Christine Odaba is the Head of Surgery Engineering at Neuralink since 2017. She has a background in medical device design and aerospace. Her work involves developing accessible surgical procedures and transitioning solutions from concept to clinical application.
Before Neuralink, Odaba gained experience at SpaceX in avionics mechanical design, propulsion production reliability, and launch chief engineering. She also cofounded Comet Electric Motorcycles and conducted research at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Odaba holds a B.S.E. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University and studied at the University of Oxford. In Neuralink's Fall 2022 "Show and Tell," Christine explained how the R1 robot could make N1 implant surgeries more affordable. She also explained how Neuralink is working to improve or restore vision, or restore movement in individuals experiencing paralysis. Christine Odabashian is listed as an inventor on multiple patents assigned to Neuralink Corp. These patents relate to systems and methods for lead, needle, and cannula designs that ease needle threading and positioning for implanting leads into biological tissue.
