The Department of Neurological Surgery and the Department of Bioengineering co-teach Translational Neural Engineering, a Fall 2026 course at the intersection of neurosurgery and engineering. The course examines how engineering solutions move from concept to clinical use, and where current neurosurgical care leaves room for innovation.
The course is co-directed by Jorge A. González-Martínez, MD, PhD, and Aaron Batista, PhD, of the Department of Bioengineering. Lectures are delivered by clinicians, engineers, and other domain experts, including faculty from the Department of Neurological Surgery.
Who Should Enroll
The course is designed for bioengineering graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and advanced undergraduates, as well as neuroscience researchers and neurosurgery trainees. It emphasizes cross-disciplinary collaboration between engineers and clinicians.
Course Format
Each week pairs a Tuesday lecture with a Thursday student-led discussion of assigned literature. There are no exams. Students complete a semester project in the form of a mock grant proposal or invention disclosure describing a novel device, method, or study relevant to neurosurgery, along with technical assignments in areas such as signal analysis and device design.
Topics Covered
- Overview of modern neurosurgical practice
- Techniques and tools in neural engineering
- Epilepsy and functional neurosurgery
- Brain tumor surgery and surgical innovation
- Movement disorders and deep brain stimulation
- Cognitive neuroscience and brain mapping
- Neural prosthetics and brain-computer interfaces
- Intraoperative neurophysiology
- Neuroethics, regulatory pathways, and intellectual property
Course Details
Term: Fall 2026
Meeting times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.
Location: Scaife Hall 4575
For questions about the course or enrollment, contact Dr. González-Martínez at gonzalezjo@upmc.edu or Dr. Batista at aaron.batista@pitt.edu.