his/her own speech in real time, and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of brain activity during speech, though some parts of the model remain to be experimentally verified. The DIVA model has been used to investigate the neural underpinnings of a number of communication disorders, including stuttering apraxia of speech, and hearing-impaired speech. In addition to computational modeling and experimental research investigating the neural bases of speech, Guenther directs the Boston University Neural Prosthesis Laboratory, which focuses on the development of technologies that can decode the brain signals of profoundly paralyzed individuals, particularly those with locked-in syndrome, in order to control external devices such as speech synthesizers, mobile robots, and computers. Guenther's team received widespread press coverage in 2009, when they developed a brain–computer interface for real-time speech synthesis that allowed locked-in patient Erik Ramsey to produce vowel sounds in collaboration with Dr. Philip Kennedy (inventor of the neurotrophic electrode used in the study) and Dr. Jonathan Brumberg. He has also made headlines for his research into non-invasive brain–computer interfaces for communication. In 2011, Guenther founded the Unlock Project, a non-profit project aimed at providing free brain–computer interface technology to patients with locked-in syndrome. Media Frank Guenther's research has been covered extensively in the science and mainstream media, including television spots on CNN News, PBS NewsHour, and Fox News; articles in popular science magazines Nature News, New Scientist, Discover, and Scientific American; and mainstream media coverage in Esquire, Wired, The Boston Globe, MSNBC, and BBC News. References External links Frank Guenther's homepage The Boston University Speech Lab homepage The Boston University Neural Prosthesis Lab homepage The Boston University Graduate Program for Neuroscience The Boston University PhD Program in Computational Neuroscience The Unlock Project How The Brain Produces Language - And What Can Go Wrong, Video, 49:10 1964 births Living people American neuroscientists University of Missouri alumni Fellows of the Acoustical Society of America Boston University faculty Princeton University School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Boston University alumni