Neurotechnology Staff

Millions of people in the U.S. and around the world are impacted by spinal cord injuries, stroke, traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and other problems with the central and peripheral nervous systems. Dr. Douglas Weber has made it his life’s work to find technology solutions that can help them. A biomedical engineer and neurotechnology pioneer, Doug is Battelle's Director of Neurotechnology Research and Development. He has more than 20 years of experience on the front lines of neurotechnology innovation, with a career that has resulted in eight patents (and counting) and a biotechnology startup. At Battelle, Doug is focusing on further development of Battelle NeuroLife™, a groundbreaking neural bridging technology that allowed a paralyzed man to regain conscious, dexterous control of his hand and fingers. 

Gaurav Sharma’s work has helped a paralyzed patient regain control of his hand and enabled delivery of drugs across the blood-brain barrier. As the Lead Investigator and Senior Research Scientist on the Battelle Medical Devices and Neuromodulation team, he is applying advanced engineering to overcome problems in the human body and brain. Since joining Battelle in 2011, Gaurav has served as the technical lead or lead investigator on a number of cutting-edge projects involving peripheral nerve stimulation, spinal cord stimulation and brain-computer interfaces. For the last six years, he has devoted most of his time to Battelle NeuroLife®, a groundbreaking neural bridging technology for patients with spinal cord injuries. In addition to overseeing continued clinical trial work and technology refinement, he is now focused on developing further applications of the technology. Beyond spinal cord injury, he sees potential benefits for stroke and traumatic brain injury patients and other types of sensory-motor rehabilitation. 

Patrick Ganzer, Ph.D., is advancing medicine at the interface between the nervous system and technology. His work is helping patients recovering from spinal cord injuries, stroke and other nervous system disorders regain lost function and independence. Patrick joined Battelle in May of 2017 as a Neurotechnology Research Scientist. He is working on the cutting edge of bioelectric medicine, neural stimulation, neural signal processing and brain/machine interface technologies. Currently, much of his time is devoted to extending the applications for Battelle NeuroLife®, an innovative technology that bypasses the damaged portion of the spinal cord to give patients who have been paralyzed by spinal cord injuries conscious control over their limbs. 

Research Scientist Nick Annetta has more than five years of experience in the medical device field. His work includes projects focused on hardware for small, low power, on-body sensors as well as algorithms for high flux radiation detectors and portable electrocardiogram (ECG) systems. The devices he has helped develop are designed to diagnose and treat people that suffer from various conditions such as diabetes, cancer, heart conditions, sepsis and breathing problems. On the NeuroLife® team, he leads the electronic hardware design and is a key contributor on the software, data processing, algorithm development, and in the clinical studies. He has a passion for neurotechnology and all medical devices, not only because of his technical interest, but also because he has a desire to help those who suffer from health problems.

Sam Colachis is a Biomedical Engineer focused on medical device research and development. Sam has three years of experience in neurorehabilitation technology and a strong passion for improving the lives of individuals with neurological disorders. He has an extensive background in physiological signal processing, mathematical and computational modeling of biological systems, and experience with machine learning. Currently, Sam’s work on the Battelle NeuroLife® project primarily focuses on designing, conducting, and leading clinical research experiments, creating algorithms for collecting and analyzing clinical data, and developing software to advance the current neurorehabilitation system. His work also includes projects focused on peripheral nerve stimulation, bioelectronic medicine, and drug delivery devices.