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Faculty

Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal
Dr. Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal, Fellow IEEE, Fellow AIMBE
Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor
Director, NSF IUCRC BRAIN Center
Office Location W310 Engineering Building 1
Phone 713-743-4429
Fax 713-743-4444
Email jlcontreras-vidal [at] uh.edu
Publications
Education
Engineer's Degree in Electronics & Communications, Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM), Monterrey, Mexico
M.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO
Ph.D. in Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University, Boston, MA
Postdoctoral Fellow in Computational Motor Neuroscience, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Human Frontiers Science Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Fribourg, Switzerland, Fribourg, Switzerland
Professional Experience
Center Director, NSF IUCRC BRAIN Phase 2 (2022-2027)
Center Co-Director, NSF IUCRC BRAIN Phase 1 (2017-2022)
Adjunct Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Texas Health Science Center (2021-)
Director, Human-Machine Interface Systems, The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) Memorial Hermann, Houston, Texas (2015-)
Full Affiliate, The Houston Methodist Hospital Research Institute Houston, Texas (2013-)
University of Maryland-College Park; Assistant (1999-2005) and Associate Professor (2005-2011)
Classes
ECE 5397/ECE 6397 Robotics in Healthcare
ECE 6397 Brain-Machine Interface Systems
Awards & Honors
Elected to the AIMBE College of Fellows Class of 2021 for pioneering contributions to development of brain-machine interfaces for controlling wearable exoskeletons for rehabilitation, and for mapping art-evoked brain activity.
Member of the National Advisory Board on Medical Rehabilitation Research (NABMRR) at the NIH (2021-2025)
Elected IEEE Fellow for contributions to brain-machine interfaces and wearable exoskeletons, 2019
Undergraduate Research Mentor Award, University of Houston, 2018
Research & Development Award, Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston, 2014
NIH Bioengineering of Neuroscience, Vision, and Low Vision Technologies (BNVT) Study Section, 2014-2018
President, International Graphonomics Society, 2013-2015
Research and Development Award, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, 2011
NIH MFSR: Motor function, Speech and Rehabilitation Study section, 2006-2010
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE), Senior Member , 2008
Senior Research Scholar, City of Paris, France
NIH 2011/10 ZRG1 BBBP-V (10) B: Small Business: Biobehavioral and Behavioral Processes across the Lifespan Study Section
Editorial Boards
IEEE Transactions in Human-Machine Systems (Action Editor)
(Editor-in-Chief) Mobile Brain-Body Imaging and the Neuroscience of Art, Innovation and Creativity, Springer Series on Bio- and Neurosystems, 2019, Springer International Publishing; DOI:10.1007/978-3-030-24326-5
Frontiers in Neuroprosthetics (Review Editor)
International Journal of Mobile Human Computer Interaction (Editorial Review Board)
Human Movement Science (Guest Editor), 2012 Special Issue on Neuroscience of Fine Motor Control Across the Lifespan
Research Interests

Neural Engineering, Neurohumanities, Powered Exoskeletons, Brain-Machine Interfaces, Neuromodulation, Computational Neuroscience, Regulatory Science of Medical Devices, Arts in Medicine, Neuroaesthetics and Creativity

