The 10th annual open house invited people living with paralysis to learn about the groundbreaking spinal cord injury research neuroscientists and rehabilitation specialists are conducting in Miami.<\/p>\n
The 10th annual Miami Project to Cure Paralysis<\/a> open house invited people living with paralysis to meet the researchers and learn about the groundbreaking research neuroscientists and rehabilitation specialists are conducting in Miami.<\/p>\n Opening at the Lois Pope Life Center, the event inspired something every bit as important as the science: hope.<\/p>\n June Bruno came to her first Miami Project open house five years ago. It was the first step in a series of dramatic improvements that introduced a mobility she never used to have.<\/p>\n \u201cThey got me from laying in a bed to 100% wheelchair,\u201d she said while attending this year\u2019s open house. \u201cFrom the wheelchair, they got me to the walker and\u00a0walking. I use the walker all the time around the house.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an outstanding time where families and individuals living with paralysis can come and spend the day talking\u00a0about the research that we\u2019re\u00a0doing,\u201d said W. Dalton Dietrich, Ph.D.,<\/a>\u00a0professor of\u00a0neurological surgery<\/a>\u00a0at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and scientific director of\u00a0The Miami Project. \u201cIt\u00a0also allows them to ask questions that the scientists and the clinicians can answer regarding their own injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n The spinal cord injury research highlighted at the open house that powers such progress included: <\/p>\n \u00a0\u2022 Jae Lee, Ph.D.,<\/a> professor of neurological surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine,\u00a0discussed regenerative and cellular strategies aimed at spinal cord repair.<\/p>\n \u2022 Matija Milosevic, Ph.D.,<\/a> assistant professor of neurological surgery at the Miller School,\u00a0presented on intent-driven neuromodulation. This innovative approach uses neurological signals to control devices, offering new possibilities for patients with movement impairments. <\/p>\n \u2022 Seth\u00a0Tigchelaar, M.D., Ph.D., a neurological surgery resident at the Miller School, provided an overview of Neuralink\u2019s brain-computer interface technology.<\/a>\u00a0The Neuralink interfaces can facilitate direct communication between the brain and external devices.<\/p>\n The open house\u2019s second site, the Christine E. Lynn Rehabilitation Center, provided an immersive experience through a series of laboratory demonstrations, including:<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Gary Farkas, Ph.D.,<\/a> a Miller School research assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation,<\/a>\u00a0showcased his research on the gut-brain axis, shedding light on the intricate connections between the digestive system and neurological function.<\/p>\n \u2022 James Guest, M.D., Ph.D.,<\/a> a professor of neurological surgery at the Miller School,\u00a0discussed spinal cord stimulation aimed at restoring hand and arm function.<\/p>\n \u2022 Elizabeth Felix, Ph.D.,<\/a> a research professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Miller School, presented research on quantifying sensory perception, which is critical for developing better diagnostic tools and therapeutic interventions for sensory disorders. <\/p>\n \u2022 Eva Widerstrom-Noga, Ph.D.,<\/a> a Miller School professor of neurological surgery,\u00a0showcased innovative interventions for pain management, focusing on bodily illusion techniques that alter the perception of pain through visual and sensory manipulations.<\/p>\n Tags: brain-computer interface<\/a>, Dr. Elizabeth Felix<\/a>, Dr. Gary Farkas<\/a>, Dr. Jae Lee<\/a>, Dr. James Guest<\/a>, Dr. Matija Milosevic<\/a>, Dr. W. Dalton Dietrich III<\/a>, Eva Widerstrom-Noga<\/a>, Neuralink<\/a>, neuromodulation<\/a>, spinal cord injuries<\/a>, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By: Chad Hanson | January 05, 2026 | 5 min. read\u00a0|\u00a0 Share The 10th annual open house invited…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106405,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[54714,54715,54716,54717,54718,54719,54720,54721,123,125,124,54722,54723,13109,54724],"class_list":["post-106404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-brain-computer-interface","tag-dr-elizabeth-felix","tag-dr-gary-farkas","tag-dr-jae-lee","tag-dr-james-guest","tag-dr-matija-milosevic","tag-dr-w-dalton-dietrich-iii","tag-eva-widerstrom-noga","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-neuralink","tag-neuromodulation","tag-spinal-cord-injuries","tag-the-miami-project-to-cure-paralysis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/img-miami-project-open-house-dietrich.jpg\")
Miami Project Scientific Director Dr. W. Dalton Dietrich, speaking at the open house.<\/p>\n![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/aimg-miami-project-open-house-lecture.jpg\")
Dr. Matija Milosevic spoke about intent-driven neuromodulation at the open house.<\/p>\n