Grace M. Hwang, Ph.D.

Job Title
Program Director
Image
Image
Hwang
Division
Division of Neuroscience
Cluster, Section, or Program
Neurotechnology & Integrated Systems (NIS)
Areas of Interest

Neuromodulation technologies, brain machine interface, brain organoids, brain-inspired artificial intelligence, neuromorphic engineering, neurorobotics, assistive and rehabilitative technologies, ultrasound-induced synaptic plasticity

Contact
Contact Email
Contact Number

Dr. Grace Hwang is a Program Director at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke where she manages projects in the Technologies for Neural Recording and Modulation portfolio as part of the BRAIN Initiative. Prior to joining the NIH, Dr. Hwang was a Program Director at the National Science Foundation while based at her home institution, Johns Hopkins University, with appointments in both the Applied Physics Laboratory and the Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute. At NSF, she managed the Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering program while also spearheading cross-agency initiatives including the Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation's Brain-Inspired Dynamics for Engineering Energy-Efficient Circuits and Artificial Intelligence (BRAID) topic. Her research career at Johns Hopkins spanned neuroscience, artificial intelligence, dynamical systems analysis, neuromodulation, brain-machine interface, and robotics. She served as a Principal Investigator on an NIH BRAIN award to investigate neural stimulation using sonogenetics and on an NSF award to develop a brain-inspired algorithm for multi-agent robotic control. 

She has contributed to the development of advanced science and technology programs for government agencies including IARPA, DARPA, and DHS. Additionally, she has held positions in industry throughout her career, leveraging her expertise in photonics to develop rapid, portable chemical and biological sensors. Grace received a B.S. (Summa cum Laude) from Northeastern and an M.S. from MIT in Civil and Environmental Engineering. She obtained her Ph.D. in Biophysics and Structural Biology from Brandeis University, where she studied computational neuroscience and human memory with Michael Kahana. Grace lives with her husband in Baltimore, where she enjoys walking along the Inner Harbor and practicing yoga in her home studio.