Dr. Barth is an Advanced Health Fellow in Health Systems Research at the Center for Innovation in Long-term Services and Supports (LTSS-COIN) at the VA Providence Healthcare System, in Providence, RI. She is a licensed occupational therapist trained in clinical and translational science and dissemination and implementation science. She received her BS in Health Behavior Sciences at the University of Delaware (Newark, DE), an MS in Occupational Therapy at Towson University (Towson, MD), and a MS in Clinical Investigation, Certificate in Dissemination and Implementation Sciences and a PhD in Movement Science at Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, MO). In her dissertation, she explored the divergence between lab based and out-of-clinic measurement of the upper limb by developing and validating measurement tools for clinicians using machine learning algorithms. These findings are important because rehabilitation field lags in the adoption of tools, such as wearable sensors, to help quantify motor behavior out of the clinic. As an Advanced Health Fellow in RI, she applies the theoretical perspectives and research skills she has developed to explore questions at the intersection of health systems and rehabilitation research that are most relevant to vulnerable Veteran populations and their service providers. Her research within the LTSS-COIN with Dr. Jennifer Sullivan explores Veterans use of post-acute rehabilitation services within existing VA programs. Her research within the CfNN with Dr. Linda Resnik focuses on using novel methods including wearable sensors (i.e., accelerometers) to measure outcomes of upper limb amputees who are prosthesis users.

Dr. Duffy is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Neurology Department at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). She received her B.S. in Neuroscience at Brown University. After graduating, she pursued research in the Division of Neurotherapeutics in the Psychiatry Department at MGH on the use of deep brain stimulation as a treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder, as well as on functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure neural activity patterns in response to affective visual stimuli in individuals with bipolar disorder. She received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Brown University, where she identified early behavioral phenotypes in mouse models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontal temporal dementia using an automated continuous behavioral monitoring technique. Her research within the BrainGate team at MGH with Dr. Leigh Hochberg revolves around the restoration of communication and upper extremity mobility using an intracortical brain-computer interface for individuals who have lost these abilities.

Dr. Calvert is a postdoctoral research associate in the School of Engineering at Brown University. He received his B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh, where he pursued research investigating factors that enhance motor learning during gait rehabilitation. He received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and Physiology from the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, where his research focused on evaluating spinal neuromodulation approaches to restore lower extremity motor function in individuals with spinal cord injury. Through application of invasive and non-invasive approaches, he identified precise neurorehabilitation-based techniques that restored voluntary muscle control in individuals previously diagnosed with chronic, complete motor paralysis. His research within CfNN and Brown University with Dr. David Borton focuses on the use and development of Intelligent Spinal Interfaces that bidirectionally read-and-write to the nervous system to bridge the gap of a spinal cord lesion to improve sensory, motor, and autonomic function.

Nicole is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Engineering at Brown University. She received her B.S.E.E. and M.S.E.E. from Texas Tech University though she originally hails from southern Louisiana. Following graduation, she served in the U.S. Air Force for 11 years, completing four combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as a Civil Engineer and Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer. After completing her military service, Nicole returned to graduate school to pursue research in brain-computer interfaces. Her research interests include the development of novel neurotechnologies to improve functional outcomes for patients affected by neurological injury or disease, as well as, using these technologies to better understand recovery biomarkers, mechanisms, and trajectories.

Research Interests: early-stage low intensity focused ultrasound for treatment of major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder
Mentor: Noah Philip, MD
Dr. Goldberg joined the residency and Research Training Program from University of Massachusetts Medical School Department of Neurology and Anesthesiology and the Brown University Department of Engineering where she worked with Dr. Leigh Hochberg, MD, PhD (Brown) and Drs. Matthias Walz, MD, FCCP and Robert Brown, Jr., DPhil, MD (UMass) to develop a technology-based protocol for addressing the communicated needs of non-speaking ICU patients. She was the first author of “Development of a manually operated communication system (MOCS) for patients in intensive care units” published in Augmentative and Alternative Communication and completed two patents over the course of the PhD, including “System For Facilitating Speech-Based Communication For Individuals Unable To Speak Or Write”. Dr. Goldberg had summer research experiences at the Speak Your Mind Foundation in Providence, RI, and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering in Boston, MA where she worked on the development of assistive communication technology for persons with severe physical disabilities impacting movement and speech and designed, administered, and analyzed results of a novel behavioral intervention for autistic adolescents designed to introduce natural emotional expressions in a supportive learning environment.

Dr. Petrosino is a psychiatry resident at Brown University. He earned his bachelor of the arts as a double major in philosophy and psychology from Villanova University in 2012. Upon graduating he began working as a mental health counselor at Walden Behavioral Care’s residential program helping to treat patients with eating disorders. Inspired by this experience to pursue a career in psychiatry, Nick then completed a pre-medical post-baccalaureate program at Loyola University before obtaining his medical doctorate at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. During this time, he developed research interests in the use of neurostimulation interventions in mood and anxiety disorders while working in Dr. Noah Philip’s laboratory. In particular, Nick has investigated clinical outcomes and EEG/fMRI biomarkers of disease and treatment response with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in veterans with depression and PTSD. The aim of this work has been to optimize these techniques by improving protocol and elucidating biomarkers that can inform a personalized stimulation approach.

Anthony Roberts is a PhD student in Health Services Research at Brown University. He received his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at Northern Illinois University and a M.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Minnesota. Anthony has held multiple roles at different companies in the MedTech industry, including GE Healthcare, Alcon, and Medtronic, where he worked on optimizing the delivery of safe and effective medical devices. His research interests involve examining the equitable utilization, safety, and cost of medical devices, particularly for older adults, vulnerable groups, and those with complex health conditions. His research within CfNN with Dr. Linda Resnik focuses on evaluating racial/ethnic differences in prosthesis access and the impact of prosthetic care on health outcomes and costs.