Levi Hargrove, PhD

Levi Hargrove, PhD, is an internationally recognized leader in the development of pattern recognition-based control systems for prosthetic limbs. 

At Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Dr. Hargrove serves as vice president, strategic research infrastructure. In this role, he is responsible for advancing the organization’s research enterprise by further strengthening research infrastructure, guiding high-priority initiatives and helping accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into clinical and commercial impact.

Additionally, Dr. Hargrove leads The Regenstein Center for Bionic Medicine — a translational research group that focuses on improving prosthetic options for people with upper- and lower-limb amputations.

Among Dr. Hargrove’s most notable achievements is the development of a groundbreaking bionic arm control system that was commercialized through a startup he co-founded, expanding access to advanced technology for patients worldwide. Additionally, his research resulted in the first “thought-controlled” bionic leg, which uses electromyographic (EMG) signals from the user’s residual leg muscles, combined with mechanical sensor data from the prosthesis, to provide intuitive control of a powered device. Today, he is advancing the field further through a first-of-its-kind, NIH-supported bionic arm osseointegration study.

Since joining Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in 2008, Dr. Hargrove has attracted more than $60 million in grant funding from federal, military and philanthropic sources. Today, the Center for Bionic Medicine is one of the nation's most successful rehabilitation research programs, with a current active portfolio of more than $30 million. Dr. Hargrove's contributions to science have resulted in more than 125 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals, including JAMA, the New England Journal of Medicine, Science Robotics and Nature Biomedical Engineering, as well as multiple patented technologies that have been commercialized and cleared by the FDA.

In 2022, he was inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineering’s (AIMBE) College of Fellows, a prestigious honor that recognizes the top 2 percent of medical and biological engineers in the country. In 2018, Dr. Hargrove received the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists Research Award — intended to recognize the most outstanding research in the field. In 2014, Dr. Hargrove’s team was awarded the Department of Defense Military Health System Research Symposium Outstanding Research Team/Academia-Industry. 

He is member of the IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, and was previously an associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering and IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics.

 In addition to his work at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Dr. Hargrove is also a professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BScE), Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MScE) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick in Canada.