Karlo Malaga

Karlo Malaga is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at Bucknell University. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 2019 with a Ph.D. in BME. Karlo earned a bachelor’s degree in BME from the University of Minnesota in 2012 and a master’s degree in BME from the University of Michigan in 2014. His research interests are in neural engineering, specifically neuroprosthetics and electric field modeling of deep brain stimulation, a surgical therapy for movement disorders such as Parkinson disease. Complementing his scholarly work is a passion for teaching, which is what led him to Bucknell.

Educational Background

• Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2019
• M.S.E., Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2014
• B.Bm.E., Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, 2012

Teaching Experience

• Bucknell University, 2019-present

Teaching Specialties

• Bioinstrumentation
• Neural engineering

Research Interests

• Neurostimulation
• Electric field modeling
• Neuroimaging

Awards

• Swanson Fellowship, Bucknell University, 2019
• Professional Scholarship, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, 2017
• Predoctoral Fellowship, Ford Foundation, 2013
• Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2013
• Rackham Merit Fellowship, University of Michigan, 2012

Selected Publications

Malaga, K. A., Costello, J. T., Chou, K. L., & Patil, P. G. (2021). Atlas-independent, N-of-1 tissue activation modeling to map optimal regions of subthalamic deep brain stimulation for Parkinson disease. NeuroImage: Clinical, 29.

Willsey, M. S., Lu, C. W., Nason, S. R., Malaga, K. A., Lempka, S. F., Chestek, C. A., & Patil, P. G. (2020). Distinct perceptive pathways selected with tonic and bursting patterns of thalamic stimulation. Brain Stimulation, 13(5), 1436–1445.

Lu, C. W., Malaga, K. A., Chou, K. L., Chestek, C. A., & Patil, P. G. (2020). High density microelectrode recording predicts span of therapeutic tissue activation volumes in subthalamic deep brain stimulation for Parkinson disease. Brain Stimulation, 13(2), 412–419.

Malaga, K. A., Nu, C. S., & Huang-Saad, A. Y. (2018). Introduction to Neural Engineering: Design and Development of a BME-in-practice Course through the BME Instructional Incubator. Proceedings of the 2018 ASEE North Central Section Conference.

Malaga, K. A., Schroeder, K. E., Patel, P. R., Irwin, Z. T., Thompson, D. E., Bentley, J. N., Lempka, S. F., Chestek, C. A., & Patil, P. G. (2015). Data-driven model comparing the effects of glial scarring and interface interactions on chronic neural recordings in non-human primates. Journal of Neural Engineering, 13(1), 016010.