headshot of Gelsy Torres-Oviedo

Gelsy Torres-Oviedo

Associate Professor
SML Lab Website Bioengineering Department

overview

Gelsy Torres-Oviedo was a Ph.D. student of Prof. Lena Ting at The Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, where she developed analytical tools for understanding the neural control of balance and the functional consequences of changes in muscle activity. She was a post-doc in the laboratory of Prof. Amy J. Bastian at Johns Hopkins University and The Kennedy Krieger Institute, where she investigated factors that enhance motor learning and generalization of locomotor adaptation, which could improve the gait rehabilitation of patients beyond the clinical setting.

about

(2013 - 2014) Claude D. Pepper Center Junior Scholar.

(2010) Student Travel Award, 6th World Congress of Biomechanics.

(2010) Selected participant at NSF ADVANCE Junior Faculty Development Workshop.

(2010) Hon. Ruth D. Vogel Award.

(2007) Selected participant at NSF ADVANCE Women in Science and Engineering workshop for emerging faculty.

(2006) Howard Hughes Teacher-Scholar in ORDERS/INSPIRE program at Emory University.

(1999) Jeannie Hunter Hackett Award.

(1999) Natural Sciences College Scholar, University of Texas at Austin.

(1996 - 1999) Outstanding Undergraduate Scholarship ITESM Campus Monterrey.

Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, 2001 - 2007

B.S., Physics, University of Texas, 1999 - 2001

Mariscal, D.M., Vasudevan, E.V.L., Malone, L.A., Torres-Oviedo, G., & Bastian, A.J. (2022). Context-Specificity of Locomotor Learning Is Developed during Childhood. eNeuro, 9(2), ENEURO.0369-21.2022.Society for Neuroscience. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0369-21.2022.

de Kam, D., Iturralde, P.A., & Torres-Oviedo, G. (2020). Cerebral Contribution to the Execution, But Not Recalibration, of Motor Commands in a Novel Walking Environment. eNeuro, 7(1), ENEURO.0493-19.2020.Society for Neuroscience. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0493-19.2020.

Mariscal, D.M., Iturralde, P.A., & Torres-Oviedo, G. (2020). Altering attention to split-belt walking increases the generalization of motor memories across walking contexts. J Neurophysiol, 123(5), 1838-1848.American Physiological Society. doi: 10.1152/jn.00509.2019.

Nguyen, T.M., Jackson, R.W., Aucie, Y., de Kam, D., Collins, S.H., & Torres-Oviedo, G. (2020). Self-selected step length asymmetry is not explained by energy cost minimization in individuals with chronic stroke. JOURNAL OF NEUROENGINEERING AND REHABILITATION, 17(1), 119.Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi: 10.1186/s12984-020-00733-y.

Sombric, C.J., & Torres-Oviedo, G. (2020). Augmenting propulsion demands during split-belt walking increases locomotor adaptation of asymmetric step lengths. JOURNAL OF NEUROENGINEERING AND REHABILITATION, 17(1), 69.Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi: 10.1186/s12984-020-00698-y.

Iturralde, P.A., & Torres-Oviedo, G. (2019). Corrective Muscle Activity Reveals Subject-Specific Sensorimotor Recalibration. eNeuro, 6(2), ENEURO.0358-18.2019.Society for Neuroscience. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0358-18.2019.

Chvatal, S.A., Macpherson, J.M., Torres-Oviedo, G., & Ting, L.H. (2013). Absence of postural muscle synergies for balance after spinal cord transection. JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY, 110(6), 1301-1310.American Physiological Society. doi: 10.1152/jn.00038.2013.

Malone, L.A., Bastian, A.J., & Torres-Oviedo, G. (2012). How does the motor system correct for errors in time and space during locomotor adaptation?. JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY, 108(2), 672-683.American Physiological Society. doi: 10.1152/jn.00391.2011.

Torres-Oviedo, G., & Bastian, A.J. (2012). Natural error patterns enable transfer of motor learning to novel contexts. JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY, 107(1), 346-356.American Physiological Society. doi: 10.1152/jn.00570.2011.

Chvatal, S.A., Torres-Oviedo, G., Safavynia, S.A., & Ting, L.H. (2011). Common muscle synergies for control of center of mass and force in nonstepping and stepping postural behaviors. JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY, 106(2), 999-1015.American Physiological Society. doi: 10.1152/jn.00549.2010.

Safavynia, S.A., Torres-Oviedo, G., & Ting, L.H. (2011). Muscle Synergies: Implications for Clinical Evaluation and Rehabilitation of Movement. Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil, 17(1), 16-24.American Spinal Injury Association. doi: 10.1310/sci1701-16.

Torres-Oviedo, G., Vasudevan, E.V., Malone, L.A., & Bastian, A.J. (2011). Locomotor adaptation. Enhancing Performance for Action and Perception. Progress in Brain Research, 191, 65-75.

Vasudevan, E.V.L., Torres-Oviedo, G., Morton, S.M., Yang, J.F., & Bastian, A.J. (2011). Younger is not always better: development of locomotor adaptation from childhood to adulthood. Journal of Neuroscience, 23(8), 3055-3065.

Torres-Oviedo, G., & Bastian, A.J. (2010). Seeing Is Believing: Effects of Visual Contextual Cues on Learning and Transfer of Locomotor Adaptation. JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, 30(50), 17015-17022.Society for Neuroscience. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4205-10.2010.

Torres-Oviedo, G., & Ting, L.H. (2010). Subject-Specific Muscle Synergies in Human Balance Control Are Consistent Across Different Biomechanical Contexts. JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY, 103(6), 3084-3098.American Physiological Society. doi: 10.1152/jn.00960.2009.

Vasudevan, E.V.L., Bastian, A.J., & Torres-Oviedo, G. (2010). Emerging Principles in the Learning and Generalization of New Walking Patterns. In Motor Control. (pp. 370-382).Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395273.003.0016.

Torres-Oviedo, G., & Ting, L.H. (2007). Muscle synergies characterizing human postural responses. JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY, 98(4), 2144-2156.American Physiological Society. doi: 10.1152/jn.01360.2006.

Torres-Oviedo, G., Macpherson, J.M., & Ting, L.H. (2006). Muscle synergy organization is robust across a variety of postural perturbations. JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY, 96(3), 1530-1546.American Physiological Society. doi: 10.1152/jn.00810.2005.

Lin, A.L., Mann, B.A., Torres-Oviedo, G., Lincoln, B., Käs, J., & Swinney, H.L. (2004). Localization and extinction of bacterial populations under inhomogeneous growth conditions. BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 87(1), 75-80.Elsevier BV. doi: 10.1529/biophysj.103.034041.

Ting, L.H., & Torres-Oviedo, G. (2007). Muscle synergies simplifying neural control of posture. In FASEB JOURNAL, 21(5), (p. A463).FASEB Journal.

Torres-Oviedo, G., Macpherson, J.M., & Ting, L.H. (2005). Muscle Synergies Robustly Control Forces for Balance Control. In Conference Proceedings. 2nd International IEEE EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering, 2005., 2005, (pp. 190-191).IEEE. doi: 10.1109/cne.2005.1419587.

Research interests

generalization of...
Motor learning dynamics