Rex F.

GSRA @ UMich | BME @ UMich

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

About

I'm a 4th year PhD candidate in biomedical engineering studying magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). I am interested in compressed sensing sampling strategies and regularized optimization problems for image reconstruction. Outside of work, I play volleyball and climb.

Experience

  • University of Michigan Biomedical Engineering (Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States)
    • Graduate Student Research Assistant
      Aug 2022 - Present · 4 yrs

      - Currently a PhD candidate in biomedical engineering - Part of the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) lab - Current project: Improving fMRI resolution using pseudorandom 3D echo planar sampling and locally low-rank regularized image reconstruction

    • Graduate Student Instructor
      Sep 2024 - Dec 2024 · 4 mos

      - GSI for BME 516: Medical Imaging Systems - Ran two weekly office hour sessions answer conceptual and homework questions from students - Graded homework and coding projects

  • Undergraduate Research Assistant at University of Michigan
    Jul 2020 - Mar 2022 · 1 yr 9 mos

    - Cool sensation project: Identified new population of neurons responsible for cool sensation by collecting and analyzing behavior and histology data from 20+ mice - Hyperacusis project: Developed a custom MATLAB script to semi-automate ABR analysis, reducing processing time by over 80% - Summarized and presented a recent article with another undergraduate research assistant every semester - Equipment experience: Confocal microscope, Fluorescent microscope, Cryostat microtome, Micropipette - Procedural experience: Immunohistochemistry, In-situ hybridization (ISH) - Lab website: https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/boduan-lab/

  • Software Co-Lead, Electrical Team Member at Blue Bionics
    Sep 2020 - Jan 2022 · 1 yr 5 mos

    Mission: To restore upper limb mobility in pediatric amputees (1 in 2,540 in the US) by designing affordable (<$200) DIY myoelectric prosthetic arms as an alternative to traditional ones that cost around $20,000 Highlights: - Developed Arduino software for processing myoelectric input and controlling the prosthetic arm accordingly. Features include battery regulation, thermal regulation, threshold calibration on startup, signal processing, mode selection, synchronous control of multiple servos - Designed new mode selection scheme by adapting a voice recognition module to the existing setup, allowing arm user to rapidly switch between 5 modes via voice commands - Cowrote arm assembly guide by documenting 25+ pages of instructions for procuring and soldering custom PCBs - Evaluated performance of various muscle activity sensors by analyzing responsiveness and signal to noise ratios

  • Product Designer at MedLaunch
    Sep 2019 - Apr 2020 · 8 mos

    Mission: To help our C4 quadriplegic community partner play the guitar again by designing a mobile guitar stand that is easily accessible from a wheelchair Highlights: - Formulated product specifications through an onsite interview at our community partner's apartment - Built a physical prototype of the initial CAD model, which demonstrated several problems, particularly with balance and material strength Team article: https://medium.com/@medlaunch/the-adjustable-guitar-stand-for-quadriplegics-74ac08ebda4e

  • Director of XR Events at Alternate Reality Initiative
    Sep 2019 - Apr 2020 · 8 mos

    Mission: To foster the next generation of XR innovators by hosting development workshops, discussing industry news, and connecting students to opportunities in the greater XR ecosystem Highlights: - Managed and planned weekly meetings for 71 member club - Organized a virtual conference with 300+ people and 10 industry speakers across the country Website: https://www.altrealityinitiative.com