologies to interface with neurological tissues to treat disease, enhance function, and develop a better understanding of how the brain functions.[/expand]

Dr. James B. Graham (2016-2017)

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james-graham-100x133Dr. James B. Graham
Post-Doc
Biomedical Science
jbgraham@ufl.edu
Neural tissue-device interfaces
[expand title=”Read more”]Dr. James B. Graham received his BA degree in biology from La Salle University in 1996 and his PhD degree in biomedical science with a double concentration in neuroscience and clinical translational science from the University of Florida in 2015.

From 2001 to 2010, he was a senior biological scientist at the University of Florida where he focused on various methods to analyze functional recovery in animal models of peripheral nerve injury. During his tenure in the department of pediatric neurology, he published several highly cited reports in well established peer reviewed scientific journals, was awarded a patent from the University of Florida Office of Technology and Licensing with his co inventor and mentor, Dr. David Muir, and was a vital leader and innovator in the development of several commercialized peripheral nerve regenerative components.

He is currently a Post-Doctoral Associate in the Neuro Prostheses Research Laboratory under the mentorship of Dr. Kevin J. Otto where his work focuses on developing and analyzing peripheral nerve electrical interfaces for sensory and motor applications of prosthetic devices. [/expand]