Neurotechnologies pour récupérer la fonction de la main après une paralysie

The objective of the sciNeurotech Lab is to provide the cornerstone demonstrations for the next generation of intelligent neurostimulation technology for movement rehabilitation.

We develop new neurostimulation therapies, aiming at restoring sensorimotor function after neurotrauma, translationally from discovery in rodent to application in human medical technology, tailored and personalized to each user by artificial intelligence.

This project is open to engineering students, as well as students in neuroscience or related disciplines.

Engineers are required to have strong Python or Matlab coding skills, experience in data science / ML / AI or in neurotechnology. Neuroscientists and related fields must come with experience in system neuroscience or rehabilitation. Coding is a strong asset. For a postdoc, strong coding competences are required.

To apply, please send us CV and grades. Send to marco.bonizzato institutional email @polymtl.ca Have you considered adding your GitHub link, your blog, some previous work, a reference? They make a great addition to your presentation email!

We are committed in training students and postdocs with interdisciplinary backgrounds, biomedical and control engineering, to neuroscience and neurosurgery, to medical technology and AI. This pluralism makes the sciNeurotech Lab a unique environment, characterized by rare intervention models, a strong orientation to discovery and collaboration.

We are convinced that a strong, diverse, and interdisciplinary team is the ultimate enabling factor to help each member achieve their very own education goal, whether that involves a future as a professor, a medtech/AI industry leader or an entrepreneur. We are committed to offer you tailored mentorship for your career choice.

Montréal is one of the 10 best cities in the World for students! QS Best Student Cities Rankings 2022 | Top Universities

Detailed description

We are looking for experimentalists for neuroprosthetic intervention discovery. The experiments are closed-loop electrophysiology/behavior in the rat model.

You will develop implantable neuromodulation interventions to improve hand movements after paralysis.

We use implantable brain interfaces to deliver distributed stimulation of the brain movement control networks.

These technique can probe transmission of motor commands between the brain and the hand/arm muscles, with a dual advantage:

1) tracking emergent changes in the brain during motor recovery,
2) controlling and improving motor execution (reversing paralysis deficits!) via neurostimulation and brain-computer interfaces (BCI).

This project will allow you to develop multiple cutting-edge neurotechnology skills:

- recording and decoding brain signals from behaving rats
- develop and deliver the most advanced brain stimulation interventions
- study hand kinematics with an unforeseen degree of precision, enabled by video AI processing
- discover and implement new neuroprosthetic and BCI technology.

What science should you expect? Check out some of our previous publications:

An intracortical neuroprosthesis immediately alleviates walking deficits and improves recovery of leg control after spinal cord injury | Science Translational Medicine

Brain-controlled modulation of spinal circuits improves recovery from spinal cord injury | Nature Communications

Financing possibility

The positions are fully funded with a guaranteed bursary of 28,000$ (PhD) and 24,000$ (MSc). Postdocs are guaranteed 55,000-65,000$ gross salary (depending on experience), and with up to +10,000$ through bursary programs. International postdocs can also benefit from a provincial tax exemption program.

The Lab pays for public transportation and independently guarantees the maintenance of 100% salary or stipend for 6 months parental leave.

Tuition fees: Study Costs and Financial Aid | DESS, Master's, PhD (polymtl.ca). In brief, tuitions are 3,500 to 3,900$ per year for Québec, French and Belgian francophone students at MSc and PhD, and for international non-francophone students at the PhD level only having an exemption (see next paragraph). International non-francophone MSc level tuition is instead much higher. Our lab cannot consider compensating for these tuition fees.

Tuition fee exemptions: Polytechnique Montréal offers international students registered in a doctoral program an exemption from differential tuition fees. With this scolarship the student ends up paying the same amount of tuition fees as Québec’s students. Maintaining this scolarship after the first year requires successfully completing at least 9 credits of courses (at Polytechnique or at a Québec university) during the first year, with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0/4.0.

We offer extensive support for you to obtain your own bursaries. Students rewarded with competitive bursaries receive a bonus to further increase their salary.

For non-francophone PhD students: mandatory and optional classes in French/English. The case is different for students in Biomedical or Electrical Engineering. Throughout a doctoral program, students in Biomedical Engineering can select courses taught in English, except for two mandatory courses, one of which is given at the first year: Bases du génie biomédical | Programmes d'études (polymtl.ca). Although the final evaluation is bilingual, and several non-francophone students succeed every year, the lectures in French may prove to be more challenging to non-francophone students. The other course in French is seminar-based and can be taken at the second year. Students in Electrical Engineering have only one mandatory course in French, which is seminar-based: Séminaires | Programmes d'études (polymtl.ca). This course can be taken at the second year, allowing more time to improve their French. Courses in English can be selected in all other cases, if desired. The lab team -as well as Polytechnique- will extensively support your efforts to become proficient in French during your studies.