PI: Francisco Valero-Cuevas, Ph.D.



[email protected]

Francisco’s Bio
I attended Swarthmore College from 1984-88 where I obtained a BS degree in Engineering. After spending a year in the Indian subcontinent as a Thomas J Watson Fellow, I joined Queen’s University in Ontario and worked with Dr. Carolyn Small. The research for my Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Queen’s focused on developing non-invasive methods to estimate the kinematic integrity of the wrist joint.
In 1991, I joined the doctoral program in the Design Division of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Stanford University. I worked with Dr. Felix Zajac developing a realistic biomechanical model of the human digits. This research, done at the Rehabilitation R & D Center in Palo Alto, focused on predicting optimal coordination patterns of finger musculature during static force production.
After completing my doctoral degree in 1997, I joined the core faculty of the Biomechanical Engineering Division at Stanford University as a Research Associate and Lecturer. In 1999, I joined the faculty of the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University as Assistant Professor, and was tenured in 2005. In 2007, I joined the faculty at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and the Division of Biokinesiology & Physical Therapy at the University of Southern California as Associate Professor; where I was promoted to Full Professor in 2011. In 2013 I was elected Senior Member of the IEEE, and in 2014 to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineers. In 2018, I was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Biology from Swarthmore College. In 2024, he joined Science Advances, the open access multidisciplinary journal from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), as Associate Editor.


Ph.D. Students


  • Angelo Bartsch Jimenez
    Ph.D. Student in Biokinesiology
    M.Sc. in Statistics
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Interested in how the brain uses somatosensory information to control the human movement.

  • Grace Niyo
    Ph.D. Student in Biomedical Engineering
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    I am interested in neuromechanics, sensorimotor control of limb movements, and Neuroprosthetic devices.

  • Mohammad Hesam Azadjou
    Ph.D. Student in Biomedical Engineering
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Website
    Research in Data Analysis, Bio-inspired Robotics, and Machine Learning.

  • Romina Mir
    Ph.D. Student in Biomedical Engineering
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Studying the role of sensory information in autonomous robotic manipulation.

  • Majid Abbasi Sisara
    Ph.D. Student in Biokinesiology
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Interested in neuroscience and brain mapping.

  • Arya Salgaonkar
    Ph.D. Student in Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy
    [email protected]
    Interested in understanding the impact of motor learning contingency paradigms on motor control during tummy time in typically developing and preterm infant.


Lab Members

Information for Prospective Interns


  • Natalie Fung
    M.S. in Communication Data Science
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Interested in disability and rehabilitation engineering. Lab Manager and Webmaster. Lab member since Spring 2022.

  • Nathan Matharu
    M.S. Student in Biomedical Engineering
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Interested in bio-inspired design and the role of soft deformations in hand manipulation tasks. Lab member since Summer 2022.

  • Martino Porcu
    B.S. Student in Biomedical Engineering (Mol-Cell emphasis)
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Lab member since Fall 2023.

  • Sean Shinpeng Cheng
    B.S. Student in Quantitative Biology
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Interested in somatosensory information for motor function rehabilitation. Lab member since Fall 2023.

  • Greg Rosenkranz
    B.S. Student in Biomedical Engineering
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Interested in neuromuscular control and rehabilitation for improved mobility. Lab member since Spring 2024.

  • Xiaosi (Horace) Zhang
    M.S. Student in Biomedical Engineering
    [email protected]
    Interested in biomimetic robotics design, control, and optimization. Lab member since Spring 2024.

  • Jiajin Zhang
    M.S. Student in Computer Engineering
    [email protected]
    Interested in reinforcement learning algorithms and communication system. Lab member since Fall 2024.

  • Chih-Cheng (Brian) Hsieh
    M.S. Student in Electrical Engineering
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Interested in robot perception, planning algorithms, and intelligent control systems. Lab member since Fall 2024.

  • Matthew Salaway
    M.S. Student in Computer Science
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Interested in computational neuroscience, with a focus on applying multimodal AI and machine learning to brain data. Lab member since Fall 2024.

  • Darren Huang
    M.S. Student in Computer Science
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Lab member since Fall 2024.

  • Megan Seth
    B.S. Student in Biological Sciences
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Interested in neuromuscular symptoms and brain mapping. Lab member since Spring 2025.

  • Krishna Pradeep Wankhede
    M.S. Student in Computer Science
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Interested in reinforcement learning, dexterous robotic manipulation, and AI-driven control systems. Lab member since Spring 2025.

  • Micayla Campanelli
    B.S. Student in Biomedical Engineering
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Interested in women's health, injury prevention, and neuromechanics. Lab member since Spring 2025.