Funded Research
National Science Foundation Award # 2137255 IUCRC Phase II: Building Reliable Advances and Innovations in Neurotechnology (BRAIN); $758,331.00 + Consortium (2022-2027)
Mission Connect - A TIRR Foundation; Decoding the language of the spinal sensorimotor networks using noninvasive electrospinography; $150,000 (2021-2023)
Houston Methodist Hospital, Rex, An exoskeleton for the robotic restoration and rehabilitation of human gait after spinal cord injury, $85,021 (2022)
Southwest National Pediatric Device Innovation Consortium’s Pediatric Device Prize, Baylor College of Medicine, $25,000 (2021-2022)
National Science Foundation Award #1757949; REU Site: Neurotechnologies to Help the Body Move, Heal, and Feel Again; 2/2018 - 4/2021 ($427,371.00)
National Science Foundation Award #1745835; WORKSHOP: Doctoral Consortium at the 2017 International Conference of Mobile Brain Body Imaging (MoBI) and the Neuroscience of Art, Innovation and Creativity; 5/2019 - 4/2020 ($15,000)
National Science Foundation Award #1827769; PFI-RP: Brain-controlled Upper-Limb Robot-Assisted Rehabilitation Device for Stroke Survivors; 9/2018 - 8/2022 ($781,999.00)
National Institutes of Health Award # 1R01EB027004-01; A high-performance unshielded wearable brain-computer interface based on microfabricated total-field OPMs; 7/2018 - 8/2022 ($877,100)
National Science Foundation, CNS-1650536: Industry-University Collaborative Research Center for Building Reliable Advances and Innovations in Neurotechnology (BRAIN), 3/2017 - 6/2022 ($750,000).
Mission Connect - A TIRR Foundation; Bridge Funding: Brain-Robot Interface Study; 5/17-4/18;($30,000).
National Science Foundation Award 1745835, WORKSHOP: Doctoral Consortium at the 2017 International Conference of Mobile Brain ­Body Imaging (MoBI) and the Neuroscience of Art, Innovation and Creativity, Valencia, Spain; 7/2017-6/2018 ($20,000)
National Science Foundation, BCS 1533691 : NCS-FO: Assaying neural individuality and variation in freely behaving people based on qEEG ($300,000), 2015-2017.
Mission Connect - A TIRR Foundation. Funds to study longitudinal stability of a brain-machine interface to a powered exoskeleton for individuals with paralysis; ($60,000), 2015-2017
Mission Connect - A TIRR Foundation; ($100,000). Funds to develop a pediatric powered exoskeleton for children with paralysis; 2015-2017
National Science Foundation, IIS-1302339; HCC: Medium: Collaborative Research: Neural Control of Powered Artificial Legs, in collaboration with Helen Huang; June 15, 2013- May 31, 2018 ($1.2M)
National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS); National Robotics Initiative: Brain-Machine Interface Control of a Therapeutic Exoskeleton; PIs: Contreras-Vidal (UH), Marcie O'Malley (Rice) and Gerard Francisco (TIRR); 8/1/-2012-3/30/2018; ($1,173,601)
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, R13 NS082045-01 PI: CONTRERAS-VIDAL, JOSE; 2013 International workshop on Clinical Brain-Neural Machine Interfaces to be held at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute on Feb 24-27, 2013, ($20,000)
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institutes of Child Health & Human Development, Program Grant P01 HD064653-01; Functions and Development of the Mirror Neuron System. PIs: Amanda Woodward (U. Chicago), Nathan Fox (U. Maryland), Jose L. Contreras-Vidal (U. Houston), Pier Ferrara (U. Parma, Italy); 9/10/10 - 6/30/2016 ($6,011,677).
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) R01NS075889-01; Noninvasive neural decoding of walking PI: Contreras-Vidal; 07/2011-06/2016 ($1,332,380.00).
National Science Foundation, IIS-1313620; 2013 International Workshop on Clinical Brain-Neural Machine Interface Systems to be held at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute on Feb 24-27, 2013, ($18,152)
National Science Foundation HCC/IIS-1064703; HCC: Medium: Collaborative Research: Improved Control and Sensory Feedback for Neuroprosthetics. PIs: Jose L. Contreras-Vidal (U. Houston), Brent Gillespie (U. Michigan), Marcie O’Malley (Rice U.) and Patricia Shewokis (Drexel U.); 07/11-06/14 ($1.2M).
VA Merit Award 1RXDD0592-01; Developing a brain-machine interface for an ankle robot; PIs: Contreras-Vidal (U. Houston); Larry Forrester (U. Maryland School of Medicine & VA-Baltimore); 07/01/2011-06-30-2016; ($190,020).
National Institute on Aging (AG); PES-5 (Pilot subproject in P30 AG028747-06); A High-Density Electroencephalography (EEG) Neural Decoding Study of Dynamical Cortical Mapping of Gait in Humans After Stroke; PI: Contreras-Vidal (U. Houston; Co-PI: Forrester (U. Maryland School of Medicine & VA-Baltimore); (P30 PI: Goldberg; U. Maryland School of Medicine); 10/1/2011-9/30/2013; ($38,000/year)
University of Maryland ADVANCE Program; "Your Brain on Dance" ; PIs: Karen Kohn Bradley (UMD) and Jose L Contreras-Vidal (UH); 5/1/2012 - 4/30/2013; ($20,000)
Mission Connect - A TIRR Foundation; ($100,000). Gift to acquire a Rehab Rex robotic exoskeleton for brain-machine interface research.
Selected Publications

