Dr. Jacob George Awarded the Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award

Dr. Jacob George and his Utah Neurorobotics Lab was recently awarded the Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award. Thank you to all the fabulous undergraduate researchers in our group whose collective achievements made this award possible. We’ve had 42 undergrad fellows in the lab, who have collectively achieved 31 co-authored abstracts, 21 first-author abstracts, 18 co-authored manuscripts, 5 first-author manuscripts, and 57 competitive research fellowships, totaling $385,299.

A special thanks also to all of the graduate student mentors, who provide the critical day-to-day mentorship and training for our undergrads; this award really wouldn’t be possible without them. It’s great to see our lab working together to create a pipeline from K-12 outreach, to high school interns, undergraduate researchers, and graduate students. Thank you all for your many contributions to our research and team.

Michael Adkins completes NSF I-Corps Entrepreneurial Training Program

Congratulations to Michael Adkins for completing the NSF I-Corps Entrepreneurial Training Program!

Through this program, Michael was awarded $50,000 for customer discovery to explore the commercial viability of his Electronic Grip Gauge (EGG). Over the past month, Michael interviewed over 100 stakeholders (therapists, patients, clinic directors, etc.) to come up with a concise value proposition for a beachhead customer. In other words, he found the problems worth solving, the solutions worth paying for, and the most likely first adopters. As a result of Michael’s hard work, we formed a start-up company and are now competing for seed funding through Bench2Bedside and an NIH STTR grant.

Abby Citterman Receives Several Awards at 50th Academy Annual Meeting & Scientific Symposium

Abby Citterman, a member of the NeuroRobotics Lab since 2020, a recent graduate of Biomedical Engineering at the U, and a graduate student at Northwestern University Prosthetics-Orthotics Center, attended the 50th Academy Annual Meeting & Scientific Symposium last week with the American Academy of Orthotists & Prosthetists. There, she was awarded the Women in O&P Research Award, sponsored by Össur, along with a $1,500 honorarium, for her research titled Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation at the Wrist as a Method to Restore Sensory Feedback for Individuals with Partial Hand Amputation. Abby was also awarded first place in the poster competition for her capstone research project at Northwestern University, titled Do Clinical Assessments of Upper-Limb Prosthesis Users Sufficiently Capture All Dimensions of Anatomical Hand Function?

Congratulations Abby for these prestigious awards!

Abby Citterman is awarded the ABC O&P Scholarship

Abby Citterman, a dedicated member of the NeuroRobotics Lab since 2020, a recent graduate of biomedical engineering at the U, and a graduate student at Northwestern University Prosthetics-Orthotics Center, has been awarded the prestigious ABC O&P Scholarship, a $10,000 scholarship granted by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics & Pedorthics (ABC) and the Orthotics & Prosthetics Foundation for Education and Research (OPERF).

The ABC O&P Scholarship is awarded annually to exemplary students who demonstrate outstanding academic achievements, leadership potential, and a commitment to advancing the field of orthotics and prosthetics. This esteemed scholarship aims to support the education and professional development of promising individuals in O&P.

Abby has embodied these characteristics and more through her work in the Utah NeuroRobotics Lab, leading numerous projects, mentoring several new undergraduate and high school students, and receiving recognition for her research at national and international conferences. As we look towards the future, we are confident that Abby’s contributions will continue to shape the field and inspire others in the pursuit of groundbreaking advancements in healthcare technology. Congratulations, Abby, on this well-deserved recognition, and may your journey be filled with continued success and impact!

For more information about the 2024 ABC O&P Scholarship, please visit www.oandpfoundation.org.

Featured in President Randall’s Legislature Presentation

University of Utah President, Taylor Randall, highlighted the Utah NeuroRobotics Lab multiple times during his recent presentations to the Utah State Legislature. The Utah NeuroRobotics Lab was recognized as a driving force of innovation at the University of Utah, pioneering new technologies that can lead to substantial economic growth in Utah. Slides from the talk highlighting the Utah NeuroRobotics Lab are shown below. Read more about President Randall's vision on the future of higher education and research in the state of Utah, or watch the full presentation.

Next Steps in Clinical Translation

The Utah NeuroRobotics Lab is teaming up with Biological Input Output Systems (BIOS) to bring advanced neuroprostheses to the market. In this presentation at the Utah Life Sciences Summit, Dr. George, director of the Utah NeuroRobotics Lab, presents alongside Joshua Miller, CEO of BIOS. Check out their presentation below!

Summer REU Apps Due 1/28!

We are now accepting applications for summer undergraduate researchers to join the Utah NeuroRobotics Lab! If you're an undergraduate student interested in brain-computer interfaces, assistive/rehabilitative technology, or artificial intelligence, this is the program for you! Applications for our prestigious summer fellowship are now open, so apply today!

Applications are open to all undergraduates, regardless of their year. We strongly encourage applications from individuals from diverse/disadvantaged backgrounds. We are also particularly interested in students from outside of the University of Utah. Travel and housing are provided with the fellowship! Come check out what Utah has to offer.

NeuroRobotics Lab Featured in University Ad

The Utah NeuroRobotics Lab was highlighted in the latest University of Utah recruiting video airing online and on TV across the nation. The video highlights the many wonderful features of Utah, from the greatest snow (and skiing) on earth, to insane red-rock formations that are seemingly out of this world. The video also highlights the vibrant and diverse cultures within Salt Lake City and the surrounding Wasatch Mountains.  The video then goes on to highlight various highlights of the University of Utah, including a video of Dr. George and Connor Olsen working with the TASKA prosthetic hand in the Utah NeuroRobotics Lab, with a voiceover noting the University's "gifted professors."

Check out the inspiring video here: