Welcome

I am a Senior Researcher in the Intelligent Systems Branch in the Research and Exploratory Development Department at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. My research area is in neuroengineering and applied neuroscience, which includes tactile sensing and feedback for sensory augmentation. My research focus is restoring sensation for rehabilitation. My interests are in neuroengineering, sensory perception, neural prostheses, brain-computer interfaces, neuromorphic systems, sensors, and feedback loops.

I graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arkansas with a B.S. in mechanical engineering before receiving my M.S.E. at Johns Hopkins University in biomedical engineering, where I also received my Ph.D. under the mentorship of Dr. Nitish Thakor. I completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory with the guidance of Dr. Matthew Fifer. I’ve developed innovative multilayered tactile sensors for prosthetic hands and demonstrated the ability to provide natural sensations of touch and pain to amputees using noninvasive nerve stimulation. I've explored the role of sensory perception in improving prosthesis control, and I've been a part of translational studies evaluating the at-home benefits of advanced prosthetic limbs. I've been investigating the role of direct brain stimulation for restoring and modulating touch perception through an invasive brain-computer interface. My research is summarized in 15 first author peer-reviewed papers and over 40 coauthored papers. I've submitted several invention and intellectual property disclosures during my research career. I've received international recognition for my research including being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Science, a 2019 Siebel Scholar, and receiving the award for Best Live Demonstration at the 2017 IEEE BioCAS conference in Turin, Italy. I’ve mentored 26 undergraduate and 4 high school students and have held numerous leadership positions including the BME M.S.E. Council President and Ph.D. Council Vice President as well as President and Race Director of the JHU Cycling Team.

Things I Can Do

  • Scientific research
  • Publications and proposals
  • Electronics and hardware
  • Software and data analysis
  • Graphics and illustration
  • Experimental design

Projects

I have been involved with numerous research projects. Here are a few examples that highlight my work.

Brain-computer interface for cortical stimulation and recording

This work is part of a clinical trial focused on recording and stimulating the brain of an individual with tetraplegia. Read more about the study here. You can see our recent progress here , here, and here.

Sensory stimulation enhances phantom limb perception and movement

We are investigating how sensory stimulation of the phantom hand can help individuals with limb amputation. Activating the phantom limb through using targeted transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation leads to improved perception of the phantom limb (i.e., it is easier to feel) but also improved control and movement (i.e., it's easier to make gestures with the phantom hand). This work could help lead to improved sensorimotor rehabilitation methods and therapies. Read the paper here.

Neuromorphic e-dermis provides sensations of touch and pain

We developed a multilayered e-dermis and combined it with neuromorphic models to mimic mechanoreceptor and nociceptor behavior. We showed that a prosthesis and an amputee could detect sensations of both touch and pain through noninvasive sensory feedback. Read the paper here.

Targeted nerve stimulation for sensory feedback

Noninvasive electrical nerve stimulation can elicit sensory percepts in the phantom hand of upper limb amputees. We investigate the perceived sensations in different locations of the phantom hand. This work led to a conference paper as well as a journal paper.

Tactile feedback for prosthesis control

Force information from the fingertips of a prosthesis are used as feedback to the internal controller for prevent damage to fragile objects or object slip during grasping. Read the journal paper here.

In the Media

Recent Awards & Honors

  1. Rising Star - Arkansas Academy of Mechanical Engineering (2020)
  2. Outstanding Scholar in Neuroscience Award Program (OSNAP), National Institutes of Health (2020)
  3. Early Career Alumni Award, University of Arkansas (2020)
  4. Forbes 30 Under 30 - Science (2019)
  5. Siebel Scholar (2019)
  6. 2nd Place, JHU Biomedical Engineering Student Seminar Series (2017)
  7. Best Live Demonstration, IEEE BioCAS Conference (2017)
  8. Student Travel Award, IEEE ISCAS Conference (2017)
  9. TA of the Year, JHU Biomedical Engineering (2016)
  10. Student Travel Award, Johns Hopkins Graduate Student Association (2016)

Teaching

  1. Rehabilitation Engineering (guest lectures, 2021)
  2. Systems Bioengineering II Lab: Biointerfacing (2019)
  3. Systems Bioengineering II: Neurosciences (2016, 2019)
  4. Principles of Design of Biomedical Engineering Instrumentation (2013, 2015)
  5. Biomedical Engineering Practice and Innovation (2014, 2015)
  6. Biomedical Systems and Controls (2013)
  7. Biomedical Engineering Modeling and Design (2012)

Publications

Track my publications on Google Scholar.

Book Chapters

  1. Z. Tayeb, A. Dragomir, L.E. Osborn, N. Thakor, and G. Cheng, "EEG Decoding of Pain Perception for Real-Time Reflex System in Prostheses," in Brain-Computer Interface Research, C. Guger, B. Allison, A. Gunduz, Ed., Cham, Springer Nature, 2021, pp.47-58. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-79287-9_5. [link] .

  2. L.E. Osborn, M. Iskarous, and N.V. Thakor, “Sensing and Control for Prosthetic Hands in Clinical and Research Applications,” in Wearable Robotics, J. Rosen and P. Ferguson, Ed. Cambridge, Academic Press, 2020, pp.445-468. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-814659-0.00022-9. [link] [pdf].

  3. L.E. Osborn, J.L. Betthauser, and N.V. Thakor, “Neural Prostheses,” in Wiley Encyclopedia of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, J. Webster, Ed. Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons, 2019, pp. 1-20. DOI: 10.1002/047134608X.W1424.pub2. [link] [pdf].

Journals

  1. M.S. Fifer, D.P. McMullen, L.E. Osborn, T.M. Thomas, B.P. Christie, R.W. Nickl, D.N. Candrea, E.A. Pohlmeyer, M.C. Thompson, M. Anaya, W. Schellekens, N.F. Ramsey, S.J. Bensmaia, W.S. Anderson, B.A. Wester, N.E. Crone, P.A. Celnik, G.L. Cantarero, and F.V. Tenore, “Intracortical microstimulation elicits human fingertip sensations,” Neurology, 2021, accepted. Preprint DOI: 10.1101/2020.05.29.20117374.

  2. S. Chandrasekaran, M. Fifer, S. Bickel, L. Osborn, J. Herrero, B. Christie, J. Xu, R. Murphy, S. Singh, M. Glasser, J. Collinger, R. Gaunt, A. Mehta, A. Schwartz, and C. Bouton, "Historical perspectives, challenges, and future directions of implantable brain-computer interfaces for sensorimotor applications," Bioelectronic Med, vol. 14, pp.1-11, 2021. DOI: 10.1186/s42234-021-00076-6.

  3. L.E. Osborn, C. Moran, M. Johannes, E. Sutton, J. Wormley, C. Dohopolski, M. Nordstrom, J. Butkus, A. Chi, P. Pasquina, A. Cohen, B. Wester, M. Fifer, R. Armiger, “Extended home use of an advanced osseointegrated prosthetic arm improves function, performance, and control efficiency,” J Neural Eng, vol. 18, no. 2, 026020, 2021. DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/abe20d.

  4. L.E. Osborn, K. Ding, M. Hays, R. Bose, M. Iskarous, A. Dragomir, Z. Tayeb, G. Levay, C. Hunt, G. Cheng, R. Armiger, A. Bezerianos, M. Fifer, N. Thakor, “Sensory stimulation enhances phantom limb perception and movement decoding,” J Neural Eng, vol. 17, no. 5, 056006, 2020. DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/abb861.

  5. T.M. Thomas, R.W. Nickl, M.C. Thompson, D.N. Candrea, M.S. Fifer, D.P. McMullen, L.E. Osborn, E.A. Pohlmeyer, M. Anaya, W.S. Anderson, B.A. Wester, F.V. Tenore, G.L. Cantarero, P.A. Celnik, N.A. Crone, “Simultaneous classification of bilateral hand gestures using bilateral microelectrode recordings in a tetraplegic patient,” medRxiv, 2020. DOI: 10.1101/2020.06.02.20116913.