  • Noah Skoog
    B.S. Student in Biomedical Engineering
    [email protected]
    LinkedIn
    Interested in neuromuscular control, rehabilitation, and bio-inspired robotics to enhance mobility. Lab member since Spring 2025.



Doctoral Alumni

Suraj Chakravarthi Raja - Ph.D. Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2023: LinkedIn
Darío Urbina-Meléndez - Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, 2023: LinkedIn
Pegah Ojaghi - Ph.D. Computer Engineering, 2023
Ali Marjaninejad - Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, 2021: LinkedIn | Website
Jasmine Berry - Ph.D. Computer Science, 2020: LinkedIn | Website
Dan Hagen - Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, 2020: LinkedIn | Website
Brian Cohn - Ph.D. Computer Science, 2020: LinkedIn | Website
Akira Nagamori - Ph.D. Biokinesiology, 2020: LinkedIn | Website
Na-hyeon (Hannah) Ko - Ph.D. Biokinesiology, 2016: LinkedIn | Website
Emily Lawrence - Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, 2016: LinkedIn
Alexander Reyes - Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, 2015: LinkedIn
Sudarshan Dayanidhi - Ph.D. Biokinesiology, 2012: LinkedIn | Website
Joshua Inouye - Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, 2012
Kornelius Rácz - Ph.D. Neuroscience, 2012
Manish Kurse - Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, 2012: LinkedIn
Evangelos Theodorou - Ph.D. Computer Science, 2011
Daniel Brown - Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, 2007
Veronica Santos - Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, 2007: LinkedIn | Website
Madhusudhan Venkadesan - Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, 2007: LinkedIn | Website

Postdoctoral Alumni

Andrew Erwin, Ph.D. - 2023: LinkedIn
Ali Marjaninejad, Ph.D. - 2022: LinkedIn | Website
Kian Jalaleddini, Ph.D. - 2017: LinkedIn
Jun Yong Shin, Ph.D. - 2017: LinkedIn
Christopher Laine, Ph.D. - 2016: LinkedIn
Isabella Fassola, M.D. - 2014
Srideep Musuvathy, Ph.D. - 2013: LinkedIn
Jason Kutch, Ph.D. - 2010: Website
Heiko Hoffmann, Ph.D. - 2009
Weiwei Li, Ph.D. - 2008
Kevin Keenan, Ph.D. - 2007: LinkedIn | Website
Robert Clewley, Ph.D. - 2007: Website
Madhusudhan Venkadesan, Ph.D. - 2007: LinkedIn | Website
Sanjay Kumar, Ph.D. - 2007
John Rieffel, Ph.D. - 2007
Robert Clewley, Ph.D. - 2007
Stephanie Roach, M.D. - 2007
Chandana Paul, Ph.D. - 2005
Natalia Castillo, M.D. - 2001

Sabbatical and Visiting Faculty

Maria Makarov - SUPELEC, Paris, France - 2014
Robert Riener - Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETF Zurich - 2013
Marta Covadonga Mora Aguilar - Universitat Jaume I, Spain - 2010
Anupam Saxena - IIT Kanpur - 2007
Jae Woong Yi - Agency of Defense Development, South Korea - 2005

