Dr. Grill’s research interests and in neural engineering and neural prostheses and include design and testing of electrodes and stimulation techniques, the electrical properties of tissues and cells, and computational neuroscience with applications in restoration of bladder function, treatment of movement disorders with deep brain stimulation, and multi-joint limb movement.

My research is in the area of neural engineering: using engineering techniques to understand and control neural function. I work primarily on fundamental questions related to neural prostheses. Neural prostheses are a developing technology that uses electrical activation of the nervous system to restore function to individuals with neurological impairment. The long-term goal of my research program is to develop advanced neural prostheses that interface with the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) to restore function.

Current projects include electrical stimulation for restoration of bladder function, deep brain stimulation for treatment of motor disorders, electrical stimulation for restoration of multi-joint motor function (e.g., reaching), and design of novel electrodes and waveforms for selective stimulation of the nervous system.I am pursuing an approach that takes advantage of biological neural networks to control complex functions. In this approach, higher-order neurons are activated and the properties of biological neural networks are exploited to restore control of complex motor functions.

I am pursuing two distinct approaches to activate neural circuits: the direct approach uses electrodes placed in the central nervous system to activate directly neural circuits; the indirect approach uses electrodes placed in the peripheral nervous system to stimulate afferent (sensory) nerve fibers that synaptically activate central neural circuits. Further, I have been pursuing electrical recording of peripheral nerve fiber activity to recover signals for command and control of stimulation.

Contact Info:

Office Location:	CIEMAS 1139
Office Phone:	+1 919 660 5131, +1 919 660 5276
Email Address:
Web Page:

Teaching (Fall 2008):  (typical courses)

• BME 254.01, FUND ELEC STIM NERV SYS

  Hudson 216, TuTh 08:30 AM-09:45 AM

Education:

PhD, Case Western Reserve University, 1995

MS, Case Western Reserve University, 1992

BS, Boston University, 1989

Specialties:

Neuroengineering
Neural Prosthesis

Research Interests:

Dr. Grill’s research interests and in neural engineering and neural prostheses and include design and testing of electrodes and stimulation techniques, the electrical properties of tissues and cells, and computational neuroscience with applications in restoration of bladder function, treatment of movement disorders with deep brain stimulation, and multi-joint limb movement.

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

Capers & Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research, Duke University, Pratt School of Engineering, July, 2008
Distinguished Alumni Award for Service to Profession, Boston University, 2007
Fellow, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, 2007
Neurotechnology Researcher of the Year, Neurotech Business Report, 2003
Senior Member, Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers, 2006

Representative Publications   (More Publications)

1. Kuncel AM, Cooper SE, Wolgamuth BR, Grill WM, Amplitude- and frequency-dependent changes in neuronal regularity parallel changes in tremor with thalamic deep brain stimulation, IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, vol. 15 (2007), pp. 190-197 .
2. Yoo PB, Grill WM, Minimally-invasive electrical stimulation of the pudendal nerve: a pre-clinical study for neural control of the lower urinary tract, Neurourology and Urodynamics, vol. 26 (2007), pp. 562-569 .
3. Keohan F, Wei XF, Wongsarnpigoon A, Lazaro E, Darga JE, Grill WM, Fabrication and evaluation of conductive elastomer electrodes for neural stimulation, Journal of Biomaterials Science, Polymers Edition, vol. 18 (2007), pp. 1057-1073 .
4. Birdno M, Cooper SE, Rezai AR, Grill WM, Pulse-to-pulse changes in the frequency of deep brain stimulation affect tremor and modeled neuronal activity, Journal of Neurophysiology, vol. 98 (2007), pp. 1675-1684 .
5. Yoo PB, Klein SM, Graftstein NH, Horvath EE, Amundsen CL, Webster GD, Grill WM, Pudendal nerve stimulation evokes reflex bladder contractions in persons with chronic spinal cord injury, Neurourology and Urodynamics, vol. 26 (2007), pp. 1020-1023 .
6. 67. Lemay MA, Bhowmik M, McConnell G, Grill WM, Role of biomechanics and muscle activation in production of endpoint force patterns in the cat hindlimb, Journal of Biomechanics, vol. 40 (2007), pp. 3679-3687 .
7. Bossetti CA, Birdno MJ, Grill WM, Analysis of the quasi-static approximation for calculating potentials generated by neural stimulation, Journal of Neural Engineering, vol. 5 (2008), pp. 44-53 .
8. Birdno MJ, Grill WM, Mechanisms of deep brain stimulation in movement disorders as revealed by changes in stimulus frequency, Neurotherapeutics, vol. 5 (2008), pp. 14-25 .
9. Grill WM, Cantrell MB, Robertson MS, Antidromic propagation of action potential in branched axons: implications for the mechanisms of action of deep brain stimulation, Journal of Computational Neuroscience, vol. 24 (2008), pp. 81-93 .
10. Kayagil TA, Grimes JP, Grill WM, Mechanisms underlying reversal of motor unit activation order during electrically evoked contractions in spinal cord injury, Muscle & Nerve, vol. 37 (2008), pp. 210-218 .
11. Peng CW, Chen JJ, Cheng CL, Grill WM, Role of pudendal afferents in voiding efficiency in the rat, American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology, vol. 294 (2008), pp. 660-672 .
12. Birdno MJ, Kuncel AM, Dorval AD, Turner DA, Grill WM, Tremor varies as a function of the temporal regularity of deep brain stimulation, NeuroReport, vol. 19 (2008), pp. 599-602 .