Andrew Pruszynski

Andrew Pruszynski serves as Associate Professor jointly appointed to the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology and Department of Psychology at Western University. He holds concurrent positions as Scientist at Robarts Research Institute, Associate Director of the Western Institute for Neuroscience, and Co-director of the Sensorimotor Superlab in London, Ontario.

His academic foundation includes a B.Ap.Sci in Electrical Engineering from Simon Fraser University (1999-2004) followed by a Governor General's Gold Medal-winning PhD in Neuroscience from Queen's University (2004-2011), where his dissertation under Dr. Steve Scott examined neural control of arm movement with emphasis on reflex sophistication. Postdoctoral training with Roland Johansson at Umea University focused on tactile processing during object manipulation.

Pruszynski's research program investigates how the nervous system integrates inputs from skin receptors to cortical neurons to generate skilled arm and hand movements. His work spans clinical neuroscience, computational brain sciences, and perception-action coupling, with translational goals for improving treatments of motor impairments from neurological disease or trauma. Current projects examine neural mechanisms of reaching, grasping, and object manipulation through interdisciplinary approaches.

He directs the Pruszynski Lab and leads the Collaboration on Motor Learning, Execution and Resilience (COMPERE) Consortium, fostering international collaboration through initiatives like the Simons-Emory International Consortium on Motor Control.

Major recognition includes:

• Governor General's Gold Medal for doctoral research
• Early Career Award from Society for Neural Control of Movement (2018)
• Stevenson Award from Canadian Physiological Society (2019)
• Canada Research Chair in Sensorimotor Neuroscience

Research funding derives from competitive grants by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Simons Foundation, Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), BrainsCAN, and Azrieli Foundation, supporting his laboratory's investigation of fundamental sensorimotor processes.