A. G. Steele et al., "A Mixed Filtering Approach for Real-Time Seizure State Tracking Using Multi-Channel Electroencephalography Data," in IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, vol. 29, pp. 2037-2045, 2021, doi: 10.1109/TNSRE.2021.3113888.

A. Y. Paek et al., "A Roadmap Towards Standards for Neurally Controlled End Effectors," in IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology, vol. 2, pp. 84-90, 2021, doi: 10.1109/OJEMB.2021.3059161.

A. Y. Paek, J. A. Brantley, B. J. Evans and J. L. Contreras-Vidal, "Concerns in the Blurred Divisions Between Medical and Consumer Neurotechnology," in IEEE Systems Journal, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 3069-3080, June 2021, doi: 10.1109/JSYST.2020.3032609.

Morse LR, Field-Fote EC, Contreras-Vidal J, Noble-Haeusslein LJ, Rodreick M, Shields RK, Sofroniew M, Wudlick R, Zanca JM; SCI 2020 Working Group. Meeting Proceedings for SCI 2020: Launching a Decade of Disruption in Spinal Cord Injury Research. J Neurotrauma. 2021 May 1;38(9):1251-1266. doi: 10.1089/neu.2020.7174.

D. Eguren and J. L. Contreras-Vidal, "Navigating the FDA Medical Device Regulatory Pathways for Pediatric Lower Limb Exoskeleton Devices," in IEEE Systems Journal, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 2361-2368, June 2021, doi: 10.1109/JSYST.2020.3025111.

Nakagome, S., Luu, T.P., He, Y. et al. "An empirical comparison of neural networks and machine learning algorithms for EEG gait decoding". Sci Rep 10, 4372 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-60932-4

Bhagat NA, Yozbatiran N, Sullivan JL, Paranjape R, Losey C, Hernandez Z, Keser Z, Grossman R, Francisco GE, O'Malley MK, Contreras-Vidal JL. "Neural activity modulations and motor recovery following brain-exoskeleton interface mediated stroke rehabilitation". Neuroimage Clin. 2020;28:102502. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102502. Epub 2020 Nov 19. PMID: 33395991; PMCID: PMC7749405.

Cruz-Garza JG, Sujatha Ravindran A, Kopteva AE, Rivera Garza C and Contreras-Vidal JL (2020) "Characterization of the Stages of Creative Writing With Mobile EEG Using Generalized Partial Directed Coherence". Front. Hum. Neurosci. 14:577651. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.577651

Craik A, He Y, Contreras-Vidal JL. "Deep learning for electroencephalogram (EEG) classification tasks: a review". J Neural Eng. 2019 Jun;16(3):031001. doi: 10.1088/1741-2552/ab0ab5. Epub 2019 Feb 26. PMID: 30808014.

He Y, Eguren D, Luu TP, Contreras-Vidal JL. (2017). "Risk management and regulations for lower limb medical exoskeletons: a review." Med Devices (Auckl). 2017 May 9;10:89-107. doi: 10.2147/MDER.S107134.

