BME Lecture: Charles Liu, University of Southern California

Friday, November 4, 2016 - 4:00 p.m. to Saturday, November 5, 2016 - 3:55 p.m.
101 Rowland Hall
Charles Liu, Ph.D., M.D.

University of Southern California

Abstract:  The clinical neurosciences of neurosurgery, neurology and psychiatry have recently been joined by concepts in neurorehabilitation to form a considerably more comprehensive approach to treating neurological diseases. More importantly, there is wide acceptance that the injured nervous system and resultant loss of function can be recapitulated by neurorestoration strategies, ranging from delivery of biological payloads to advanced robotics/prosthetics technologies. Taken together, proofs of concept have been presented that allows for restoration of both motor and sensory modalities involving both upper and lower extremities by brain-machine-interface strategies. In addition, recent developments in scientific theory and practical protocols have led to the emergence of non-invasive ways to “tune the brain,” leading to possibilities for restoring the brain’s cognitive functions.

Bio:  Charles Liu received his bachelor's in chemical engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and his doctorate in chemical/bioengineering at Rice University before obtaining his medical degree from the Yale University School of Medicine. He trained in neurosurgery at the University of Southern California Affiliated Hospitals. Liu is presently professor of neurosurgery, neurology and biomedical engineering at the USC Keck School of Medicine and Viterbi School of Engineering. In addition, he is director of the USC Neurorestoration Center (NRC), which exists to turn transformative technologies into effective therapies to restore neurological function from the unique perspective of the clinical neurosciences. Working in close partnership with academic, clinical and industrial collaborators, the USC NRC plays a pivotal role in a broad spectrum of research activities covering biotherapeutics, neuroprosthetics and non-invasive neuromodulation, including those actively funded by the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health through the BRAIN Initiative. He has long-standing collaborations at the California Institute of Technology, where he is appointed to the faculty as a visiting associate in the Division of Biology and Bioengineering.