Overview
Background
Dr. Alejandro Melendez-Calderon has an interdisciplinary background in robotics and biomedical engineering with extensive experience in human augmentation technologies used in medicine (robotics, wearable devices) and computational approaches to understand human neuromuscular control (unimpaired, stroke and SCI population). He has over 19 years of experience gained in academic, clinical and industrial environments.
He leads the NeuroEngineering, Rehabilitation and Medical Robotics Lab at UQ, and is currently a Senior Lecturer within the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering and the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (affiliate) at the University of Queensland (Australia; Jan 2020-present). He is also a Principal Research Fellow at the Jamieson Trauma Institute, Queensland Health (Australia, Jun 2022-present).
Work experience | Clinical - He was previously a Senior Research Scientist and acting Head of Technology at the cereneo Advanced Rehabilitation Institute / cereneo Center for Neurology and Rehabilitation (Switzerland; 2017-2019), where he led and conducted research in the area of neuromechanics of movement deficits after stroke. He was also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Northwestern University (USA; 2014-2020) and a postdoctoral research fellow at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago) (2012-2013), where he conducted research in cross-modal multisensory interactions and assessment of neuromuscular impairments. Medical industry - He led the areas of Robotic Hand Rehabilitation and Assessments, and work on adaptive control of robotic trainers (arm and legs) at Hocoma AG (Switzerland; 2014-2016), one of the world-leading manufacturers of robotic and wearable technologies for rehabilitation. Academic research - He was a Guest Researcher at ETH Zurich (Switzerland; 2016-2019), where he conducted research in biomechanics and motor control/learning. He received his PhD degree from Imperial College London (UK; 2007-2011) for research in robotics, rehabilitation and human motor control.
Interests | Dr. Melendez-Calderon has a scientific interest in understanding principled mechanisms of human behavior, in particular related to movement control/learning and physical interaction; his technical interests are in robotics and computational modeling for medical diagnostics, assistive applications & (bio)medical education.
Availability
- Dr Alejandro Melendez-Calderon is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, Imperial College London
Research interests
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Neurorehabilitation engineering
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Human sensorimotor control & learning
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Medical robotics
Works
Search Professor Alejandro Melendez-Calderon’s works on UQ eSpace
2010
Conference Publication
ReachMAN to help sub-acute patients training reaching and manipulation
Yeong, Che Fai, Baker, Karen, Melendez-Calderon, Alejandro, Burdet, Etienne and Playford, E. Diane (2010). ReachMAN to help sub-acute patients training reaching and manipulation. doi: 10.1109/RAMECH.2010.5513206
2010
Journal Article
Somatosensory cortical activation identified by functional MRI in preterm and term infants
Arichi, T., Moraux, A., Melendez, A., Doria, V., Groppo, M., Merchant, N., Combs, S., Burdet, E., Larkman, D. J., Counsell, S. J., Beckmann, C. F. and Edwards, A. D. (2010). Somatosensory cortical activation identified by functional MRI in preterm and term infants. NeuroImage, 49 (3), 2063-2071. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.10.038
2009
Conference Publication
ReachMAN: A personal robot to train reaching and manipulation
Yeong, Che Fai, Melendez-Calderon, Alejandro, Gassert, Roger and Burdet, Etienne (2009). ReachMAN: A personal robot to train reaching and manipulation. IEEE. doi: 10.1109/IROS.2009.5354837
2009
Conference Publication
Force field compensation can be learned without proprioceptive error
Melendez-Calderon, A., Masia, L., Casadio, M. and Burdet, E. (2009). Force field compensation can be learned without proprioceptive error. Springer Verlag. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-03889-1-102
2009
Conference Publication
Analysis of pick-and-place, eating and drinking movements for the workspace definition of simple robotic devices
Yeong, Che Fai, Melendez-Calderon, Alejandro and Burdet, Etienne (2009). Analysis of pick-and-place, eating and drinking movements for the workspace definition of simple robotic devices. doi: 10.1109/ICORR.2009.5209475
2007
Conference Publication
Comparison of different fuzzy controllers for powered prosthetic gait
Caltenco-Arciniega, H. A., Meléndez-Calderón, A., Došen, S. and Chong-Quero, J. E. (2007). Comparison of different fuzzy controllers for powered prosthetic gait. doi: 10.1109/CERMA.2007.4367761
2007
Conference Publication
On-line simulation tool for the design and analysis of lower-limb prosthetic devices
Meléndez-Calderón, A., Caltenco-Arciniega, H. A., Došen, S. and Chong-Quero, J. E. (2007). On-line simulation tool for the design and analysis of lower-limb prosthetic devices. doi: 10.1109/ICEEE.2007.4344983
2006
Conference Publication
Human-inspired walking-style for a low-cost biped prototype
Aceves-López, Alejandro and Meléndez-Calderón, Alejandro (2006). Human-inspired walking-style for a low-cost biped prototype. doi: 10.1109/LARS.2006.334339
2006
Conference Publication
Reliability of discrete-event control at coordination level for a powered transfemoral prosthesis
Caltenco-Arciniega, H. A., Popović, D. B., Meléndez-Calderón, A. and Chong-Quero, J. E. (2006). Reliability of discrete-event control at coordination level for a powered transfemoral prosthesis. IEEE Computer Society. doi: 10.1109/CONIELECOMP.2006.50
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Alejandro Melendez-Calderon is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Neuroprosthesis for restoring grasping function using noninvasive electrical stimulation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Antonio Padilha Lanari Bo
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Doctor Philosophy
Upper-limb assessment of neuromuscular impariments using robotics and computer vision
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Sandy Brauer
Media
Enquiries
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