People

Assistant Professor
email: keith-gordon@northwestern.edu

PhD Kinesiology, University of Michigan

MA Exercise Science, San Diego State University
BS Exercise Science, Univeristy of California at Davis

Keith Gordon is the Director of the Human Agility Laboratory. He is an Assistant Professor within the Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences at Northwestern University and a Research Scientist at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital. Dr. Gordon completed post-doctoral training at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine. He earned a PhD in Kinesiology from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in Exercise and Nutritional Sciences from San Diego State University and a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from U.C. Davis. His research focuses on understanding the principles governing neuromechanical control of human locomotion and applying this knowledge to promote walking recovery following neurological injury. His laboratory employs an interdisciplinary experimental approach using robotic tools to examine whole-body human movement from a biomechanics and motor control perspective.

Geoff Brown has been with the Human Agility lab since 2014. He has a MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Ohio State University. Geoff has been performing biomechanics research since he was an undergraduate in 2007. He has experience in many fields of biomechanics including injury and impact research, metabolic testing and energetics of human walking, computational modeling and optimization, and now rehabilitation and rehab robotics.

NU Department of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences
NU Department of Biomedical Engineering

Email: marybucklin2016@u.northwestern.edu

BS Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester

I am a graduate student in Northwestern’s dual DPT/PhD program. I recently graduated from University of Rochester, where I conducted research investigating mechanical properties of the Achilles tendon and validity of rehabilitation protocols for individuals with Insertional Achilles Tendinopathy. My research background also includes ankle brace design for individuals with Posterior Tibial Tendon Dysfunction. At Northwestern, I hope to improve rehabilitation therapies and technologies for patients with chronic movement disorders.  Currently, my project is focused on investigating abnormal static and dynamic joint torque patterns in the lower extremity as a result of chronic hemiparetic stroke.

NU Department of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences
NU Interdepartmental Neuroscience
email: alexandercates2023@u.northwestern.edu

BA Neuroscience, Hamilton College

I am a Ph.D. student in Northwestern’s Interdepartmental Neuroscience program.  I completed my BA in Neuroscience at Hamilton College where I investigated how mood changes visual perception.  After graduating I joined Halo Neuroscience, a brain stimulation company focused on using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to improve movement training (particularly with elite athletes and musicians).  In 2018, I left Halo Neuroscience to start my studies here at Northwestern, joining the Human Agility Lab after completing my rotations in 2019. As a member of the Human Agility Lab, my research focuses on how vision informs movement and gait patterns.

NU Department of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences
NU Department of Biomedical Engineering
email: AndrewDragunas2021@u.northwestern.edu

BSE Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University

I am a DPT/PhD student in Northwestern University’s dual degree program. I finished my undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University in the Spring of 2014, where my research focused on the use of virtual reality as a tool for gait rehabilitation in impaired populations. As a member of the Human Agility Laboratory, my research focus is in gait rehabilitation following stroke. After stroke, individuals walk with various difficulties, weaknesses, and compensations to successfully navigate their environments. My research efforts will hopefully quantify these functional limitations, particularly with respect to forward and lateral propulsion, after a stroke. Previously, my work in the lab examined the role of body weight support in providing lateral stabilization during treadmill walking.

NU Department of Biomedical Engineering
alshorte@u.northwestern.edu

M.S Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University
B.A.S Mechanical Engineering, University of Waterloo

I received a B.A.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada, in 2015, and a M.S. degree in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA, in 2017. I am currently a Ph.D. candidate at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. As an undergraduate student, I worked on the design of novel surgical tools and surgical simulatiors at the Hospital for Sick Children in the Center for Image Guided Innovation and Therapeutic Intervention (CIGITI), Toronto, ON, Canada. My research at Northwestern has focused on investigating changes to biomechanics and neural control of movement in the presence of pathology, system identification, and related applications to design and control of biomimetic assistive technology and rehabilitation.