Internship Alumni

Yash Sharma - M.S. Computer Science - 2024: LinkedIn
Pranav Shankar - M.S. Computer Science - 2024: LinkedIn
Jushen Wu - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2024: Website
Akhil Parvathaneni - M.S. Computer Science - 2024: LinkedIn
Shilan Li - M.S. Applied Data Science - 2024: LinkedIn
Yuntong Zhu - M.S. Computer Science - 2024: LinkedIn
Yusuf Alvi - B.S. Computational Neuroscience - 2024
Zeyu (Claude) Yao - M.S. Mechanical Engineering - 2024: LinkedIn
Xinlei Yu - M.S. Computer Engineering - 2024: LinkedIn
Lama Almofeez - Ph.D. Student in Biomedical Engineering - 2024
Alan Perez Capistran - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2024: LinkedIn
Cristina Acuna - B.S. Human Biology - 2024: LinkedIn
Miguel Parra - Ph.D. Student in Biomedical Engineering - 2023: LinkedIn
Hesam Setayesh - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2023: LinkedIn
Shubham Kailas Awhad - M.S. Mechanical Engineering - 2023: LinkedIn
Darren Huang - M.S. Computer Engineering and Computer Science - 2023: LinkedIn
Brendan Flanagan - B.S. Mechanical Engineering - 2023
Abhilash Kulkarni - M.S. Computer Science - 2023: LinkedIn
Zihao Damon Deng - M.S. Mechanical Engineering - 2023: LinkedIn
Preston Dankwah - B.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2023
Carol Esperanza Alata - B.S. Computational Neuroscience - 2023
Andrew Iwamoto - M.S. Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering - 2023
Yifan Xue - B.S. Mechanical Engineering - 2023
Nick Mengyu Sun - B.S. Electrical Engineering - 2023
Taylor White - M.S. Medical Device Diagnostics and Engineering - 2023
Jan Lao - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2023: LinkedIn
Alex Prieger - B.S. Computer Engineering and Computer Science - 2023: LinkedIn
Sinthia Sivapalan - M.S. Electrical Engineering - 2022: LinkedIn
Timothy Fanelle - M.S. Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering - 2022: LinkedIn
Jaehyung Choi - M.S. Computer Science - 2022: LinkedIn
Amber Helton - M.S. Computer Science - 2022: LinkedIn
Daniel Wang - B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Applied & Computational Mathematics - 2022: Website
Paritosh Singh - M.S. Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) - 2022: LinkedIn
Andrew Yock - M.S. Medical Device and Diagnostic Engineering - 2022: LinkedIn
Scott Susanto - B.S. Computer Engineering and Computer Science - 2022: LinkedIn
Justin Chen - M.S. Computer Science (Intelligent Robotics) - 2021
Neil Koby Reid - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2021: LinkedIn
Jiaoran Wang - M.S. Mechanical Engineering - 2021: LinkedIn
Genyu Zhang - M.S. Electrical and Computer Engineering - 2021: LinkedIn
Xuchen Ning - M.S. Mechanical Engineering - 2020
Tailun Liu - M.S. Mechanical Engineering - 2020: LinkedIn
Sithara Kamalakkannan - M.S. Computer Science - 2019: LinkedIn
Ashwin Sivakumar - M.S. Electrical and Computer Engineering - 2019: LinkedIn
Huan Zhao - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2019: LinkedIn
Paris Hajili - B.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2019: LinkedIn
Yasmine Kahsai - B.A. Design - 2018: LinkedIn
Chintalapudi Sarath - M.S. Electrical Engineering - 2018: LinkedIn
Mayumi Ishikawa - B.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2018: LinkedIn
Gabe Glasser - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2018: LinkedIn
Théo Denisart - Visiting Masters Student from EPFL - 2018: LinkedIn | Website
Maral Kasiri - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2018: LinkedIn
Niharika Singh - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2017: LinkedIn
Young Jin Kim - B.S. Computer Science - 2017: Website
Vishweshwar Shastri - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2017: LinkedIn
Noel Trivedi - B.S. Computer Science - 2017: LinkedIn
Feihong Qian - B.S. Computer Science - 2017: LinkedIn
Babak Taherian - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2017: LinkedIn
Sébastien Arnold - B.S. Computer Science, B.A. Mathematics - 2017: Website
Priyanka Vachhani - M.S. Global Medicine - 2017: LinkedIn
Melisa Osborne - B.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2017: LinkedIn
Taegyum Kim - B.S. Computer Science - 2017: LinkedIn
Giridhar Akila Dhakshinamoorthy - M.S. Computer Science - 2017: LinkedIn
Keegan Bate - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2017: LinkedIn
Brandon Miura - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2017: LinkedIn
Victor Esparza - M.S. Electrical Engineering (Control Systems) - 2017: LinkedIn | Website
Sloan Swieso - B.S. Computer Science - 2016: LinkedIn
Xingchen Liao - B.S. Computer Science - 2016: LinkedIn
Jiayang Miao - B.S. Computer Science - 2016: LinkedIn
Catherine Parsekian - Claremont McKenna Neuroscience Bachelor’s - 2016: LinkedIn
Akira Nagamori - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2014: LinkedIn | Website
Juan Miguel Ramirez Rocamora - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2014
Kang Woo Lee - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2014
Brendan Holt - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2012
Wenhsin (Alice) Hu - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2012
Nora Nelson - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2010
Jonathan Weisz - M.S. Biomedical Engineering - 2009
Vic Anand - Ph.D. Accounting, M.S. Accounting (Cornell) - 2005: LinkedIn | Website
Laurel Kuxhaus - M.S. Mechanical Engineering (Cornell) - 2003: LinkedIn | Website
Jonathan Pearlman - M.S. Mechanical Engineering (Cornell) - 2002: Website
Nathan Wilson - M.Eng. Artificial Intelligence (Cornell) - 2000: LinkedIn | Website
Hanyu She - M.S. Mechanical Engineering
Shaohui Quian - M.S. Electrical Engineering
Elizabeth Chu - B.S. Computer Science
Cyrus Jia - B.S. Computer Science, B.S. Electrical Engineering: LinkedIn | Website
John Pugliesi - B.S. Computer Science / Business Administration: LinkedIn
Catherine Leigh Raquel - Stanford Human Biology Bachelor’s
Rose Chiang - Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering (Rotation): LinkedIn
Taylor Stroobosscher - B.S. Electrical Engineering