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 focuses on understanding the role of energetics in locomotor adaptation in healthy and pathological populations such as individuals with hemiparetic stroke. Her research aimed at determining the influence of spatiotemporal asymmetry on the increased energetic cost of walking after stroke was awarded an American Heart Association post-doctoral fellowship. 

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.

Sungwoo Park, MS

Doctoral Student in Biokinesiology

Bio:
Sungwoo Park is a PhD student in Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy. He received his BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University in South Korea before coming to USC. 

​Current Research:
Mr. Park's work focuses on determining how dynamic stability is optimized during adaptive locomotor learning and hemiparetic gait.

Aram Kim, MS

Doctoral Student in Biokinesiology

Bio:
Aram received her BS in Physical Therapy in from Catholic University of Daegu, South Korea, and her MS in Biokinesiology from USC. For her Master’s work, she focused on developing a platform for testing the feasibility of using fully immersive virtual reality (VR) during walking for people with Parkinson’s disease.
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Current Research:
Ms. Kim's research focuses on characterizing deficits in locomotor learning in people with neurological impairments and identifying the neural mechanisms underlying the context-dependent generalization of learned locomotor skills. She also uses immersive VR to develop novel, low-cost locomotor interventions for clinical settings. 

Chang Liu

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. 

Alumni

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