Meet Tamar Flash, Ph.D.

Tamar Flash, Ph.D. (Weizmann Institute, Israel) appeared with her American colleague, Emilio Bizzi, Ph.D. (McGovern Institute, MIT) SftPublic's Contemporary Science Issues and Innovations April 09, 2013. Dr. Flash was a 2012-2013 Research Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Research.

Dr. Flash and Dr. Bizzi discussed their research on the how the brain orchestrates movement --and the numerous applications of their work for medicine and robotics.

Video of the April, 2013 program and more information Brain Map: How the Brain Orchestrates Movement

Tamar_Flash_120x120.jpg

Tamar Flash is the Dr. Hymie Moross Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, Weizmann Institute, Israel. She is a leading expert in the analysis of mental patterns that characterize the brain's mapping and execution of motion, a particularly complex engagement of neuronal networks. Her lab analyzes and develops mathematical models of arm-hand movements in human subjects. The results of this research are applied to rehabilitation of motor disorders, to the study of motor development, and to the design of advanced robotics. Dr. Flash's lab has also studied the mental mapping behind the coordination of octopus arms. And Dr.Flash's work with the Weizmann Institute lab, together with colleagues at Hebrew University, has focused on the development of improved robotic movement, in and out of water.

Dr. Flash's lab uses data from precise observation of human subjects to develop mathematical models characterizing the ways in which the human brain plans the movements of the hand and arm. These studies have led to surprising insights about the geometric properties of brain representations of movement. Her work is applied to both rehabilitation and advanced robotics. Dr. Flash's work with patients has revealed new information about how neurological damage results in impaired movement-planning abilities.

article by Tamar Flash et al on geometry of movement timing: Movement Timing and Invariance Arise from Several Geometries