Kiran Karunakaran

Kiran Karunakaran, Ph.D., is a distinguished research scientist currently affiliated with the Kessler Foundation since April 2017, with prior roles including associate research scientist and postdoctoral fellow. Concurrently, Kiran serves as a research assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School since October 2018. Kiran's extensive experience includes postdoctoral fellowships and teaching assistant positions at the New Jersey Institute of Technology from 2010 to 2020, where Kiran contributed to courses in engineering design and biomechatronics. Kiran's doctoral research focused on developing a real-time user control for lower extremity exoskeletons, integrating haptic feedback and cognitive load studies. Prior to academic roles, Kiran gained software development experience at Blue Cross Blue Shield and Prompt Technologies, along with an internship at Panasonic. Kiran holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical/Medical Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University, complemented by a Master’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from NJIT.