Jonathan Cheng

Dr. Jonathan Cheng is Professor of Plastic Surgery and Chief of Pediatric Hand, Peripheral Nerve, and Microvascular Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center in Dallas. He is a fellowship-trained hand surgeon with a clinical and research focus on brachial plexus repair, peripheral nerve reconstruction, and microsurgical techniques.

• University: UT Southwestern Medical Center
• School: School of Medicine
• Department: Department of Plastic Surgery
• Academic Rank: Professor

Dr. Cheng earned his MD from Baylor College of Medicine, completed residency in Plastic Surgery at Medical College of Wisconsin, and advanced fellowship training in hand and microvascular surgery at Washington University in St. Louis. He also holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Physics from Rice University.

His research interests center on peripheral nerve regeneration, neural interfacing for prosthetic control, and bioelectronic medicines. He leads the Peripheral Nerve Lab at UT Southwestern and mentors Ph.D. candidates in the Biomedical Engineering Program. His work bridges clinical challenges with translational innovation, particularly in developing AI-driven neuroprosthetics and long-gap nerve repair strategies.

The recent articles reflect a strong trend in neuroengineering, AI-based motor intent decoding, and high-resolution neural interfacing. His publications span clinical hand surgery, diagnostic imaging, and advanced neural prosthetics, indicating a multidisciplinary research profile focused on restoring function in nerve injuries and amputations.

Dr. Cheng is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. He has received competitive funding from public and private organizations for his translational research.

He actively mentors Ph.D. students and conducts clinical trials and preclinical studies in chronic neural interfacing. His lab develops implantable systems for neural recording and stimulation, with applications in prosthetics and autonomic modulation. He collaborates extensively with engineers and radiologists.

Dr. Cheng leads the peripheral nerve and brachial plexus team clinic at Children's Health Children’s Medical Center Dallas. His lab performs mechanistic studies on nerve regeneration and develops bioelectronic implants for systemic disease modulation.