Thomas C.
Bulea, PhD
Tenure Track Investigator
Lead, Neurorobotics Research Group
Training Director, Rehabilitation Medicine
301-451-7533
Dr. Thomas C. Bulea is a tenure track investigator within the Neurorehabilitation and Biomechanics section of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the NIH Clinical Center where he directs the Neurorobotics Research Group.
BS, The Ohio State University
MS, Case Western Reserve University
PhD, Case Western Reserve University
Dr. Bulea’s research interests include the use of functional neuroimaging, neural interfacing and rehabilitation robotics for evaluation and treatment of movement disorders. A recent emphasis has been on the design and clinical evaluation of pediatric exoskeletons.
Dr. Bulea received his BS in mechanical engineering from The Ohio State University and his MS and PhD in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University, where his research focused on development of hybrid neuroprostheses to restore standing and walking function in individuals with paralysis from spinal cord injury.
He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health and a visiting post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Houston, both focused on the use of electroencephalography (EEG) to study cortical activation patterns relating to standing and walking function.
He joined NIH as a staff scientist in 2014, where he focused on creating new signal processing tools to extract movement-related cortical activity from EEG and fNIRS and led a team to develop and evaluate a new pediatric exoskeleton for children with cerebral palsy. He has been a tenure track investigator in the NIH Clinical Center since 2021.
Dr. Bulea’s research has been recognized through receipt of a NIH Clinical Center Director’s Award and an NIH Director’s Award. Dr. Bulea also serves as the Training Director for the Rehabilitation Medicine Department and as an Associate Editor for two journals: IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering and Wearable Technologies.
- NIH Clinical Center CEO Award, Teaching/Mentoring, 2021
- NIH Director’s Award, Science/Medical, 2018
- NIH Clinical Center Director’s Award, Science, 2016
- Doctoral Excellence Award, Case Western Reserve University, 2012
Devine TM, Alter KE, Damiano DL, Bulea TC. A randomized cross-over study protocol to evaluate long-term gait training with a pediatric robotic exoskeleton outside the clinical setting in children with movement disorders. PLoS ONE, 19(7):e0304087, 2024. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0304087
Bulea TC, Guth A, Sarkar N, Gravunder A, Hodsdon B, Farrell K, Comis LE, Parks R, Shimellis H, Ndege V, Ho PS, Mankodi A. Simple and economical handclench relaxometer device for reliable and sensitive measurement of grip myotonia in myotonic dystrophy. Neuromuscular Disorders, 32(4):321-331, 2022. doi:10.1016/j.nmd.2022.02.005
Chen J, Hochstein J, Kim C, Tucker L, Hammel LE, Damiano DL, Bulea TC. A pediatric knee exoskeleton with real-time adaptive control for overground walking in ambulatory individuals with cerebral palsy. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 8:702137, 2021. doi:10.3389/frobt.2021.702137
Short MR, Damiano DL, Kim Y, Bulea TC. Children with unilateral cerebral palsy utilize more cortical resources for similar motor output during treadmill gait. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 14:36, 2020. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2020.00036
Lerner ZF, Damiano DL, Bulea TC. A lower-extremity exoskeleton improves knee extension in children with crouch gait from cerebral palsy. Science Translational Medicine, 9(404):eaam9145, 2017. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aam9145
Bulea TC, Kim J, Damiano DL, Stanley CJ, Park HS. Prefrontal, posterior parietal and sensorimotor network activity underlying speed control during walking. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9:247, 2015. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2015.00247