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Postdoctoral Researcher
University Health Network
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
NAME: Balbinot, Gustavo
eRA COMMONS USER NAME (credential, e.g., agency login):
POSITION TITLE: Postdoctoral Researcher - University Health Network
EDUCATION/TRAINING
INSTITUTION AND LOCATION DEGREE
FIELD OF STUDY
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul
and Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul ,
Porto Alegre, RS
N/A 02/2003 Electrical Engineering
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto
Alegre, RS BS 02/2010 Kinesiology/Biomechanics
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto
Alegre, RS OTH 02/2011 Kinesiology/Biomechanics
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto
Alegre, RS MS 04/2013 Neuroscience
Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal,
RN PHD 04/2019 Neuroscience
KITE – Toronto Rehabilitation Institute – University
Health Network, Toronto, ON
Postdoctoral
Fellow present Biomedical Engineering
A. Personal Statement
I am a Ph.D. actively engaged in studies of biomechanics and neurosciences related to motor control and
motor disorders, focusing on the relationship between movement and cellular biology. I have specialized
in the neural basis of movement and movement disorders at the intersection between basic
neurosciences and applied biomechanics. I characterized the emergence of flexor synergies in rats and
mice following stroke. I developed a mathematical framework to calculate many movement impairments in
rodents, e.g. smoothness, path lengths, joint angles, etc. This work encompasses most of the variables
used in the clinic and should better align clinical and pre-clinical fields to increase the translational power
of new findings. I developed a new method for scoring cartilage integrity following an experimental model
of knee osteoarthritis in rats using optical densitometry. We developed an automated tracking system to
monitor rodent activity in enriched environmental conditions. I showed evidence of elastic energy usage
during human walking using the pendulum mechanics theory. I was awarded a grant to present these
findings in the International Society of Biomechanics Congress in 2011 in Brussels - Belgium. I also did
extensive work on the biomechanics of walking that encompassed normal and pathological gait, such as
aging and stroke. I developed a low-cost footswitch system to measure heel strike and toe-off during
human walking with applications to gait evaluations, such as synchronism of surface electromyography
(sEMG) or accelerometry data with the gait cycle.
In recent and ongoing work, I am using sEMG for predicting the recovery of upper limb function after
cervical SCI, in particular in the context of functional electrical stimulation therapy (FES-T). The potential
of electrophysiological data to provide biomarkers for recovery is well appreciated, however, the potential
to extract information from sEMG using state-of-the-art approaches in sensors, signal processing, and
machine learning remains underexplored in SCI.
1. Balbinot G, Li G, Wiest M, Pakosh M, Furlan J, Kalsi‑Ryan S, Zariffa J. Properties of the surface
electromyogram following traumatic spinal cord injury: a scoping review. Journal of
NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation. Forthcoming.
2. Silverman J, Balbinot G, Masani K, Zariffa J. Validity and Reliability of Surface Electromyography
Features in Lower Extremity Muscle Contraction in Healthy and Spinal Cord–Injured Participants.
Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation. 2021 February 08. Available from:
https://meridian.allenpress.com/tscir/article-abstract/doi/10.46292/sci20-00001/458299/Validity-and-
Reliability-of-Surface?redirectedFrom=fulltext
B. Positions, Scientific Appointments and Honors
Positions and Scientific Appointments
2019 - Postdoctoral fellow - KITE - Toronto Rehabilitation Institute , University Health Network,
Toronto
Honors
2016 - 2017 ELAP - Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program (9,700 CAD), Global Affairs Canada -
Government of Canada
2021 3rd place - Best original work, 9th National Spinal Cord Injury Conference of the Canadian
Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Association (CSCI-RA)
2020 Financial Support amid the Covid-19 pandemic (1,000 USD) , Delsys
2013 Student Travel Award (USD 100), Delsys-ISB
2011 Emerging and Developing Country Grant, ISB
C. Contribution to Science
1. Animal models of stroke: (a, c, d) the first quantitative description of the flexor synergy in rodents; (b)
automated quantification of the post-stroke rodent behavior in enriched environment settings.
a. Balbinot G, Denize S, Lagace D. The Emergence of Stereotyped Kinematic Synergies when Mice
to Grasp Following Stroke. Reach. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair. Forthcoming.
b. Schuch CP, Balbinot G, Jeffers MS, McDonald MW, Dykes A, Kuhl LM, Corbett D. An RFID-based
activity tracking system to monitor individual rodent behavior in environmental enrichment:
Implications for post-stroke cognitive recovery. J Neurosci Methods. 2019 Aug 1;324:108306.
