Caitlin Hurd

Women and Children’s Health Research Institute

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Caitlin Hurd is a researcher in behavioral neuroscience and automated animal training systems, whose work has advanced the precision and efficiency of rodent behavioral assays. Her most-cited paper, "Improved single pellet grasping using automated ad libitum full-time training robot" (2014, 31 citations), introduced a novel robotic system that enables continuous, unsupervised training of fine motor skills in rodents. This contribution addressed a critical bottleneck in preclinical motor function studies: the labor-intensive nature of manual training. By automating the pellet-grasping task, Hurd’s system allowed for high-throughput, standardized data collection, reducing variability and improving reproducibility in studies of motor learning and recovery. Her work has been instrumental in bridging robotics and behavioral neuroscience, offering tools that can accelerate research into neurodegenerative diseases and stroke rehabilitation. While her citation count reflects a focused but impactful contribution, the methodological innovation of her approach has influenced subsequent designs for automated behavioral training platforms. Hurd’s research exemplifies how engineering solutions can transform traditional experimental paradigms, making them more scalable and reliable for the neuroscience community.