People
Jonathon Schofield
Principal Investigator
Dr. Schofield works to improve user acceptance and promote the seamless integration of humans and assistive medical devices, leveraging techniques in bio-robotic control and feedback, sensory-motor neural interfaces, and cognitive-perceptual neurosciences. The BEAR Lab performs interdisciplinary research at the interface of mechanical and electrical engineering, neurosciences and rehabilitation medicine to address unmet clinical needs and understand how humans engage with intelligent technologies such as robotic prostheses and powered exoskeleton orthoses, among many others.
Contact: jschofield @ucdavis.edu
PostDocs
Suniyya Wariach
Post Doc
Bachelor's in Math and Computer Science
PhD in Neuroscience
Suniyya studyies the neural basis of motor control and brain network reorganization in children whose brains develop with a missing hand, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
Contact: swaraich@ucdavis.edu
Graduate Students
PhD Students
Josh McGinnis
PhD Student, Biomedical Engineering
Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering
Josh seeks to better understand the relationship between human and machine interfaces using a combination of virtual reality and gamified learning. He plans to apply these concepts to improve control of assistive devices.
Contact: jdmcginnis@ucdavis.edu
Giancarlo Sagastume
PhD Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Bachelor's in Electrical and Computer Engineering
Giancarlo seeks to improve current methods of bionic prosthesis control by investigating the effect of circuit design on grasp classification. His goal is to develop a more accessible, non-invasive control system.
Contact: gksagastume@ucdavis.edu
Patrick Trieu
PhD Student, Biomedical Engineering
Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering
Master's in Mechanical Engineering
Patrick's goal is to investigate how a user's sense of embodiment over an assistive device, or their belief that the device is a part of their body, can be simulated in a virtual environment.
Contact: phtrieu@ucdavis.edu
Eden Winslow
PhD Candidate, Biomedical Engineering
Bachelor's in Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering
Eden is interested in medical device design and neuro-prosthetic control. Her goal is to improve prosthetic arm control for pediatric patients. Her current project involves investigating the feasibility of decoding proportional force and position information from the muscles of children born without a hand.
Contact: ewinslow@ucdavis.edu
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Yasmin Zaman
PhD Student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Bachelor's in Aerospace Engineering and Neuroscience
Master's in Aerospace Engineering
Yasmin is investigating how haptic feedback-assisted robotic teleoperation affects learning and skill retention, which can assist astronauts during spaceflight operations.
Contact: syzaman@ucdavis.edu
Elisa Zhang
PhD Student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering
Master's in Robotics
Elisa works to enhance pediatric prosthetics embodiment and control by using vibratory stimulation of muscle to induce illusory movement.
Contact: eyxzhang@ucdavis.edu
Master's Students
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Zach Hicks
Master's Student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Bachelor's in Biomedical Engineering
Zach works both with upper limb pediatric prosthetics and lower limb athletic prosthetics, combining an understanding of the human body and mechanical engineering concepts.
Contact: zrhicks@ucdavis.edu
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Xhivani Valencia
Master's Student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering
Xhivani works with prosthetic interfaces and their impact on user performance to improve their device embodiment. Additionally, she has started working on the assessment of exoskeletons and EMG signals between able-bodied and patients with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).
Contact: xmvalencia@ucdavis.edu
Alumni
- Peyton Young, PhD Graduate 2026
- Currently a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford
- Lana Wong, M.S. Graduate 2026
- Currently working at Zoox in the Bay Area
- Momchil Gavrilov, M.S. Graduate 2026
- Currently working in CORE Lab at UC Davis
- Kihun Hong, PhD Graduate 2026
- Currently a postdoctoral researcher at NC State/UNC Chapel Hill
- Hayley Kumagai, M.S. Graduate 2025
- Currently an R&D Engineer at Tech Foundry at UC Davis
- Marcus Battraw, PhD Graduate 2024
- Currently an assistant professor at California State University, Chico
- Joshua Siegel, M.S. Graduate 2024
- Currently working towards his PhD at Carnegie Mellon University
- Aaron Eppstein, M.S. Graduated 2023
- Currently working at Zap Surgical
- Anna Rita Moukarzel, M.S. Graduated 2023
- Currently working towards her PhD at BLINC Lab at the University of Alberta
- Morgan Harris, M.S. Graduated 2022
- Currently a prosthetics and orthotics resident in Texas