Cindy Chestek

Cindy Chestek, Ph.D., is a Professor and Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan's College of Engineering. Her primary affiliation is with the Cortical Neural Prosthetics Lab (CNPL), which is part of the BioInterfaces Institute, NeuroNex MINT Hub, Translational Neuroengineering Group, and Neural Engineering Training Program. Her research focuses on advancing brain-machine interface (BMI) systems to restore mobility for paralyzed individuals through prosthetic limbs and functional electrical stimulation.

Research interests include developing high-channel-count neural recording systems, mitigating non-stationarities in neural signals, wireless neural interfaces, and novel carbon fiber electrode arrays. She leads clinical trials for nerve-controlled prosthetic hands and seeks to improve BMI system bandwidth through advanced algorithms and hardware innovations.

Her lab's work addresses translational challenges in neural engineering, emphasizing clinical viability and reducing infection risks associated with current BMI technologies.