We translate the next generation neuromodulation therapies to hijack the nervous system to treat circuit dysfunction and deliver biomolecules to target areas with unprecedented precision.
What We're Up To
- Acute and longitudinal benchtop characterization of new minimally invasive neural interfaces based on proven experience supporting FDA regulatory submissions
- The application of cutting-edge optical tools in rodents to better understand and design clinical neuromodulation interfaces
- Comprehensively instrumented swine model to refine new neuromodulation strategies at human anatomical scale in order to assess effects and side effects
- Detailed functional and post-mortem anatomical evaluation across animal and human experimental models to reduce the time to translation of new concepts
Members
Rex Chin-Hao Chen
Position title: Research Assistant
Email: rchen328@wisc.edu
Phone: (414)949-7390
Rex is currently focusing on using photoacoustic imaging to visualize the peripheral nerve cross-section. His drive to solve any puzzle set before him has led him to look for all possible ways that we can…
Kevin Cheng
Position title: Assistant Scientist
Email: kpcheng@wisc.edu
Phone: (608)262-9411
Kevin has been with the lab for over 10 years. He completed his undergraduate degree at Purdue University, his MS and PhD in Biomedical Engineering at UW Madison. Kevin designs, implements and runs experiments and…
Ashlesha Deshmukh
Position title: Research Assistant
Email: adeshmukh5@wisc.edu
Phone: (469) 343-9882
Ashlesha is interested in studying neural communication in regards to other bodily systems like immune response and digestion. She hopes to work on innovations which can be translated into the clinic with industrial partnerships. She…
Aaron Gholston
Position title: Research Intern
Email: agholston@wisc.edu
Aaron received his BS in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2020. He is currently acting as WITNe’s Chemical Safety Officer and as an electrochemist; however, he is interested in all things neuroengineering. His…
Maria LaLuzerne
Position title: Research Specialist
Email: mlaluzerne@wisc.edu
Phone: (608)890-1918
Maria has been with the lab since 2018. She is a townie, born and raised about 5 miles away from the UW campus. She completed her B.S. at the UW and previously worked for the…
Matthew LaLuzerne
Position title: Undergraduate Researcher
Email: mjlaluzerne@wisc.edu
Matthew is a 4th year undergraduate student in mechanical engineering who has worked in the lab for over a year. He has worked on many animal motion tracking projects and coding projects. He enjoys projects…
Connor Phipps
Position title: Undergraduate Researcher
Email: crphipps@wisc.edu
Phone: (585) 280-0037
Connor is currently involved in a motion artifact project, when he’s not doing that you can find him helping to organize the lab and collaborating with other lab members on their projects. When he’s not…
Megan Settell
Position title: Research Associate, PhD
Email: settell@wisc.edu
Megan received her B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology and completed her Ph.D. in Clinical and Translational Science. She is interested in understanding the relationship between vagus nerve fascicular organization and off-target effects via functional…
Aaron Skubal
Credentials: Undergraduate
Position title: Undergraduate
Email: askubal@wisc.edu
Aaron has been an integral part of WITNe for 2.5 years and is currently a senior pursuing his degree in Biomedical Engineering and Neurobiology. He participates in almost every aspect of the lab including most…
James Trevathan
Position title: Research Associate, PhD
Email: jtrevathan@wisc.edu
James’ favorite things in the lab are using flurorescent microscopy, electrophysiology, and electrochemistry techniques to understand how novel neuromodulations strategies and electrode designs interact with the biointerface to effect downstream neural activity and burrito Mondays.
Nishant Verma
Position title: Research Assistant
Email: nverma4@wisc.edu
Originally hailing from Singapore, Nishant is a WITNe graduate student. He completed his undergraduate degree at Rice University. Nishant works on large animal studies for minimally invasive neuromodulation therapies. He enjoys grappling with the physics,…
Amanda Weis
Position title: Undergraduate
Email: asweis2@wisc.edu
Phone: (847)821-7787
As an undergrad Amanda has contributed to projects across the WITNe lab and has been able to see the ways in which engineering and neuroscience are inextricably intertwined in the medical field.