Marie Slodowska Curie Actions (MSCA) - Doctoral Networks (DN) - ReWire – Additional position
N. 1 MARIE CURIE FELLOWSHIP DN (Doctoral Networks) in the framework of the European ReWIRE project.
Deadline for application submission: April 27th, 2023, 11:59 p.m. (ITALIAN TIME)
TITLE EVALUATION: May, 9th, 2023
INTERVIEW: May, 15th, 2023 starting from 9:00 a.m.
ONLINE APPLICATION
ReWIRE is a European Network aiming at combining innovative translational neurotechnologies and rehabilitation interventions for the repair and restoration of neurological functions following injury of the spinal cord (SC). The proposed research program will equip next-generation scientists with unique skills to develop disruptive therapeutic solutions for patients with paralysis. Recent technological breakthroughs have triggered a paradigm shift in the conception of therapies aimed to restore function after spinal cord injury (SCI). Novel drug delivery systems and biomaterial bridges have been engineered to reduce secondary injury and scarring, to stimulate and guide regenerating nerve fibres across the lesion site, and to promote functional reconnection with intact tissue. Additionally, neuromodulation therapies can reactivate spinal circuits below a SCI, allowing people with chronic paralysis to regain voluntary control of walking. In conjunction with rehabilitation, neurological recovery was promoted that persisted without neuromodulation, suggesting a rewiring of the SC as demonstrated in preclinical models. To bypass an injury, neuromodulation has been linked to brain signals to re-establish cortical control over spinal circuits by employing electrical nerve stimulation and robotic systems. Advances in robotics are significantly augmenting the impact of neurorehabilitation by inducing new natural “wired” connections. The aim of ReWIRE is to leverage all these technical and therapeutic breakthroughs in the framework of multiple PhD projects that will continuously interact to converge toward effective combinatorial treatments for SCI. ReWIRE will focus on three inter-woven objectives: i) establish an international, interdisciplinary, and intersectoral educational network, ii) build an SCI clinical data platform, and, iii) position Europe at the forefront of therapy for SCI.
ReWire is funded by the Horizon Europe 2021-2022 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions of the EU within the training and mobility actions, European Marie Curie TMA-MSCA-DN Doctoral Network - under Grant Agreement 101073374.
The position open at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna refer to the following topic:
FELLOW: “Implantable neuroprostheses to restore hand functions after spinal cord injury”
Supervisor: Prof. Silvestro Micera - Index google scholar
Objectives
The overall goal of the research activities at Sant’Anna is to develop a “brain-peripheral” neuroprosthesis to restore the voluntary control of hand and finger movements in quadriplegics. The ReWire PhD student will have to develop machine learning algorithms to process cortical kinematic and muscular signals to decode the intention of the patients and to control the parameters of the peripheral neuromodulation. In the recent past, effective neuroprosthesis, based on surface electrodes or epimysial electrodes, for the recovery of fine hand functions have been developed and tested in clinical trials. However, current technological solutions (in clinical or research centres) have important drawbacks in terms of effectiveness and usability.
We believe that our solution based on intraneural stimulation could address these issues. These electrodes have demonstrated grasping restoration in NHP after SCI (Badi et al., Science Trans Med, 2021) but have not been translated to tetraplegic patients yet. The effects of stimulation from the various active sites in humans with SCI will be meticulously mapped in terms of generated muscle activity and will be used to design a stimulation strategy to reproduce fine hand movements. During the first phase of the PhD the student will record non-invasive cortical and muscular (using a new arrays for EMG recordings) and then cortical signals from implanted low-invasive epidural ECoG electrode arrays (in collaboration with another partners of the ReWire project). The algorithms will be tested with tetraplegic subjects enrolled by the Careggi University Hospital of Florence (Italy).
Among the requirements, each applicant:
- Must not have obtained a PhD degree yet;
- Did not reside in Italy for more than 12 months in the previous 3 years
The student develops the research project and objectives provided above.
For information on the scientific content of the research, please contact:
Prof. Silvestro Micera, silvestro.Micera@santannapisa.it
Contact:
Mail: info-phdbiorobotics@santannapisa.it