Brian Umberger
banner
brianumberger.bsky.social
Brian Umberger
@brianumberger.bsky.social
Biomechanics professor at the University of Michigan interested in the mechanics, energetics, and control of human locomotion
Reposted by Brian Umberger
Very excited about our new pre-print on an open-source package that I developed with some of my GT labmates!

Epically Powerful (EP) is a modular mechatronics infrastructure and open-source software package for building and operating wearable and general robotic systems.

arxiv.org/abs/2511.05033
November 11, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
🧠Want to start a #PhD in sensorimotor #neuroscience in Fall 2026? Our NIH- and NSF-funded lab at
@iubloomington.bsky.social uses human behavior and noninvasive brain stimulation to study motor learning and perception. More info: blocklab.net/openings.html or hjblock@iu.edu. Deadline is Dec. 15.
November 10, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
A new #ScienceRobotics Focus article describes the design of the Omnia bionic leg with semi-powered knee and ankle, which helped the Rehab Tech team clinch first place at the 2024 Cybathlon leg prosthesis race. https://scim.ag/3J71Xuj
The Omnia bionic leg with a semipowered knee and ankle wins the Cybathlon 2024 leg prosthesis race
Rehab Tech’s Omnia prosthesis excelled at Cybathlon, showcasing advanced lower-limb prostheses and user-centered innovation.
scim.ag
November 9, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Often lost in the hullabaloo over SNAP funding is the fact that the wealthiest country in the world has 42 million people who need the support of an anti-hunger program. Shameful.
npr.org NPR @npr.org · 2d
JUST IN: The Trump administration late Saturday directed states that they must "immediately undo" any actions they have made to provide benefits to low-income families via SNAP.
Trump tells states to 'immediately undo' steps to fund November SNAP benefits
The Trump administration late Saturday directed states that they must "immediately undo" any actions they have made to provide benefits to low-income families via SNAP.
n.pr
November 9, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
Neural manifolds that orchestrate walking and stopping https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.08.687367v1
November 9, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
We must remove the language banning same-sex marriage that still exists in Michigan‘s Constitution. I’m taking the first step in the State Senate to put it on the ballot.

michiganadvance.com/2025/11/06/m...
Moss introduces resolution to put same-sex marriage on Michigan’s ballot amid SCOTUS concerns • Michigan Advance
State Sen. Jeremy Moss, the first openly gay state senator in Michigan, has introduced a resolution in the Senate to put a proposal on the ballot that would remove Michigan’s constitutional ban on sam...
michiganadvance.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
When asked to draw a scientist, school-age kids in the United States are increasingly sketching women, according to a study from 2018.

Read more on #STEMSTEAMDay: https://scim.ag/4qFrPON
November 8, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
Apparently the postings are up for several NIH director positions. Deadlines between 11/14 and 11/21. hr.nih.gov/careers/care...
hr.nih.gov
November 7, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
Sigh. NIH normally sends several hundred scientists to the SFN annual meeting to learn, exchange info, come up with new ideas, and advance science. (The exchange of ideas is the very core of the scientific enterprise.)

This year, no one from NIH will attend due to the gov't implosion.
Enjoy a broad range of lectures and network with experts in the field at #SfN25! 🧠

Gain valuable insights and tools to enhance your research and career.

Browse through to lectures and build your itinerary in the 2025 Neuroscience Meeting Planner

🔗 vist.ly/4de72

#neurosky #neuroskyence
November 7, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
The bird branch of evolution separated from mammals hundreds of millions of years ago. Yet, their cerebellum has the same structure as ours, including the zebrin bands. Here is the cerebellum of the zebra finch and the most amazing flyer of them all, the hummingbird. doi.org/10.1159/0005...
November 7, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
What to call your prof
November 6, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Living in the western part of the eastern time zone, we've reached that time of the year when I need to be careful not to complain about how early the sun is setting when talking with my relatives who live in Maine.
November 5, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
**Come work with us!!**

Three-year post-doc position funded by Parkinson's UK available Cardiff University - using TMS to study inhibition of planned stepping movements and better understand freezing of gait. Full details here - krb-sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Sear...

Please share!!
Research Associate: Neural Control of Movement in - Cardiff University - Job Details
Job Details: Research Associate: Neural control of movement in Parkinson's Disease School of Healthcare Sciences, Card
krb-sjobs.brassring.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
Across the International Space Station's modules, hundreds of experiments explore how life, materials, and even stars behave in microgravity.

Orbit more cosmic knowledge ➡️ w.wiki/tTY
November 2, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
The President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, PPFP, has been a jewel in the crown for faculty development and recruitment at the University of California for years and the results have been an expanded faculty with almost 100% tenure rates — unprecedented success.
November 2, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
🔬 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗱𝗼𝗰 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴!

I’m recruiting a postdoctoral researcher (@mdc-berlin.bsky.social, Berlin 🇩🇪, @niccolozampieri.bsky.social lab) for my @dfg.de -funded project on somatosensory feedback and locomotor control. Please repost and DM me if interested!

#locomotion #proprioception #neuromechanics
November 2, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
I'll also be looking to recruit an MS student to study the functional morphology and biomechanics of adhesion, friction, and/or locomotion in sea urchins, geckos, or anoles! Please share! @sicb-dcb-dvm.bsky.social @sicb.bsky.social
November 2, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
“The interior designer Conway Van der Wolk, who contracted polio as a child and has had mobility challenges since, has adapted her 125-year-old cottage on Cape Cod, Mass. “There hasn’t been a playbook for me,” she said. “I’ve figured out creative ways that are helpful”
Aging in Place Doesn’t Mean Making Your Home ‘Soulless’
www.nytimes.com
November 2, 2025 at 4:34 PM
PSA: For most people in the U.S., don’t forget to set your clocks back to 1950 before you go to bed tonight.
November 2, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
A classic.
November 1, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
Between grants getting politically targeted and my lab’s building getting literally fucking bombed, 2025 is going great thanks
November 1, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Cool research… but the first sentence of the post invokes a rather strong assumption given current circumstances
October 31, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
📣 Funded PhD combining anatomy, surgery and engineering!

💀 This project aims to characterise the biomechanical behaviour of jaw implants following mandibulectomy.

📍@livuni-ilcams.bsky.social Liverpool, UK
🥼@ukshaq.bsky.social @clairebrockett.bsky.social and me!
October 30, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Reposted by Brian Umberger
We are hiring for a PhD-level Staff Scientist to join our teams in the Translational Neuroscience Division @lieberinstitute.bsky.social. This is an exciting opportunity to work at the intersection of human 🧠 neuroanatomy and molecular neuroscience

recruiting.paylocity.com/recruiting/j...
Lieber Institute For Brain Development - Staff Scientist I, Translational Neuroscience
A little about us:The Lieber Institute for Brain Development (LIBD) was established in 2010 to plot a new course in biomedical research that would change the lives of individuals affected with develop...
recruiting.paylocity.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:03 PM