Meet our lab members

James M. Finley, PhD

Principal Investigator

Bio:
Dr. Finley received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Florida A&M University, and his MS and PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University. After completing his PhD, Dr. Finley completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University.

Current Research:
Dr. Finley's primary research interest is understanding how walking is controlled and adapted in both healthy individuals and in individuals with neuromotor impairments. As the director of the Locomotor Control lab, Dr. Finley incorporates techniques from engineering, neuroscience, and physiology to understand the factors that drive locomotor learning.

List of Publications  ​​

Natalia Sanchez, PhD

Assistant Professor of Research

Bio:
Dr. Sanchez joined the division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy in the fall of 2015. Dr Sanchez received her BS in Biomedical Engineering from the Universidad EIA – Universidad CES, Colombia, and her MS and PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University. For her graduate work, Dr. Sanchez focused on understanding the mechanisms underlying movement disorders, particularly, the volitional control of the lower extremity after injury to the nervous system due to stroke. 
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Current Research:
Dr Sanchez's research broadly focuses on the mechanisms that shape walking behaviors in healthy individuals and individuals after neurologic injury. Particularly, her research aims to understand individual-specific, longitudinal changes in motor control and walking behaviors after injury, with the long-term goal of prescribing individualized interventions to improve walking function. To accomplish her research goals, Dr Sánchez uses a combination of experimental methods in biomechanics, electromyography, and physiology, and computational methods in machine learning.

List of Publications  ​​

Russell Johnson, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher

Bio
Dr. Russell Johnson received his BS in Applied Exercise Science from Springfield College, and his MS and PhD degrees in Kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He joined the Locomotor Control Lab as a post-doctoral researcher in the summer of 2019.
Current Research:
Dr. Johnson’s research focuses on understanding the mechanics and energetics of locomotion using a combination of experimental and computer musculoskeletal modeling techniques. He is interested in understanding how metabolic energy expenditure, stability, and other factors influence gait in healthy individuals and those with movement disorders.

Aram Kim, PT, MS

Doctoral Student in Biokinesiology

Bio:
Aram received her BS in Physical Therapy from Daegu Catholic University in Daegu, South Korea and her MS in Biokinesiology from USC.

Current Research:
Aram is interested in understanding underlying neural and behavioral mechanisms of locomotor learning in people with Parkinson’s disease.

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Chang Liu, MS

Doctoral Student in Biomedical Engineering

Bio:
Chang graduated from USC with a BS in Biomedical Engineering (Mechanics emphasis).

Current Research:
Chang is interested in understanding factors influencing the reactive control balance in response to unexpected perturbations during walking. 

Pouria Nozari, MS

Doctoral Student in Biomedical Engineering

Bio:
Pouria received his BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran. There, he performed research on path planning for reconfigurable mobile mechanisms and on energetics of reaching in people post-stroke. 

Current Research:
Pouria is currently developing a simulation platform to test control algorithms for skill learning during bipedal locomotion. 

Shreya Jain, MA

Doctoral Student in Biokinesiology

Bio:
Shreya is a PhD student in the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy at USC. She received her bachelor's degree in Pharmacy from BITS-Pilani, India and her master's degree in Motor Learning and Control from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Current Research:
She is interested in understanding the neurological bases of locomotor behavior in people with Parkinson's disease.

Ryan Novotny

Doctoral Student in Neuroscience

Bio:
Ryan received his BS in Computer Science and BAS in Psychology at the University of Minnesota - Duluth. While there, he carried out research pertaining to the use of linear regression models to characterize and remove movement artifact data from EEG during gait.
​Current Research:
Ryan is interested in muscle synergies underlying the control of movement and the methods used to extract and quantify them, especially within stroke populations.

Catherine Yunis

Doctoral Student in Biomedical Engineering

Bio:
Catherine received her BS from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Neuroscience. She worked at Biogen as a Senior Research Associate working on clinical trials using wearables to track Parkinson’s Disease.
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Current Research:
Catherine is interested in understanding neural perception in walking and how it affects biokinematics and developing technology with haptics that can recreate the sensation of walking in sand. She hopes to use her technology to retrain balance for people post-stroke.

  

Isaiah Lachica

Doctoral Student in Biokinesiology

Bio:
Isaiah received his BS and MS in Kinesiology, with an emphasis on Exercise Science and Motor Behavior, from California State University, Northridge. There, he worked on studies that investigated the use of virtual and augmented reality for motor skill learning and to address Parkinsonian gait.
Current Research:
Isaiah is interested in understanding the visuomotor processes involved in how people with Parkinson’s disease control walking.

Alumni

Cathy Broderick
          Subsequent Position: Xsens

Sungwoo Park
          Subsequent Position: Postdoc in School of Engineering, Harvard University

​Lindsey Trejo
          Subsequent Position: Ph.D. student in Bioengineering, Georgia Tech

Nora Darakjian, DPT
          Subsequent Position: Instructor of Clinical Physical Therapy, University of Southern California

Tatri Mukherjee
          Subsequent Position: Physical Therapist, Health South Rehabilitation 

Zixuan Zhou
          Subsequent Position: M.S. student in Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University

Lucas de Macêdo Pinheiro
          Subsequent Position: B.S. student in Control & Automation Engineering, Universidade de Brasilia

Marco Lopez
          Subsequent Position: Doctorate student of Physical Therapy, University of Southern California

Collaborators

Beth Fisher, PhD, PT, FAPTA
Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy
USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy

Kathryn L Havens, PhD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy
USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy

​​Vangelis Lympouridis, PhD
Founder
​Enosis VR

Judy Pa, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Neurology

Nicolas Schweighofer, PhD
Associate Professor
USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy
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Marientina Gotsis, MFA
Research Assistant Professor
School of Cinematic Arts
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Sook-Lei Liew, PhD, OTR/L
Assistant Professor
USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy

Sara Mulroy, PhD, PT
Director
Rancho Los Amigos Pathokinesiology Lab 
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Stefan Schaal, PhD
Professor
USC Department of Computer Science

Carolee Winstein, PhD, PT, FAPTA
Professor
USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy