José L. Pons

About José L. Pons

Dr. José L. Pons is a world-renowned scientist and researcher in the field of neurorehabilitation and neural engineering. He leads the Neurorehabilitation and Neural Engineering Laboratory at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, part of Northwestern University. His work focuses on developing advanced methods to measure and restore lower-limb function in patients with spinal cord injury, stroke, Parkinson's disease, and other movement disorders. He has authored over 150 peer-reviewed articles and pioneered innovations in wearable robotics, neuroprosthetics, and movement sensor technologies.

Education & Training

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, University of Navarra
• PhD in Physics, Complutense University of Madrid

Research Interests

Dr. Pons' research spans wearable robotics, neuroprosthetics, and gait rehabilitation. He has developed robotic devices for children with cerebral palsy, advanced prosthetics for amputees, and technologies to study balance and tremors in Parkinson's patients. His recent work emphasizes closed-loop sensory stimulation for tremor management and neuromechanical modeling for exoskeleton control.

Awards & Recognition

• Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE, 2021)
• Leadership roles in global research networks, including CSIC (Spain's National Research Council)

Labs & Teams

He directs the Neurorehabilitation and Neural Engineering Lab at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, collaborating with clinical and engineering teams to translate research into clinical tools. His lab is part of the Legs + Walking Lab initiative, advancing technologies like multi-channel electrodes and adaptive exoskeletons.