Lucy Dowdall

University College London, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit

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About

Lucy Dowdall is a researcher specializing in human-machine interaction, motor augmentation, and somatosensory feedback, with a particular focus on how the brain and body adapt to controlling artificial limbs and robotic extensions. Her work sits at the intersection of neuroscience, rehabilitation engineering, and cognitive science, exploring fundamental questions about how humans learn to operate and integrate artificial body parts. Dowdall's most impactful contribution challenges prevailing assumptions in the field: rather than relying solely on artificially delivered sensory feedback, her research demonstrates that intrinsic somatosensory signals from the body parts controlling an artificial limb can meaningfully support motor control and learning. Her 2022 paper on this topic has already garnered 19 citations, establishing her as an emerging voice in the field. Complementing this work, her 2024 study on hand augmentation usability across diverse user populations — earning 17 citations — highlights her commitment to inclusive, real-world applicability of augmentation technologies. Her more recent investigations into how the brain develops sensory representations of robotic digits suggest she is pushing the field toward a deeper understanding of neural plasticity in augmentation contexts. Collectively, Dowdall's research offers valuable insights that could reshape how engineers and clinicians approach the design of next-generation prosthetic and augmentative devices.