Kyle Thomas

Kyle Thomas is a biomedical engineering graduate student in the laboratory of Sam Sober in the Department of Biology at Emory University. His current work focuses on understanding how sensorimotor adaptation contributes to basic motor skills through spinal motor networks. Previously, he studied biomedical and systems engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. He is interested in creating accessible neuro-technologies and generating more conversation surrounding neuro-ethics. He has grown a lot from the mentors in his life and hopes to carry that forward with new students, including those he has already mentored through SURFiN.

Principal Investigator: Samuel Sober

Fellows: Javonna Bradford & Rhuna Gibbs

Undergraduate Fellow Project:

Skilled movements require us to integrate both internal and external constraints as we navigate through the world. This integration takes place at multiple levels of the neuromuscular system to ensure success of the intended behavior. However, the activity of spinal motor neuron populations, which directly innervate muscles, remains largely unknown. Recent evidence suggests that the timescale of activity may play a role in how we adjust and adapt our behaviors. This research project aims to investigate this idea by recording motor units (the muscle fibers innervated by a single motor neuron) during behaviors including locomotion and grooming. The SURFiN fellow would be directly involved in establishing the behavioral protocol and modifying existing analytical tools for assessing both the behavioral kinematics and the neural activity.