About the Laboratory

115B Kimball Tower
40 Goodyear Rd, Buffalo, NY 14214

The Motor Control and Rehabilitation Laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The primary research tool is non-invasive brain stimulation devices such as transcranial magnetic stimulators, BiStim system and the MAG&More, which enable us to test and/or elicit plasticity in neural circuits within the brain.

The lab applies the stimulation with Brainsight, an MRI-based neuronavigation system, to stimulate areas of the brain with high precision and reproducibility. We can monitor the response from brain stimulation by using wireless electromyography in up to 16 muscles at a time to provide vast information about the motor system.

Jo has a clinical background as a physical therapist and, throughout her career, she has been driven by her interests in studying how the brain controls movements in healthy people, as well as in individuals with neurological impairments. She is also interested in understanding neural mechanisms of cortical and spinal circuits and developing neuromodulation protocols to induce neuroplasticity leading to improvement in motor function. 

Benavides focuses his research on motor control and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Among his previous positions before joining UB, Franscisco served as scientific consultor at companies that produce equipment for other neuroscientists requiring complex laboratory setups, as well as clinical researchers and clinicians. He has also served as a scientist in other institutions like Shirley Ryan Ability laboratory at Northwestern in Chicago and The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine. He received his doctor in medicine and surgery degree from the Universidad Central del Ecuador.

• Mary Grace Shine, MA
      Clinical Research Coordinator
• Abbigail Kubiak, OTD, OTR/L
      Research Occupational Therapist
• Christiana Berge, MS, OTR/L
      Research Occupational Therapist
• Ellory Harpst, DPT
      Research Physical Therapist
• Raisa Togani
      Research Student
      UB graduate student, exercise science
• Jil Bipinkumar Patel
      Research Student
     UB graduate student, exercise science
• Crystal Richardson
    Research Student
    UB undergraduate student, exercise science
• Soha Shah
      Research Student
      UB undergraduate student, biomedical sciences