Happy Halloween from the Shepherd Lab! 😛

Max K. Shepherd, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
m.shepherd@northeastern.edu
Google Scholar
CV

Postdoctoral Researchers

Haonan Fan, Ph.D.

Haonan is a postdoctoral researcher who joined the lab in January 2025. He works on modeling and control for an ankle exoskeleton actuator design. Haonan’s research interests include mechatronics system design, control theory, and the use of artificial intelligence in control systems for exoskeletons.

Prior to joining the lab, Haonan earned his PhD and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University and his BS in Mechatronics Engineering from South China University of Technology.

Graduate Students

Brittany Moores, MSPO, CPO

Brittany is a Board Certified Prosthetist Orthotist and PhD candidate in the Human Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences program. Her current research is focused on clinical biomechanics, preference, and education with the goal of better understanding the relationship between patients and Certified Prosthetists.

Brittany received her Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics from the University of Hartford. She completed her orthotics residency at Shirley Ryan Ability Lab and her prosthetics residency at a private clinic located in Alaska. She practiced clinically in Washington State and Alaska prior to moving to Boston.

Fatima Mumtaza Tourk

Fatima Tourk is an engineer pursuing her PhD in Mechanical Engineering. She is currently developing a hip exoskeleton. Leveraging robotics, anatomy, and engineering, Fatima is dedicated to improving the rehabilitation experience in healthcare to improve human health.

Prior to joining the lab, Fatima was a research assistant at the Harvard Medical School where she worked on a robotics project. She also received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the George Washington University where she led projects on soft actuated prosthetic fingers and robotic knee braces.

Nathan Carmichael

Nathan is a PhD candidate in the Mechanical Engineering program with a concentration in Mechatronics. He is currently working on the design and control of a powered ankle prosthesis. Nathan’s research interests include mechanical design, biomechanics, and control systems. He is dedicated to designing powered prostheses that can be taken out of the clinic and adapted for everyday use.

Before joining the lab, he received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University where he developed amphibious legged robots. Outside of lab, Nathan enjoys building fine furniture, backpacking, and throwing pottery on the wheel.

Kathryn Lee

Kathryn is a PhD candidate studying Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Mechatronics. She is currently working on the design and control of a quasi-passive variable stiffness ankle prosthesis. Her research interests include innovating novel prostheses and utilizing user preference optimization strategies to ensure that users benefit from their devices.

Prior to joining the lab, Kathryn was an undergraduate research assistant at Vanderbilt University, where she received her B.E. in Biomedical Engineering. Outside of the lab, she can be found reading sci-fi books, shooting baskets with friends, and playing chess.

Manuela Montes de Oca

Manuela is a Bioengineering PhD student co-advised by Professors Sandra Shefelbine and Max Shepherd. She is developing patient-specific finite element models (FEM) to predict the fracture envelope of osseointegrated prosthetic limbs under combined forces and torques.

Before joining the lab, Manuela was a research assistant and student at the University of Rochester, where she received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering. Her work focused on computational biomechanics of the knee and FEM validation.

Jaykumar (Jay) Goswami

Jay is a Robotics master’s student designing an ankle exoskeleton joint for rehabilitation, focusing on biomechanics and mechanical design to enhance mobility. He previously built a digital twin model of a quantum payload and thermo-vacuum chamber at the Indian Space Research Organization. Using AR/VR and IoT technology, he developed a bio-inspired robotic gripper during a summer internship in Russia, and holds a patent for a 3D-printed prosthetic limb.

Passionate about robotics and innovation, Jay also enjoys traveling, playing the flute, hiking, photography, and cooking up new recipes in his free time.

Personal website: https://goswamijaykumar.github.io

Dhyey Brijeshkumar Mistry

Dhyey is a Robotics master’s student working on the design of a series elastic actuator and a novel ankle exoskeleton to enhance mobility and rehabilitation. His research combines mechanical design, controls, and programming to develop innovative exoskeleton technologies for rehabilitation. Prior to joining the lab, he earned his B.Tech in Mechatronics Engineering and spent over a year at the Human-Centered Robotics Lab at the Indian Institute of Technology.

Outside the lab, Dhyey is a competitive badminton player, a sketch artist, and a Marvel fan. A true space and rocket enthusiast, he can often be found tinkering with new robotics projects or geeking out over space exploration.

Ethan Milton

Ethan is a Robotics master’s student hailing from Vanderbilt University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a background in Computer Science. Ethan is currently working on a powered split-socket prosthetic for patients with high upper arm amputations.

He has worked previously on software to help collect and prepare prosthetic EMG data for Machine Learning and physical therapy purposes, and is passionate about human augmentation through mechanical engineering and mechatronics. In his free time, you’ll find him hiking, coding, writing, and making various kinds of music.

Neel Adke

Neel is a Robotics master’s student with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is currently working on an ankle exoskeleton project, focusing on control and integration with external sensors. His main interests are in robotics, mechatronics, and embedded systems.

He previously interned at a biomedical company that supported the deaf-blind community. In his free time, Neel enjoys exploring aviation, traveling, and playing soccer and chess.

Undergraduate Students

Richard Ukenna-Izuwa

Nodoka Shibasaki

Mustafa Saleh

Abigail Asare

Chloé Cabel

Lab Alumni

Divyansh Gupta

Divyansh joined the lab in 2022 and earned his MS in Robotics in 2024. He is now a Controls Software Engineer at Persimmon Technology.

Personal website: https://gupta-divy.github.io/

Pavan Rathnakar Shetty

Pavan joined the lab in 2022 and earned his MS in Robotics in 2023. He is now a Computer Vision Engineer at Amazon, working on the Science and Advanced Concepts team.

Email: shetty.pa@northeastern.edu
GitHub: https://github.com/Pavan-r-shetty
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavan-r-shetty-3b0687127/

Rajani Tabor

Rajani interned in the lab in 2023 and graduated with her BS in Electrical Engineering in 2025.