NCBL

University of alberta

Zahra Rahmati

 ABOUT ME

I received my B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology, in 2012, 2014, and 2020, respectively. My background experiences are in Bio-mechanics and -mechatronics, specializing in Robotics and Control engineering, as well as Clinical patient study, and Movement Disorders in neurological diseases (particularly Parkinson’s diseases). I joined the NCBLab in 2025 as a postdoctoral fellow under the supervision of Dr. Hossein Rouhani, during which I am working on the brain-computer-interface (BCI) program for children with motor impairments, at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, Imagination Center.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Rehabilitative and Assistive Technologies

  • Robotics

  • Biomechanics

  • Movement disorders

  • Neuroadaptive Technologies (Neuro-prosthetics, Brain-computer interfaces)

  • Neurorehabilitation

  • Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

EXPERIENCES

CERTIFICATES

  • Machine Learning Specialization”, Stanford University (Coursera, 2024)

  • Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience”, Sharif University of Technology and  Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), School of Cognitive Sciences (2022)

PUBLICATIONS

See my Google Scholar.

HONORS AND AWARDS

  • Iranian National Elites Foundation, Graduate grant, 2015 – 2018.

  • Ranked 2nd, 4th, and 6th in the Ph.D., M.Sc., and B.Sc. programs, respectively; Mechanical Engineering Department, Sharif University of Technology.

  • Iranian National Elites Foundation, Undergraduate grant, 2008 – 2010.

  • Silver medal, Iranian National Physics Olympiad (Gold winners compete in International Physics Olympiad – IPhO), 2007.

PROJECTS

  • PhD thesis: “The Development of a Postural Control Model for People with Parkinson’s Disease to Predict Rehabilitation Exercise Effects”

    • Multidisciplinary research in “Computational Neurorehabilitation”, the intersection of clinical neuroscience, neurorehabilitation, and biomechanical engineering, with a focus on postural instability in Parkinson’s disease (PD).

    • Development of a clinically-inspired and -applicable computational model of postural control in PD, with the potency of uncovering the underlying governing control commands.

    • Conducting a longitudinal study on balance training to investigate the motor learning dynamics during a rehabilitation program in PD.

  • M.Sc. thesis: “Design and Analysis of a Heartbeat Motion Compensation Controller in a Robotic Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery”

    • Implementation of a real-time model predictive control (MPC) on the first-manufactured national minimally invasive tele-surgical robot, the SINA robot

  • B.Sc. thesis: “Analysis and Design of a Cable-driven Mechanism for a Spherical Surgery Robot”

    • Design of a lightweight cable-driven mechanism on the tele-surgical SINA robot, using pulleys on the joints of the robotic arm, driven by cables, and actuated by motors on the basis.