People

Dr. Kevin J. Otto received the BS degree in chemical engineering from Colorado State University in 1997, the MS degree in Bioengineering in 2002 and the PhD 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.

In 2014 he joined the faculty of the University of Florida. His primary appointment is Professor and Senior Associate Chair in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida. His research interests include neural engineering, device-tissue interfaces, neurostimulation.

Download Dr. Otto’s Curriculum Vitae

Academic Positions

• 2020-Present: Senior Associate Chair, the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida

• 2018-Present: Professor, the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida

• 2018-Present: Affiliate Faculty, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Florida

• 2016-Present: Affiliate Faculty, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Florida

• 2016-Present: Affiliate Faculty, Department of Neurology, University of Florida

• 2014-Present: 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

Angelique completed her BS in Electrical Engineering at the University of Florida in 2022. Her interest in the electrical stimulation of stem cells from her undergraduate research experience with Dr. Erin Patrick led her to pursue graduate research with Dr. Kevin Otto working on the electrical stimulation of neural units. Currently, she is a PhD student in Dr. Otto’s Neuroprostheses Research Lab collaborating with an interdisciplinary team to engineer neural interfaces, specifically, multi-channel implantable microdevices in both the central and peripheral nervous systems.

Elizabeth received her B.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida in 2022. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, studying the neuronal response to electrical microstimulation and the optimization of these technologies.

Fun facts: She has a three legged cat, is the second in her family to continue into graduate school, and owns a plant that measures 12 feet long.

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Alexander completed his BS in biological engineering and brain & cognitive sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2016. Post graduation, he worked at the Massachusetts General Hospital with Dr. W Malik on quantitative biomarkers for neuromuscular and neurodegenerative disorders. His interest in peripheral nerve interfaces stems from previous collaborations with Drs. E Bizzi at MIT and N Thakor at JHU/SINAPSE. Currently, he is co-advised with Dr. Christine Schmidt (Biomimetic Materials & Neural Engineering Lab) on the collaborative tissue-engineered electrode nerve interface (TEENI) project with aims for less-invasive alternatives for functional restoration.

Fun facts: is originally from Los Angeles, is the first in his family to pursue higher education, is the oldest of five siblings, uses a Nikon (DSLR and film), and prefers to be called Xander. He is a nice person, so don’t be afraid to approach him.

Hunter completed his BS in Physics at Georgia Tech in 2017. His undergraduate research under Dr. Flavio Fenton focused on entropy analysis of cardiac tissue activity under ventricular fibrillation. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering.

Savannah received her B.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2016. Her undergraduate research under Dr. Robert Sorge focused on the behavioral psychology of nociception, with a paper establishing a novel zebrafish model for chronic pain. She worked at a start-up developing a diagnostic device for a year before coming to UF. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida with the support of the NSF graduate research fellowship. She is studying neuromodulation of chronic pain syndromes and plans to look for a post-doc position starting spring 2023. Her CV can be found here.

Ian completed his BS in Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Florida in 2016. He is now pursuing a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering, researching neuroprostheses to facilitate respiratory recovery after spinal cord injury and applying machine learning methodologies to answer associated questions.

Seth earned his B.S. (2011) in Biology and M.S. (2013) in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at the University of Florida. Master’s work focused on metabolic peptide influence upon taste modulation and related neural pathways with Dr. C.D. Dotson and Dr. Sergei Zolotukhin. In 2015 Seth was accepted to the University of Florida’s Interdisciplinary Science Ph.D. program (IDP) and will specialize in Neuroscience.

Pedro is a senior biomedical engineering student at the University of Florida. He is collaborating on the MARTEENI project in which he will be understanding the applications and interactions of PEDOT:PSS on MARTEENI by implanting these devices in Lewis Rats. 

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Carson is a fourth-year biomedical engineering student. He will be collaborating on MARTEENI in which he will help accomplish goals of understanding the applications and interactions of PEDOT: PSS on MARTEENI. He will be performing lab tasks such as cryo-sectioning, aiding in the surgeries of the implantation of this device into Lewis Rats, and chronic collection of data of animals implanted.

Erynne is a third year biomedical engineering student at the University of Florida. She is researching the electrical and electrochemical changes between the different counter-ion molecular weights of the polymer PEDOT:PSS.

Kathleen is a second year electrical engineering student at the University of Florida. She is currently studying voltage-induced structural changes of PEDOT:PSS, with neural electrode applications.

Renae Burke is a fourth year double major in biomedical engineering and violin performance. She is currently working on intracortical magnetic stimulation and is interested in researching bidirectional brain-machine interfaces.

Ramya is a third year biomedical engineering student at the University of Florida. She is researching the effects of electrode site placement on intracortical microstimulation and is interested in attending med school after graduation.

Alyssa is a first year biomedical engineering student at the University of Florida. She plans to pursue her interest in neuroscience and is very excited to start working in the lab.

Nicole is a third year biomedical engineering student with a minor in computer science. She is currently researching the role of electrode-site size on intracortical implantable devices. She is planning on pursuing a PhD and is interested in developing neural technologies for degenerative disorders.

Brandon is a third-year biomedical engineering student specializing in neural engineering. He is researching the electrical properties of shape-memory polymer nerve cuff electrodes for use as neural implants. After graduating, Brandon plans to pursue an MD/PhD program.

Aaron is a fifth year Biomedical Engineering student in the Combined Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree at the University of Florida and is seeking a minor in Electrical Engineering. His work is concentrated about the foreign body response to neural implants in the peripheral nervous system.

Felicia Sedwick is a fifth year biomedical engineering student at the University of Florida. She is working on the TEENI project and will be focusing on nerve regeneration through the threads.

Nicolas Kunigk is a third year biomedical engineering student at the University of Florida with minors in computer science and bioinformatics. He plans on pursuing a PhD and is interested in studying neuroprosthetics.

Ray Ward is a fourth year biomedical engineering student, most interested in the implications of long-term foreign body response on the application of neural implants in modern medicine. He plans on pursuing a PhD and hopes to contribute to the development of novel treatment options for patients with neurological disorder and neuropathic pain.

Alexis is currently in her third year as a biomedical engineering major at the University of Florida. Her current research interests are in investigating the Foreign Body Response in the African Spiny Mouse . After graduating, Alexis looks forward to attending a Ph.D./M.D. combined program and becoming a physician scientist.

Avi is a 3rd year Chemical Engineering student with an Electrical Engineering minor. Avi is interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, and is currently researching histology aspects of TEENI electrode implants. His research interests include brain-computer and peripheral interfaces, electrochemical brain signals, and their interactions with debilitating brain diseases and brain disorders.