Cheng (Jonathan) Lab

Meet the PI

Jonathan Cheng, M.D.

Jonathan Cheng, M.D.

Jonathan Cheng, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He is a fellowship-trained hand surgeon with expertise in peripheral nerve reconstruction and microsurgery. Dr. Cheng's clinical practice has a specialized focus on brachial plexus and peripheral nerve repair, and he is the leader of the peripheral nerve and brachial plexus team clinic at Children's Health Children’s Medical Center Dallas.

His research interests in peripheral nerve regeneration and neural interfacing are well-matched with his clinical interests, as his research focus is on the development of real-world solutions to longstanding clinical challenges.

As a member of the UT Southwestern Biomedical Engineering Program, Dr. Cheng mentors Ph.D. doctoral candidates from UT Southwestern and its partner institutions (UT Arlington and UT Dallas).

Research

The basic and translational research interests of Dr. Cheng include mechanistic investigations into peripheral nerve regeneration, neural interfacing for the control of robotic limbs, and bioelectronic medicines for the modulation of systemic disease. Our lab performs a comprehensive suite of outcome measures to assess peripheral nerve recovery and chronic neural interfacing in the research setting.

Current studies include:

  • Long gap peripheral nerve regeneration – Translational therapies for peripheral nerve regeneration across a long nerve gap, rapid screening of novel small molecule drugs
  • Fascicular targeting of peripheral nerve interfaces -
  • Development of precise surgical techniques for placement of chronic peripheral nerve implants
  • Design of implantable systems for chronic neural recording and stimulation
  • Human trials to investigate the basic physiology of fascicular targeting
  • Bioelectronic medicines – Biologically active neural implants for chronic interfacing of autonomic nerves

Contact Us

Jonathan Cheng, M.D.

Associate Professor
Plastic Surgery

Phone: 214-645-3177
Email