Community Spotlight: Octavio Marin Pardo
My name is Octavio Marin Pardo. I am a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Southern California (USC) and DAPR’s Program Manager. My work focuses on research and education. I use data science, non-invasive neuroimaging methods, and rehabilitation technology to characterize motor and cognitive recovery after stroke. I also teach a graduate course on technology development and give guest lectures on 3D printing, user-centered design, and virtual reality for healthcare applications. As the Center’s Program Manager, I support multiple activities, including developing data harmonization tools and sharing them with the rehabilitation community.
Tell us about your background
I received my PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the Viterbi School of Engineering at USC. My doctoral work focused on developing a low-cost, gamified biofeedback system for stroke neurorehabilitation and on evaluating its feasibility and efficacy in improving behavioral outcomes and quality of life after in-person and at-home interventions. Before joining USC, I got a BS in Mechatronics Engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where I learned how to design, build, and integrate electromechanical systems, with a focus on biomedical devices.
What sparked your interest in data science, machine learning, and/or artificial intelligence?
The short answer is my PhD studies. As a quantitative researcher, I had to learn statistical methods to understand the literature and analyze the data from our experiments. I was also part of a journal club that relied heavily on understanding the stats behind the papers we discussed, so learning data science quickly became a priority for my work.
What are you most excited about DAPR?
The incredible community that is coming together to work towards such a commendable goal! Having the opportunity to work alongside (and learn from!) such extraordinary and inspiring people is amazing, and I’m very grateful for it.
Is there anything on the horizon of rehabilitation and AI that you’re especially looking forward to?
People have been thinking about personalized medicine and precision rehabilitation for decades. But for the longest time, it had been incredibly challenging to realize it. To my understanding, it has only recently become possible to start making that dream a reality. So I am very excited to be part of such efforts and to develop tools that will eventually help a lot of people!
Anything you are passionate about outside of DAPR?
On the non-professional side, some of the things I enjoy are listening to music, taking pictures, going for walks, musical theatre, and finding new spots to eat. Besides the experience itself, what makes these activities and moments special to me is the people I share them with, so I particularly enjoy doing these activities with family or friends.
Anything else you would like to share? (website/GitHub/podcast)
I don’t have a podcast or personal website, and I haven’t contributed much to GitHub – although I suspect that will change soon hehe. I am happy to connect on LinkedIn, though! You can find me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpoctavio/
