The Advocacy Team

Our international advocacy team is here to help you make the most of MyoChallenge. Learn more about who we are, what we do, and how you can get in touch. To find out who your nearest advocate is, click on a marker on the map below.

      James

      Heald

James Heald is a postdoc at the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, UCL. He applies ideas from probabilistic machine learning and reinforcement learning to study motor control in brains and machines. For his PhD, he studied motor learning in humans using behavioral experiments, EMG recordings and Bayesian approaches to computational modeling. As a postdoc, he trains musculoskeletal and robotic systems in simulation.

jamesbheald@gmail.com

       Andrea 

      Prestia

I am a PhD student at the Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy. My main interest is on sEMG-based applications, such as control of prosthetic hands, modulation of functional electrical stimulation, and human-machine interfaces in general. During the last year, I started working with MyoSuite to understand how to use musculoskeletal models in conjunction with sEMG data to enhance the performance of my research projects.

andreaprestia96@gmail.com

      Chinmayi

      Goyal

I am a senior at Yorktown High School in New York. For the past two years, I've been associated with Northeastern's NeuMove Laboratory as a Student Researcher.  I'm passionate about robotics, deep reinforcement learning, AI, and research focused on improving human movement. My research leverages MyoSuite to investigate and modulate physical interactions between the neuromusculoskeletal system and wearable robotic exoskeletons/prosthetics.

chinmayigoyal.1@gmail.com

      Nathan

      Pickle

I am a Group Leader and Senior Research Scientist at CFD Research Corp. in Huntsville, AL, USA. My research interests include rehabilitation, human performance, and applied biomechanics. I am especially interested in practical applications of musculoskeletal modeling and simulation to prevent injuries and develop better assistive devices.

nathantpickle@gmail.com

       Ellie 

      Wilson

Ellie Wilson is a Ph.D student in Mechanical Engineering from the Neurobionics Lab at the University of Michigan. She holds a B.S. in Biomedical and Health Sciences Engineering from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill ('20) and M.S. in Bioengineering from Temple University ('22), where she worked under Dr. Daniel Jacobs studying motor and sensory adaptations to lower-limb exoskeletons. Currently, she is advised by Dr. Elliott Rouse developing simulation-based controllers for the Open-Source Prosthetic Leg project and studying the biomechanical impacts of balance interventions. Her research interests include sensorimotor integration, human-machine interactions, and rehabilitation robotics.

elizwils@umich.edu

      Kyoung

      Choe

Kyoung Choe has a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience and is a machine learning enthusiast and open-source contributor. He is interested in teaching robots.

choe.kyoung@gmail.com

      Tatsuki

      Tsujimoto

Tatsuki Tsujimoto is an M.Sc. student researching control systems for myoelectric prosthetic arms with machine/deep learning. He is passionate about the intersection of Biomedical Engineering, Neuroscience, and Artificial Intelligence.

tatsuki.tsujimoto@gmail.com

      Siyuan

      Liu

Siyuan Liu is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, with research interests in reinforcement learning, musculoskeletal systems, and robotics.

liusiyuan2023@ia.ac.cn

      Mahshida

     Hamid

I am a Research Scientist at the Indian Institute of Technology, focusing on biomechanics with a particular interest in robotics and control systems. My work involves exploring the intersection of these fields to advance understanding and applications in human movement and robotic assistance

mahshidahamid@mail.com

      Andrés

      Chavarrías

Andrés Chavarrías is a PhD student in human gait and RL applied to robotic exoskeletons at the Spanish Scientific Research Council  (CSIC). Believer in the use of technology as a solution, he is interested in its applications in the medical sector as rehabilitation wearables. Master in Biomedical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, he has worked in Marsibionics and in multiple EU and Spanish  projects at the University of Alcalá.

andreschavarriassanchez@gmail.com

Want to get in touch? Reach out to any of our team members directly.