Qinwan Rabbani is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory University working under Dr. Chethan Pandarinath, PhD, where he leads efforts in the Systems Neural Engineering Lab (SNEL) to develop brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) for audible speech restoration—an approach often referred to as “brain-to-voice.” As part of the BrainGate2 clinical trial, he works with a BCI participant with brainstem stroke who is implanted with an intracortical device, developing real-time systems that decode speech-related intent from neural, behavioral and peripheral biosignals to support continuous, user-driven communication through synthesized speech.

Qinwan completed his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, where he contributed to the ECoG-based CortiCom clinical trial under Dr. Nathan Crone, MD and Dr. Laureano Moro-Velazquez, PhD. His research focused on alignment strategies and training protocols for co-regulating speech with the system in real time, helping users gain control over neural synthesizers by anchoring the experience in perception and intent rather than pure machine decoding.

Outside the lab, Qinwan is drawn to science fiction, fantasy and open-world games—especially those that explore voice, identity, power and possibility in the face of constraint. He’s captivated by the idea of a future where people can speak freely and expressively, regardless of what their body allows, and sees communication, in all its forms, as the most human of frontiers.

“Grateful to those who made this possible. I carry this work forward to help others speak again, even in silence.”