Dr Thomas Richards

My research focuses on understanding how neural control of movement is altered by injury, and how this knowledge can be used to improve recovery in conditions such as stroke, cerebral palsy, and Parkinson’s disease. My work is motivated by translating insights from activity-dependent synaptic plasticity into clinically meaningful applications in humans.

I develop and apply neurophysiological methods to characterise human motor pathways using indirect measures. During my doctoral research, I combined muscle synergy analysis with frequency-domain coherence techniques applied to electromyography (EMG), enabling identification of neural inputs to muscles and inference of pathway damage. This approach provides clinically relevant insight into motor impairment, with applications in predicting recovery and understanding symptoms such as spasticity.

My research is inherently interdisciplinary, spanning neurophysiology, data science, and engineering. I have developed expertise in computational and statistical analysis of complex physiological datasets, supported by formal training in data science and experience applying these methods to real-world healthcare problems.

A central theme of my work is translation into clinical practice. Through collaborations with industry, I have contributed to the development of EMG-based technologies, including pattern recognition algorithms for prosthetic control and proof-of-concept devices for stroke assessment. This has led to a broader focus on usability, implementation, and integration of digital technologies within healthcare systems.

My current research integrates neurophysiology, data science, and systems approaches to develop clinically viable, technology-enabled outcome measures, with applications in stroke recovery, assistive medical devices, and large-scale movement analysis in Parkinson’s disease.