Our People

Dr. Maria Makin, known professionally as Maria Dadarlat, is an Assistant Professor in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University. Her research combines systems neuroscience and neural engineering to uncover computational principles of sensory processing and translate them into artificial sensation for brain–computer interfaces. Her work focuses on how neural circuits encode bilateral sensory information and how these principles can be used to design closed-loop, bidirectional neural prostheses. Dr. Dadarlat's interdisciplinary research bridges fundamental neuroscience, engineering design, and clinical translation to advance next-generation neurotechnology.

Aidan Hirsch is an undergraduate at Purdue University majoring in biomedical engineering and focusing on neuroengineering and bioelectronic device design. His research focus is on bidirectional neural prostheses and BCI applications for nervous system injury recovery.