Postdoctoral Research Associate · UC Davis

Neural engineering · Neurorehabilitation · Biomedical signal processing · Machine learning

Building intelligent neural interfaces for movement and recovery.

I study how neural signals and adaptive technologies can help us understand—and restore—motor and sensory function.

8Publications
15+Research projects
9+Years in neural signals
Sacramento, California
Portrait of Bhoj Raj Thapa
Ph.D. · Electrical Engineering
Current focusAdaptive neural interfaces

01 / About

Engineering at the intersection of brain, body, and intelligent systems.

I am a neural engineering researcher and postdoctoral research associate in the Calvert Neuroengineering Science Laboratory at the University of California, Davis.

My work spans neural engineering, neuromodulation, neurorehabilitation, biomedical signal processing, and machine learning. I am especially interested in translating complex neural data into adaptive interfaces that support motor and sensory function.

I earned my Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Kentucky, where I developed EEG-based brain-machine interface methods for freewill reaching and grasping tasks.

दुःख हुँदा नआत्तिनु, सुख हुँदा नमात्तिनु।

Do not lose heart in adversity, nor let success go to your head.

02 / Experience

Research grounded in signals, systems, and human impact.

Current chapter

From decoding movement intention to restoring sensorimotor function.

My path connects foundational EEG research with translational neurotechnology and rehabilitation.

Download full resume
2026—Now

Postdoctoral Research Associate

University of California, Davis

Current

Calvert Neuroengineering Science Laboratory · Sacramento, CA

Advancing neural engineering, neuromodulation, and neurorehabilitation research toward intelligent interfaces that help understand and restore motor and sensory functions.

NeurorehabilitationNeuromodulationNeural interfaces
2021—2026

Graduate Researcher & Teaching Assistant

University of Kentucky

Neural Interfaces & Signal Processing Lab · Lexington, KY

Designed EEG-based brain-machine interface studies, acquired multimodal EEG/EOG data, developed movement-intention decoding methods, and taught Signals and Systems courses.

EEGBrain-machine interfacesMachine learning
2019

Research Assistant

Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences

Center for Water and Atmospheric Research · Kathmandu, Nepal

Engineered a low-cost mobile weather station using Arduino and sensor integration, while mentoring an intern through development and deployment.

Embedded systemsIoTSensor integration
2026

Doctor of Philosophy

Electrical Engineering

University of Kentucky
2018

Bachelor of Engineering

Electronics & Communication

Nepal Engineering College

Selected recognition

Research, teaching, and academic awards.

04 / Skills

Technical toolkit.

Multidisciplinary experience across neural engineering, biomedical signal processing, machine learning, and deep learning.

Biomedical Signal Processing

9+ years

Analysis of electroencephalography (EEG), electrocardiography (ECG), electrooculography (EOG), and electromyography (EMG) signals, including filtering, feature extraction, time-frequency analysis, and artifact removal.

MATLAB

10+ years

Signal processing, scientific scripts, visualization, EEGLAB, Brainstorm, and specialized engineering toolboxes.

PyTorch

4+ years

Convolutional and recurrent neural networks, LSTM models, attention mechanisms, training, and evaluation.

Machine Learning

9+ years

Support vector machines, LDA, PCA, ICA, Kalman filters, reinforcement learning, and interpretable modeling.

Python

10+ years

NumPy, SciPy, scikit-learn, MNE-Python, data engineering, visualization, and PyQt application development.

TensorFlow / Keras

4+ years

Deep-learning model development, training workflows, evaluation, and deployment.

Embedded Systems & IoT

11+ years

Arduino, Raspberry Pi, OpenBCI, ROS, sensor integration, prototyping, and connected systems.

Other Tools

11+ years

Bash, Git and GitHub, LaTeX, C/C++, Java, LabVIEW, high-performance computing, and Shapr3D CAD.

06 / Beyond the lab

Curiosity does not stop at research.

Outside the lab, I play chess, cricket, and volleyball, build utility websites with LLMs, cook Nepali food, and watch science-fiction films. These are the places where I reset, experiment, and find new ways to think.

♟ Chess ↗ ◇ Cricket ↗ △ Volleyball ↗ ⌘ Web experiments
△ Sci-fi
  1. 01Transcendence
  2. 02The Martian
  3. 03Project Hail Mary
From the blogWhy I built this website

07 / Contact

Let’s build the next generation of neurotechnology.

I am always interested in thoughtful conversations about neural engineering, rehabilitation, signal processing, and collaborative research.