Category: Award

UROP Awards for Spring 2025

Huge congratulations to Ava Lloyd, Luke Jones, and Lily Nygard for their UROP Proposals being accepted and funded for the Spring 2025 semester! The Utah Undergraduate Research Program (UROP) funds students for up to two semesters of research. Each of these students submitted a project proposal under the direction of graduate and faculty mentors.

Ava is working in collaboration with an OT in the NRH to develop a walking aid for patients to use with parallel bars during gait rehabilitation.

Luke is working with MDs in the Emergency Medicine department to develop a sensorized glove to detect and prevent frostbite.

Lily is working to investigate the effects of electrical stimulation on upper-limb spasticity after a stroke!

 

Dr. Jacob George awarded Outstanding Teaching Award from the College of Engineering

Last week, I was awarded the Outstanding Teaching Award from the College of Engineering! This is a pretty big win since I was up against faculty of all ranks, many of whom have been teaching for a lot longer than I have been.

What I’ve learned is that teaching is hard! It really takes a village to deliver a quality learning experience, especially in a new area like neurotech where there are no textbooks or standardized lab equipment. This award is really a reflection of the village that makes my courses possible. This includes:

  • Caleb Thomson, as the initial TA for my NeuroRobotics Class who did a TON of legwork to get all the labs started.
  • Fredi Mino, who took as TA and continued to improve the labs in lots of exciting ways.
  • Marshall Trout, who developed the hardware that makes the stimulation labs possible.
  • Abby Harrison and Clay Stanley, who have taken up the mantle to continue supporting the stimulation hardware.
  • Connor Olsen, who lead the development of my undergraduate Robotics class and served as an award-winning TA.
  • Marta M. Iversen, who has been an excellent teaching mentor and sounding board for countless ideas and challenges.
  • Abby Citterman and Connor Olsen, for writing letters of recommendation for my application to this award.
  • Many others who volunteer their time each semester to help grade and/or serve as an extra hands-on deck to support the labs and final projects in both classes.
  • And all of my students who have likely taken one of my classes at some point, supporting their enrollment and growth, and providing the critical feedback to improve the course. Oh, and the good course evaluations definitely help!

Thank you all for your contributions to this great achievement. It’s been a fun teaching journey, and I look forward to more exciting things to come with the new courses we’re developing next to support the new neurotech program.

-Dr. Jacob George

Clay Stanley awarded the NIH fellowship

University of Utah Electrical engineering Ph.D. student Clay Stanley received a $144,000 two-year fellowship from the National Institute of Health for individuals with a disability. These funds will support Stanley as he continues his research on non-invasive transcutaneous functional electrical stimulation.

Stanley learned about the NeuroRobotics lab from the family member of a previous inpatient of the Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH), where the NeuroRobotics lab is located.  The lab is run by assistant professor Jacob George, who mentors dozens of students on projects for neurorobotic technology. The majority of these projects focus on the advancement of rehabilitation technology for amputees, stroke, and spinal cord injury survivors.

After a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in 2011, Stanley credits improvements in his recovery to extensive physical and occupational therapy research programs established by the NeuroRecovery Network (NRN). In 2015, he participated in an NRN program that used an FES algorithm with positive results on SCI patient rehabilitation outcomes.

One of the senior Ph.D. students in the lab, Marshall Trout, has worked on the development of new FES technology as one of his research aims. Stanley has continued the work of one of these projects that deals with the use of a multi-electrode stimulator to activate the paretic hand of individuals with neurological impairments of the upper extremity.

Modern FES systems can activate paretic muscles, however there is difficulty in activating the muscles in a way that can help patients make functional movements. The two years of funds from the NIH can support Stanley as he pursues his research aim of improving FES therapy for rehabilitation. His goal is to improve FES devices to better assist patients in rehabilitation with more effective hardware, software, and algorithm designs.

Abby Citterman receives O&P Foundation Chester Haddan Scholarship

The Orthotics and Prosthetics Foundation for Education and Research with the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics, and Pedorthics (ABC) offer a scholarship to support individuals pursuing a clinical Master’s degree in orthotics and prosthetics (O&P). Research fellow Abby Citterman has been awarded the Chester Haddan Scholarship for 2024, which includes a $2,500 cash award.

“Abigail is a recent graduate of Northwestern University Prosthetics-Orthotics Center, an incoming NCOPE resident with Gillette Children’s, and a research fellow with the Utah NeuroRobotics Lab, developing and validating novel rehabilitative technologies for individuals with neuromuscular disabilities. She has a specialized interest in the convergence of neural engineering, O&P, and design. Abby is especially passionate about helping bridge the gap between cutting-edge innovation in academia and the most optimal, personalized patient care. She also loves exploring the outdoors, creating art, and making music. Abby is deeply honored to be recognized as the recipient of the Chester Haddan Scholarship and is inspired by his legacy of innovation, leadership, and service.”

Congratulations Abby!

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.

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.

Abby Citterman wins American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association’s Edwin and Kathryn Arbogast Award

Congrats to Abby Citterman for being honored with the best prosthetic abstract at the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association National Assembly! Her poster is titled Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation at the Wrist as a Method to Restore Sensory Feedback for Individuals with Partial Hand Amputation. Sensory feedback is critical for dexterous hand function, but current methods are cumbersome, inhibiting the natural use of the residual hand or prosthesis. TENS at the wrist may constitute a functional solution for evoking distally referred sensations on the phantom digits and restoring intuitive, non-restrictive sensory feedback for individuals with partial hand amputation.

The Edwin and Kathryn Arbogast Award and the Otto and Lucille Becker Award were founded in 2012, made possible by a special endowment by Becker Orthopedic and WillowWood. These awards honor two meritorious scientific papers submitted for presentation as a poster at the AOPA National Assembly, to encourage students and residents to display outstanding posters.

The Edwin and Kathryn Arbogast Award is awarded annually for the best prosthetic abstract submitted by a qualifying student or resident. The main author of each presentation must be a student (baccalaureate or master level), or a resident at a qualified patient care facility. This prestigious honor also comes with $500 cash, free travel and lodging, and complimentary registration for the 2023 American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association National Assembly in Indianapolis, Indiana. Congratulations to Abby on this award!

Dr. George Wins ECE Rising Star Award

Dr. George was recently awarded the Rising Star Award from the University of Utah Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. This is a rare and prestigious award only given out every few years. The award recognizes up and coming faculty who are excelling in research, teaching, and service. Since joining the department, Dr. George has raised nearly $4 million in research funding, earned a spot among the top 15% course instructors in the College of Engineering, and established four new programs/partnerships in the ECE department (Robotics, MD-PhD, Neuroscience, and NeuroEngineering).

In response to receiving this award, Dr. George thanked his mentors for their continued support as well as his excellent students who have made his research and courses so successful.