Massachusetts General Hospital

Biography

Dr. Hochberg is a vascular and critical care neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Brigham & Women's Hospital (BWH), and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital; Associate Professor of Engineering at Brown University; Visiting Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School; and an Investigator in the Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine, Rehabilitation R&D Service, Providence VA Medical Center. His research focuses on the translation of neuroscience discoveries into devices to help patients with neurologic disease or injury. His research has been published in leading journals such as Nature, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Journal of Neuroscience. As Principal Investigator and lead Clinical Investigator of the pilot clinical trials of the BrainGate2 Neural Interface System, he has earned a prestigious Doris Duke Clinical Scientist Development Award and research grants from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Hochberg received his Sc.B. with Honors in Neural Science from Brown University in 1990. He received his MD and PhD from Emory University in 1999, where he was continued an intern in Internal Medicine. He was a resident and Chief Resident in Neurology at MGH/BWH/Harvard Medical School, where he also completed a fellowship in Stroke/Neurocritical Care in 2004.

ResearchDr. Hochberg's research focuses on the development and testing of implanted neural interfaces to help people with paralysis and other neurologic disorders. His research, which has appeared on the cover of Nature and was featured on CBS 60 Minutes, is supported by career development awards from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as a Merit Review award from the VA and an R21 and R01 award from the National Institute for Deafness and Communication Disorders. He is the IDE Sponsor-Investigator and principal clinical investigator of the pilot clinical trials of the BrainGate2 Neural Interface System.

Visit Dr. Hochberg's Research Investigator Profile for more information.

Publications

View my most recent publications at PubMed

Turning thoughts into action

Dr. Leigh Hochberg from the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital is using neurotechnology to harness brain signals that accompany movement. The ultimate goal of the work is to "turn thought into action," with the hope of one day assisting people with ALS, spinal cord injury and stroke to regain control over their environment.

Mind over matter

Nearly 15 years after a stroke left her paralyzed and unable to speak, 59-year-old Cathy Hutchinson controlled a robotic arm to lift coffee to her mouth and take a drink by thinking about moving her own arm.

Mass General Critical Care Center investigators enjoy first research retreat

Massachusetts General Hospital investigators collaborate with clinical staff to generate new knowledge and discuss innovations at the First Annual Critical Care Research Retreat.

Science takes center stage

“THIS IS ONE OF MY favorite days of the year,” said Robert Kingston, PhD, chief of MGH Molecular Biology and chair of the Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) in his welcome address at the March 20 Celebration of Science event, held in conjunction with the 66th annual meeting of the hospital’s Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC).

Three MGH teams honored for clinical research achievements

Three projects led by MGH investigators were named among the Clinical Research Forum’s Top 10 Clinical Research Achievements of 2012 at the organization’s annual meeting on April 18.

Brain-computer interface begins new clinical trial for paralysis

Scientists at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have initiated the BrainGate2 pilot clinical trial to expand restorative neurotechnology research for some patients with paralysis.

BrainGate neural interface system reaches 1,000-day performance milestone

An investigational implanted system being developed to translate brain signals toward control of assistive devices has allowed a woman with paralysis to accurately control a computer cursor at 2.7 years after implantation, providing a key demonstration that neural activity can be read out and converted into action for an unprecedented length of time.

Three Mass. General researchers among recipients of Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement awards

Three projects led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have been named among the Clinical Research Forum's Top 10 Clinical Research Achievements of 2012.