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Ajay Pal, Ph.D.
Biography
I am a system neurophysiologist interested in descending motor systems responses after traumatic central nervous system injury. During my doctoral training, I developed a rat model of complete spinal cord injury (SCI), designed a novel way of implanting magnetic nanoparticles at injury site and studied the effect of electromagnetic field exposure on locomotor recovery and regeneration post SCI. In my previous position, I worked on neonatal rat brainstem-spinal cord preparation to characterize descending rhythmic locomotor activity in the lumbar spinal cord. Our overall goal was to interface neuronal networks in the spinal cord with artificial neural networks through neural probes in order to develop neural prostheses for SCI. My current research focuses on the electrical activity of nerve cells to form motor command and how muscles can be activated to produce movements by means of electrical signal. In Carmel’s laboratory, I am working towards deepening our understanding of the corticospinal circuits involved in hand movements. Our aim is to recover functional motor movements through the strengthening of spared circuits after injury by means of paired brain and spinal cord electrical stimulation. Our long-term goal is to develop a robust rehabilitation strategy for motor system paralysis.
Previous Positions
Clinatec, CEA-Leti, Grenoble, France