David Borton
Brown University · Civil Engineering
Active 2007–2026
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About
David Borton is an Associate Professor of Engineering at Brown University and serves as the Interim Director of the Institute for Biology, Engineering and Medicine. His research interests encompass neuroengineering, neuromotor disease, neuroprosthetics, responsive neuromodulation, and spinal cord injury. Borton's work involves developing advanced neurotechnologies aimed at restoring motor control and sensory feedback for individuals with spinal cord injuries, as evidenced by recent clinical trials demonstrating that electrical stimulation of the spinal cord can enable coordinated walking movements. His contributions include pioneering efforts in electrical stimulation techniques to restore limb movement and sensory functions, as well as developing intelligent spinal interfaces supported by significant funding such as a $6.3 million grant from DARPA. Borton's research has also extended to understanding brain signals associated with OCD, paving the way for adaptive deep brain stimulation therapies. His work has been recognized through appointments to the Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Post and has contributed to groundbreaking research assisting paralyzed veterans and patients, highlighting his focus on translational neuroengineering solutions.
Research topics
- Computer Science
- Artificial Intelligence
- Psychology
- Medicine
- Surgery
- Pathology
- Cognitive psychology
- Neuroscience
- Physical medicine and rehabilitation
- Audiology
Selected publications
Nature Biotechnology · 2021-05-03 · 352 citations
articleOpen accessDeep Brain Stimulation for Depression Informed by Intracranial Recordings
Biological Psychiatry · 2021-11-22 · 159 citations
articleOpen accessA spinal cord neuroprosthesis for locomotor deficits due to Parkinson’s disease
Nature Medicine · 2023-11-01 · 84 citations
articleOpen accessPain phenotypes classified by machine learning using electroencephalography features
NeuroImage · 2020 · 65 citations
Pain is a multidimensional experience mediated by distributed neural networks in the brain. To study this phenomenon, EEGs were collected from 20 subjects with chronic lumbar radiculopathy, 20 age and gender matched healthy subjects, and 17 subjects with chronic lumbar pain scheduled to receive an implanted spinal cord stimulator. Analysis of power spectral density, coherence, and phase-amplitude coupling using conventional statistics showed that there were no significant differences between the…
The convergence of neuromodulation and brain–computer interfaces
Nature Reviews Bioengineering · 2024-04-22 · 14 citations
articleSenior author
Recent grants
Accelerating Dissemination of Implantable Neurotechnology for Clinical Research
NIH · $4.4M · 2020–2026
The Role of M1 Leg Area in Volitional and Stereotyped Control of the Lower Limb
NIH · 2018–2025
Spatiotemporal Coding in the Pain Circuit Along the Spine-brain Continuum
NIH · $2.0M · 2018–2023
Frequent coauthors
- 130 shared
Nicole R. Provenza
University of Pittsburgh
- 119 shared
Anusha Allawala
- 84 shared
Carl Y. Saab
Providence College
- 81 shared
Wayne K. Goodman
- 76 shared
Matthew Tom Harrison
University of Tasmania
- 69 shared
Sameer A. Sheth
Rice University
- 67 shared
Nader Pouratian
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- 65 shared
Evan M. Dastin-van Rijn
University of Minnesota
Education
- 2014
Post-doc, SV
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
- 2012
Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, Engineering
Brown University
- 2006
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering
Washington University in Saint Louis
Awards & honors
- Hibbitt Fellows
- Hope Street Fellows
- Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Pos…
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