Dr. Natasha Kharas Wins 2025 Gaposchkin Prize for Resident Research

The Movement Recovery Lab's Natasha Kharas, MD, PhD has been awarded the 2025 Christopher Gaposchkin ’99 Research Prize for her work on a new approach to improving movement after spinal cord injury. Her project shows that the brain’s natural rhythms can help guide the timing of electrical stimulation delivered to both the brain and spine, making it easier for the nervous system to reconnect and regain control of movement.

Dr. Kharas is a neurosurgery resident currently spending 1.5 years in the Movement Recovery Lab under the mentorship of Jason B. Carmel, MD, PhD.  Together, they are now preparing early clinical studies to test whether this personalized, rhythm-guided stimulation can support motor recovery in people with partial spinal cord injuries. Dr. Kharas' work is supported in part by the National Institutes of Health.