  6. D. McMullen, T.M. Thomas, M.S. Fifer, D.N. Candrea, F.V. Tenore, R.W. Nickl, E.A. Pohlmeyer, C. Coogan, L.E. Osborn, A. Schivi, T. Wojtasiewicz, C. Gordon, A.B. Cohen, N.F. Ramsey, W. Schellekens, S. Bensmaia, G.L. Cantarero, P.A. Celnik, B.A. Wester, W.S. Anderson, N.E. Crone, “Novel intraoperative online functional mapping ofsomatosensory finger representations for targeted stimulating electrode placement,” J Neurosurgery, in press 2020. DOI: 10.3171/2020.9.JNS202675. ( medRxiv preprint).

  7. K. Ding, A. Dragomir, R. Bose, L.E. Osborn, M.S. Seet, A. Bezerianos, and N.V. Thakor, “Towards machine to brain interfaces: Sensory stimulation enhances sensorimotor dynamic functional connectivity in upper limb amputees,” J Neural Eng, vol. 17, no. 3, 035002, 2020. DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ab882d.

  8. Z. Tayeb, R. Bose, A. Dragomir, L.E. Osborn, N.V. Thakor, and G. Cheng, “Decoding of pain perception using EEG signals for a real-time reflex system in prostheses: a case study,” Sci Rep, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1-11, 2020. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-62525-7.

  9. Y. Gu, D. Yang, L. Osborn, D. Candrea, H. Liu, and N. Thakor, “An adaptive socket with auto-adjusting air bladders for interfacing transhumeral prosthesis: A pilot study,” Proc Inst Mech Eng H, vol. 8, pp. 812-822, 2019. DOI: 10.1177/0954411919853960.

  10. L.E. Osborn, A. Dragomir, J.L. Betthauser, C.L. Hunt, H.H. Nguyen, R.R. Kaliki, and N.V. Thakor, “Prosthesis with neuromorphic multilayered e-dermis perceives touch and pain,” Science Robotics, vol. 3, no. 19, eaat3818, 2018. DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.aat3818.

  11. J. Betthauser, C. Hunt, L. Osborn, M. Maters, G. Levay, R. Kaliki, and N. Thakor, “Limb position tolerant pattern recognition for myoelectric prosthesis control with adaptive sparse representations from extreme learning,” IEEE Trans on Biomed Eng, vol. 65, no. 4, pp. 770-778, 2018. DOI: 10.1109/TBME.2017.2719400.

  12. D.Yang, Y. Gu, L. Jiang, L. Osborn, H.Liu, “Dynamic training protocol improves the robustness of PR-based myoelectric control,” Biomed Signal Process Control, vol. 31, pp. 249-256, 2017. DOI: 10.1016/j.bspc.2016.08.017.

  13. L. Osborn, R. Kaliki, A. Soares, and N. Thakor, “Neuromimetic event-based detection for closed-loop tactile feedback control of upper limb prostheses,” IEEE Trans on Haptics, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 196-206, 2016. DOI: 10.1109/TOH.2016.2564965.

  14. L. Osborn and M. Zou, “Enhanced Tribological properties of surfaces patterned with SU8/DLC microstructures,” Inquiry, vol. 15, pp. 69-86, 2013. [link]

Conferences

  1. L.E. Osborn, B. Christie, D. McMullen, R. Nickl, M. Thompson, A. Pawar, T. Thomas, M. Anaya, N. Crone, B. Wester, S. Bensmaia, P. Celnik, G. Cantarero, F. Tenore, and M. Fifer, "Intracortical microstimulation of somatosensory cortexenables object identification through perceived sensations," Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Conf (EMBC), 2021, accepted.

  2. L.E. Osborn, D. McMullen, B. Christie, P. Kudela, T. Thomas, M. Thompson, R. Nickl, M. Anaya, S. Srihari, N. Crone, B. Wester, P. Celnik, G. Cantarero, F. Tenore, and M. Fifer, "Intracortical microstimulation of somatosensory cortex generates evoked responses in motor cortex” Conf Proc IEEE Neural Eng (NER), 2021, pp. 53-56. DOI: 10.1109/NER49283.2021.9441123.

  3. C.J. Brown, H.H. Nguyen, M.C. Thompson, J.M. Joyce, E.C. Johnson, M.S. Fifer, and L.E. Osborn, "Simulation and analysis of neuromorphic tactile data for object interaction speed detection," Conf Proc IEEE Neural Eng (NER), 2021, pp. 136-139. DOI: 10.1109/NER49283.2021.9441141.

  4. K. Ding, A. Dragomir, R. Bose, L. Osborn, M. Seet, A. Bezerianos, and N. Thakor, "Sensory stimulation enhances functional connectivity towards the somatosensory cortex in upper limb amputation," Conf Proc IEEE Neural Eng (NER), 2021, pp. 226-229. DOI: 10.1109/NER49283.2021.9441295.

  5. L. Osborn, C. Moran, E. Sutton, A. Crego, J. Forsberg, M. Fifer, R. Armiger, “Phantom hand activation during physical touch and targeted transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation,” MEC20 Symposium, 2020, pp. 147-149. [pdf]

  6. E. Sutton, L. Osborn, C. Moran, M. Nordstrom, P. Pasquina, R. Armiger, “Long-term functional improvement with dexterous prosthetic limb,” MEC20 Symposium, 2020, pp. 57-60. [pdf]

  7. R. Bose, K. Ding, M. Seet, L. Osborn, A. Bezerianos, N. Thakor, and A. Dragomir, “Sensory feedback in upper limb amputees impacts cortical activity as revealed by multiscale connectivity analysis,” Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Conf (EMBC), 2020, pp. 3844-3847, DOI: 10.1109/EMBC44109.2020.9175224.

  8. M. Hays, L. Osborn, R. Ghosh, M. Iskarous, C. Hunt, and N. Thakor, "Neuromorphic vision and tactile fusion for upper limb prosthesis control," Conf Proc IEEE Neural Eng (NER), 2019, pp. 981-984. DOI: 10.1109/NER.2019.8716890.

  9. C. Hunt, A. Sharma, L. Osborn, R. Kaliki, and N. Thakor, “Predictive trajectory estimation during rehabilitative tasks in augmented reality using inertial sensors,” Conf Proc IEEE Biomed Circuits Syst (BioCAS), 2018, pp. 1-4. DOI: 10.1109/BIOCAS.2018.8584805.

  10. M. Iskarous, H. Nguyen, L. Osborn, J. Betthauser, and N. Thakor, “Unsupervised learning and adaptive classification of neuromorphic tactile encoding of textures,” Conf Proc IEEE Biomed Circuits Syst (BioCAS), 2018, pp. 1-4. DOI: 10.1109/BIOCAS.2018.8584702.

  11. H. Nguyen, L. Osborn, M. Iskarous, C. Shallal, C. Hunt, J. Betthauser, and N. Thakor, “Dynamic texture decoding using a neuromorphic multilayer tactile sensor,” Conf Proc IEEE Biomed Circuits Syst (BioCAS), 2018, pp. 1-4. DOI: 10.1109/BIOCAS.2018.8584826.

  12. A. Sharma, C. Hunt, A. Maheshwari, L. Osborn, R. Kaliki, A. Soares, and N. Thakor, “A mixed-reality training environment for upper limb prosthesis control,” Conf Proc IEEE Biomed Circuits Syst (BioCAS), 2018, pp. 1-4. DOI: 10.1109/BIOCAS.2018.8584739.

  13. J. Costacurta, L. Osborn, N. Thakor, and S. Sarma, “Designing feedback controllers for human-prosthetic systems using H-infinity model matching,” Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Conf (EMBC), 2018, pp. 1-4. DOI: 10.1109/EMBC.2018.8512797.

