Program (tentative)

Friday, August 14, 2026–Fascitelli Center for Advanced Engineering (FCAE), URI Kingston Campus (Rooms 010C & 25C, Lower Level)

08:30 – 11:00 Registration, FCAE Lobby
08:30 – 09:00 Continental Breakfast, FCAE Hallway (adjacent to Rooms 010C & 25C)
09:00 – 09:15 Opening Remarks

  • Chair of the Organizing Committee: Yalda Shahriari, Ph.D. (Associate Professor and Program Director of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rhode Island)
  • Dean, College of Engineering: Anthony Marchese, Ph.D. (University of Rhode Island)
  • Vice Provost and Dean, Graduate School: Beth Meyerand, Ph.D. (University of Rhode Island)

(SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

PART I: LIGHTNING TALKS–EMERGING APPROACHES IN NEURAL SIGNAL PROCESSING, MACHINE LEARNING, AND NEUROIMAGING

     Chair: Yalda Shahriari, Ph.D.

  • 09:15 – 09:25 Rahul Singh, Ph.D. (University of Rhode Island): Interpretable Modeling of Neural Event Propagation in Brain Networks
  • 09:30 – 09:40 Theodore Huppert, Ph.D. (Stony Brook University): The Ambulatory Brain — Using fNIRS to Study the Brain During Movement, Gait, and Balance
  • 9:45 – 09:55 Deniz Erdogmus, Ph.D. (Northeastern University): TBD
  • 10:00 – 10:10 Kevin M. Spencer, Ph.D. (VA Boston Healthcare System / Harvard Medical School): An Oscillator Model of Gamma-Band Resonance in the Auditory System in Schizophrenia
  • 10:15 – 10:25 Sarah Ostadabbas, Ph.D. (Northeastern University): The Case Against Scale: Rethinking Video-based ML in the Age of Small Data
  • 10:30 – 10:50 Morning Coffee Break and Networking (20 min), FCAE Hallway (adjacent to Rooms 010C & 25C)

PART II: NEUROREHABILITATION, PLASTICITY, AND RESTORATION OF FUNCTION

   Chair: Reza Abiri, Ph.D.

  • 10:50 – 11:20 FEATURED TALK–Jonathan R. Wolpaw, MD (Director, National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies, Albany Stratton VA Medical Center): Neurorehabilitation in the 21st Century: New Science, New Strategies, New Possibilities
  • 11:25 – 11:45 Joy Hirsch, Ph.D. (Yale School of Medicine): Neural and Behavioral Mechanisms for Human-to-Human Interaction
  • 11:50 – 12:10 David J. Lin, MD (Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School): Leveraging Neuroimaging to Enhance the Neuroengineering of Stroke Recovery
  • 12:15 – 12:35 David A. Borton, Ph.D. (Brown University / Rhode Island Hospital / Providence VA Medical Center): Bridging the Gap: Neurotechnology to Replace, Restore, and Reprogram Function Across the Nervous System
  • 12:40 – 13:40 Lunch, FCAE Hallway (adjacent to Rooms 010C & 25C)

PART III: TRANSLATIONAL NEUROTECHNOLOGIES FOR ASSESSMENT, NEUROMODULATION, AND REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS

     Chair: Kunal Mankodiya, Ph.D.

  • 13:40 – 14:00 Noah S. Philip, MD (Alpert Medical School of Brown University): Low Intensity Focused Ultrasound to the Amygdala in Depression & Anxiety
  • 14:05 – 14:25 Lei Ding, Ph.D. (University of Oklahoma): Development, Validation, and Mechanistic Studies of Dynamic Functional Network-based Neuroimaging Biomarkers for Brain Disorders
  • 14:30 – 14:45 Afternoon Coffee Break and Networking (15 min), FCAE Hallway (adjacent to Rooms 010C & 25C)
  • 14:45 – 15:05 Murat Akcakaya, Ph.D. (University of Pittsburgh): Augmented Reality Based and EEG-guided Neglect Detection, and Assessment
  • 15:10 – 15:30 Matthias Stangl, Ph.D. (Boston University): Cognitive Neuroscience and Neurotechnology: From the Laboratory into the ‘Real World’

PART IV: PANEL DISCUSSION

15:35 – 16:15 Translational Neurotechnologies–Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives (40 min) Moderator: Yalda Shahriari, Ph.D. Panelists: TBD

16:15 – 17:45 POSTER SESSION & NETWORKING (Coffee served)–FCAE Hallway (adjacent to Rooms 010C & 25C)

17:45 – 18:00 Closing Remarks & Poster Awards

  • Jonathan R. Wolpaw, MD
  • Yalda Shahriari, Ph.D.

18:00 Banquet (pending) Requires a separate purchase

Format note: Listed slot times reflect the talk itself; the 5-minute gap between consecutive talks is reserved for Q&A and speaker transition.