Matthew Kerr, a newly appointed PhD student in the lab of Dr. Sridevi Sarma, has been awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. The fellowship provides a stipend of $30,000 per year for three years and eligibility to apply for supercomputing time. Selection for the award was based on “outstanding abilities and accomplishments, as well as [the] potential to contribute to strengthening the vitality of the US science and engineering enterprise.”

Matthew’s research focuses on two aspects of neural decoding. “The first is understanding the brain as a network and using that knowledge to anticipate the onset of neural conditions such as seizures. The second is determining how the motor cortex encodes movement and applying that knowledge toward improving upper limb prostheses.”

Congratulations on your Fellowship award Matthew!