  14. J. Fu, H. Nguyen, D.W.  Kim, C. Shallal, S.M. Cho, L. Osborn, and N. Thakor, “Dynamically Mapping Socket Loading Conditions During Real Time Operation of an Upper Limb Prosthesis," Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Conf (EMBC), 2018, pp. 1-4. DOI: 10.1109/EMBC.2018.8513252.

  15. L. Osborn, M. Fifer, C. Moran, J. Betthauser, R. Armiger, R. Kaliki, N. Thakor, “Targeted transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for phantom limb sensory feedback,” Conf Proc IEEE Biomed Circuits Syst (BioCAS), 2017, pp. 1-4. DOI: 10.1109/BIOCAS.2017.8325200.

  16. J. Betthauser, L. Osborn, R. Kaliki, N. Thakor, “Electrode-shift tolerant myoelectric movement-pattern classification using extreme learning for adaptive sparse representations,” Conf Proc IEEE Biomed Circuits Syst (BioCAS), 2017, pp. 1-4. DOI: 10.1109/BIOCAS.2017.8325201.

  17. L. Osborn, H. Nguyen, R. Kaliki, and N. Thakor, “Prosthesis grip force modulation using neuromorphic tactile sensing,” Myoelectric Control Symposium, 2017, pp. 188-191. [link] [pdf]

  18. C. Hunt, R. Yerrabelli, C. Clancy, L. Osborn, R. Kaliki, N. Thakor, “PHAM: Prosthetic hand assessment method,” Myoelectric Control Symposium, 2017, pp. 221-224. [link] [pdf]

  19. D. Candrea, A. Sharma, L. Osborn, Y. Gu, and N. Thakor, “An adaptable prosthetic socket: regulating independent air bladders through closed-loop control,” Conf Proc IEEE Int Symp Circuits Syst (ISCAS), 2017, pp. 1754-1757.

  20. L. Osborn, H. Nguyen, J. Betthauser, R. Kaliki, and N. Thakor, “Biologically inspired multi-layered synthetic skin for tactile feedback in prosthetic limbs,” Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Conf (EMBC), 2016, pp. 4622-4625.

  21. J. Betthauser, C. Hunt, L. Osborn, R. Kaliki, and N. Thakor, “Limb-position robust classification of myoelectric signals for prosthesis control using sparse representations,” Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Conf (EMBC), 2016, pp. 6373-6376.

  22. M. Masters, L. Osborn, A. Soares, and N. Thakor, “Real-time arm tracking for HMI applications,” Conf Proc IEEE Body Sens Net, 2015, pp. 1-4.

  23. L. Osborn, W.W. Lee, R. Kaliki, and N. Thakor, “Tactile feedback in upper limb prosthetic devices using flexible textile force sensors,” Conf Proc IEEE Biomed Rob Biomechatron (BioRob), 2014, pp. 114-119.

  24. L. Osborn, R. Kaliki, and N.V. Thakor, “Utilizing tactile feedback for biomimetic grasping control in upper limb prostheses,” Conf Proc IEEE Sensors, 2013, pp. 1266-1269.

  25. S. Beckford, L. Osborn, M. Zou, J. Cai, and J. Chen, “Tribological study of PTFE/Au nanoparticle composite thin films,” Conf Proc ASME/STLE Int Trib, 2011, pp.1-3.

Theses

  1. L. E. Osborn "Enhancing upper limb prostheses through neuromorphic sensory feedback," P.h.D. thesis, Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, December 2018.

  2. L. E. Osborn “Closed-loop tactile feedback system for use in upper limb prosthesis grip control,” M.S.E. thesis, Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, June 2014. [link]

  3. L. E. Osborn "Enhanced tribological properties of surfaces patterned with SU8/DLC microstructures,” Honors B.S. thesis, Mechanical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, May 2012. [link]

Newsletters

  1. L. E. Osborn and N. V. Thakor, "Capturing touch for prosthetic limbs through artificial skin," IEEE Brain, vol. 2, no. 3, 2018. [link] [pdf]

Curriculum Vitae

Download my CV here