Books

Ortiz M., Nathan K., Azorín J.M., Contreras-Vidal J.L. (2021) Brain-Machine Interfaces for Neurorobotics. In: Thakor N.V. (eds) Handbook of Neuroengineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2848-4_52-1

Nakagome S., Craik A., Sujatha Ravindran A., He Y., Cruz-Garza J.G., Contreras-Vidal J.L. (2022) Deep Learning Methods for EEG Neural Classification. In: Thakor N.V. (eds) Handbook of Neuroengineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2848-4_78-1

Kilicarslan, A., Contreras-Vidal, J.L. (2021). Neuro-Robotics: Rehabilitation and Restoration of Walking Using Exoskeletons via Non-invasive Brain–Machine Interfaces. In: Müller-Putz, G., Rupp, R. (eds) Neuroprosthetics and Brain-Computer Interfaces in Spinal Cord Injury. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68545-4_6

Mobile Brain-Body Imaging and the Neuroscience of Art, Innovation and Creativity; Editors: Jose L. Contreras-Vidal, Dario Robleto, Jesus G. Cruz-Garza, José M. Azorín, Chang S. Nam; Springer Series on Bio- and Neurosystems, Springer; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24326-5

Patent/Patent Applications
"Customizable prosthetic/orthotic braces and Light Weight Modular Exoskeleton", WO2017218661A1; PCT/US2017/037457; US 2019/0328604 A1; April 6, 2022
"Systems and method providing a unifed framework for de-noising neural signals", 20220079527 (Application), Publication Date: March 17, 2022
"Neuromuscular stimulation using multistage current driver circuit", US patent 11,052,249, July 6, 2021
"Time domain-based methods for noninvasive brain-machine interfaces", US Patent number: 9468541; October 18, 2016
"Methods for closed-loop neural-machine interface systems for the control of wearable exoskeletons and prosthetic devices", 20150012111, January 8, 2015
"Fingertip shaped enclosure for sensing grip forces in hand based prosthetic devices", US D783820 S1, April 11, 2017
Refereed Conference Proceedings
Many entries, please search IEEE Explorer or PubMed for list of refereed Conference Proceedings
News

NobleMotion Dance and Musiqa presents LiveWire, CultureMap Houston, an art-science performance and research study, with NobleMotion Dance Company, Musiqa String Quartet, and the University of Houston Noninvasive Brain-Machine Interface Systems Lab (Jan 21-22, 2022)

UH's 'Color Field' experiment merges visual art and brain science, Houston Chronicle (Feb. 23, 2021)

Tapping the brain to boost stroke rehabilitation, Science Daily (Jan. 21, 2021)

'Smart' robotic system could offer home-based rehabilitation, EurekaAlert, AAS (Oct 9, 2018)

National Academies Keck Futures Initiative announces winners of the NAKFI challenge, Honorific Mention for project on “Aesthetic Neurotherapeutics” (PI Contreras-Vidal) (September 4, 2018)

The mind-reading devices that can free paralysed muscles, Nature, Outlook Section (March 7, 2018)

National Science Foundation, "At the Intersection of Science and Art" (November 17, 2015)

UH Moment: "Your Brain On Art" (Nov 17, 2015)

Houston Public Media, "University Of Houston Study Examines Relationship Between The Brain And Creativity" (October 15, 2015)

National Public Radio, NPR: I, Robot: Paraplegics get an assist (November 14, 2012)

The Economist, Bionics 1, A Mind to Walk Again: A trial of thought-controlled robotics legs is taking its first steps (May 19, 2012)

The Wall Street Journal, Harnessing Brain Power to Move Stuff (August 2, 2011)

Science Business, Head Cap Devised to Capture Brain Signals to Control Devices

Neuroscience News, Researchers Aim for Direct Brain Control of Prosthetic Arms (July 29, 2011)

Futurity, Brain cap morphs thought into motion (July 28, 2011)