2022–23 Brage Golding Distinguished Professor of Research

Sherif M. Elbasiouny

Sherif M. Elbasiouny, Ph.D., director of neuroengineering education and research, director of the Ph.D. in Engineering Program, and professor of neuroscience, cell biology and physiology, received the 2022–23 Brage Golding Distinguished Professor of Research Award.

Elbasiouny is pursuing cutting-edge neuroscience research encompassing innovative cross-disciplinary areas that has the potential to impact human disease in phenomenal ways — including devastating diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He also excels at educating and training the next generation of neuroengineers.

Elbasiouny is a unique member of Wright State University’s research community, with joint appointments in the Boonshoft School of Medicine, the College of Science and Mathematics, and the College of Engineering and Computer Science, where he is also a professor in the Department of Biomedical, Industrial and Human Factors Engineering.

“He is truly the epitome of the mission and vision of the interdisciplinary neuroscience engineering collaboration initiative that led to the construction of the Neuroscience Engineering Collaboration Building on campus,” said Eric Bennett, Ph.D., professor and chair of neuroscience, cell biology and physiology.

After joining Wright State in 2012, Elbasiouny rapidly ascended through the ranks, receiving early promotion to full professor with tenure due to his extraordinary research and scholarly productivity.

Elbasiouny’s research accomplishments have brought distinction to the university. His lab’s research projects include studying weakness in aging; enabling amputees to feel objects with their artificial arms or hands; and examining how neurons that control muscles degenerate because of ALS.

He has secured more than $12 million in federal research awards from the National Institutes of Health, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Air Force Research Laboratory, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute on Aging. His lab currently has three R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health to study ALS and aging, and his 2018 DARPA grant was the second ever secured by a researcher at Wright State from the agency.

He has also published at least 27 peer-reviewed articles since 2015.

Elbasiouny’s impact extends well beyond his funding and publication track record, as he enthusiastically trains undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

His dedication to recruiting and training women and diverse students is especially laudable —about 45% of his trainees are women and underrepresented minorities.  He provides a wonderful laboratory training environment and works diligently to ensure his students present their work at national and international conferences. Fifteen postdocs or students have won 31 excellence awards or scholarships for their work with Elbasiouny. Several of his trainees have successfully obtained academic positions at major institutions.

Wright State has previously honored Elbasiouny with an Excellence in Grantsmanship Award, the Academy of Medicine’s Outstanding Junior Faculty Award and a Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence: Early Career Achievement from Wright State. He also received a SOCHE Faculty Excellence Award.

In 2023, the Journal of Neural Engineering awarded Elbasiouny a “Trusted Reviewer” status for demonstrating a high level of peer review competence and the ability to critique scientific literature to an excellent standard.

Elbasiouny earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering from Cairo University in Egypt.