Pedro P. Irazoqui
Assistant Professor in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering
Pedro P. Irazoqui joined the faculty in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University in June of 2005. Previously he received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire, Durham in 1997 and 1999 respectively, and the Ph.D. in Neuroengineering from the University of California at Los Angeles in 2003 for work on the design, manufacture, and packaging, of implantable integrated-circuits for wireless neural recording.
Prior to joining the Purdue faculty, Dr. Irazoqui was a Research Scientist at Duke University, doing research and mentoring in analog ASIC development for the Duke VLSI Design Center in their electrical engineering department. Together with three partners, he helped found and was vice-president of IC development at Triangle Biosystems Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC. There, he headed up development of analog ASICs for wireless and tethered headstages, including RF oscillators, amplifiers, filters and neural pre-conditioning circuits for implantable wireless neural recording and stimulating systems.
Currently, Dr. Irazoqui is Assistant Professor in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University where he teaches and does research on bioelectricity and the design of biological implants (in general) and neural prosthetic devices (in particular) using modular application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). His lab works on the design and clinical use of modules for sensing biological activity, actuating a cellular or system response, transmitting and receiving data, and powering implantable systems of modules. These four module types, combined into distinct integrated circuits and devices, enable researchers and clinicians the maximum flexibility in conducting meaningful and hereto impracticable experiments. These systems are also opening novel avenues for the treatment of neural disorders through miniature, wireless, electronic prostheses. Specific research and clinical applications being explored in Dr. Irazoquis lab include epilepsy, spinal cord injury, and glaucoma.