11. Benjamin Conner: on exoskeletons for gait training, translational valley of death, and the value of MD/PhD programs

Benjamin Conner (Google Scholar, LinkedIn) got an MD/PhD in clinical translational sciences from University of Arizona, shares his journey from studying biology and anthropology to biomechanics and exoskeleton implementation. He discusses the importance of mentors and the impact of movement as medicine. Ben explains the role of an MD/PhD in bridging the gap between basic science research and clinical care. He highlights the challenges of the translational valley of death and the disconnect between research priorities and patient needs. Ben also provides an overview of his PhD work on using an exoskeleton device as a training system for children with cerebral palsy. During his PhD, Ben also designed No Limits mobile app, a resource for paraplegic and quadriplegic athletes. This episode is powered by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CREATE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠(the Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences) at the University of Washington ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠RESNA ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠(the Rehabilitation Engineering and assistive technology Society of North America) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠NIDILRR ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ARRT Training grant 90ARCP0005-01-00 The transcript for this episode can be found ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.