Dr. Jose 'Pepe' L Contreras-Vidal serves as the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor and director of the U.S. National Science Foundation Industry-University Cooperative Research Center for Building Reliable Advances and Innovations in Neurotechnology (IUCRC BRAIN) at the University of Houston. An elected Fellow of both IEEE and AIMBE, his pioneering work bridges neuroscience, engineering, and art. His research focuses on developing brain-machine interfaces for controlling wearable exoskeletons for rehabilitation and mapping art-evoked brain activity. Dr. Contreras-Vidal's interdisciplinary approach explores the neural basis of human creativity while advancing understanding of arts as active neuromodulators of brain function, with applications to personalized arts prescriptions. His recent work includes leading the first comprehensive knowledge integration assessment of clinical trials of implantable brain-computer interfaces, published in Nature Reviews Bioengineering. His art-science team received the Chamber Music America's 2025 Interdisciplinary Collaboration of the Year award for 'Meeting of Minds', which was performed at the United Nations' 2024 AI for Good Summit in Geneva. Fellow of IEEE Fellow of AIMBE Chamber Music America's 2025 Interdisciplinary Collaboration of the Year Dr. Contreras-Vidal serves on the National Advisory Board for Medical Rehabilitation Research at the U.S. National Institute of Health. His career development in biomedical engineering was highlighted by the journal Science, underscoring his significant contributions to the field.