PubMed PMID: 31152754.
c. Balbinot G, Schuch CP. Compensatory Relearning Following Stroke: Cellular and Plasticity
Mechanisms in Rodents. Front Neurosci. 2018;12:1023. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6365459.
d. Balbinot G, Schuch CP, Jeffers MS, McDonald MW, Livingston-Thomas JM, Corbett D. Post-
stroke kinematic analysis in rats reveals similar reaching abnormalities as humans. Sci Rep. 2018
Jun 7;8(1):8738. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5992226.
2. Animal models of osteoarthritis: (a) unveiled the effects of photobiomodulation therapy on cartilage
integrity and chronic pain mechanisms in the spinal cord of rodents.
a. Balbinot G, Schuch CP, Nascimento PSD, Lanferdini FJ, Casanova M, Baroni BM, Vaz MA.
Photobiomodulation Therapy Partially Restores Cartilage Integrity and Reduces Chronic Pain
Behavior in a Rat Model of Osteoarthritis: Involvement of Spinal Glial Modulation. Cartilage. 2019
Sep 30; PubMed PMID: 31569995.
3. Gait analysis: (d) described the mechanical work and elastic energy usage during walking; (b, a)
explored the use of kinematics and inertial sensors to assess the gait of post-stroke individuals; (c)
explored the use of inertial sensors and a novel gait smoothness metric to assess gait in Parkinson's
disease.
a. Garcia FDV, da Cunha MJ, Schuch CP, Schifino GP, Balbinot G, Pagnussat AS. Movement
smoothness in chronic post-stroke individuals walking in an outdoor environment-A cross-
sectional study using IMU sensors. PLoS One. 2021;16(4):e0250100. PubMed Central PMCID:
PMC8061986.
b. Balbinot G, Schuch CP, Bianchi Oliveira H, Peyré-Tartaruga LA. Mechanical and energetic
determinants of impaired gait following stroke: segmental work and pendular energy transduction
during treadmill walking. Biol Open. 2020 Jul 21;9(7) PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7390624.
c. Pinto C, Schuch CP, Balbinot G, Salazar AP, Hennig EM, Kleiner AFR, Pagnussat AS. Movement
smoothness during a functional mobility task in subjects with Parkinson's disease and freezing of
gait - an analysis using inertial measurement units. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2019 Sep 5;16(1):110.
PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6729092.
d. Balbinot G. Walking at non-constant speeds: mechanical work, pendular transduction, and energy
congruity. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2017 May;27(5):482-491. PubMed PMID: 26899797.
4. In recent and ongoing work, (a) I have reviewed the literature on the use of electromyography in spinal
cord injury and (b) assessed the validity and reliability of several features extracted from the
electromyography of spinal cord injured participants.
a. Balbinot G, Li G, Wiest M, Pakosh M, Furlan J, Kalsi‑Ryan S, Zariffa J. Properties of the surface
electromyogram following traumatic spinal cord injury: a scoping review. Journal of
NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation. Forthcoming.
b. Silverman J, Balbinot G, Masani K, Zariffa J. Validity and Reliability of Surface Electromyography
Features in Lower Extremity Muscle Contraction in Healthy and Spinal Cord–Injured Participants.
Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation. 2021 February 08. Available from:
https://meridian.allenpress.com/tscir/article-abstract/doi/10.46292/sci20-00001/458299/Validity-
and-Reliability-of-Surface?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
3:15 PM – 3:30 PM