Geoffrey Ling

Geoffrey S. F. Ling, M.D., Ph.D., is a medical doctor who retired from the United States Army as a Colonel, and is currently the Deputy Director for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). He is considered to be the "US Army's premier subject matter expert on traumatic brain injury (TBI)", and was for years the only neuro-intensive care specialist in the US military.

Prominent in his research portfolio are neuroscience,  specifically, Preventing Violent Explosive Neuro Trauma (PREVENT), the prevention of  traumatic brain injury, and development of responsive, brain-controlled, artificial arms. He also serves as the Deputy Director of the Defense Sciences Office. Ling is a recipient of the Humanitarian Award from the Brain Mapping Foundation.

Education
Ling earned his BA with honors from Washington University, and earned his doctorate in pharmacology from Cornell University School of Medicine (1982). He completed post doctoral training in Neuropharmacology at the Sloan-Kettering Memorial Cancer Center (1982-1985). In 1989, Ling earned an M.D. from Georgetown University School of Medicine, Both his neurology internship (1989-1990) and later residency (1990-1993) were completed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. From 1993-1995 Ling had a Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University, Neurosciences Critical Care Unit.

Military
Ling completed two combat tours: Afghanistan (2003) and Iraq (2005), as well as four "Gray Team" tours to study combat brain injuries. His medical studies of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq show that over 50% of those who died of wounds had head injuries.

Prior to his position as Deputy Director at DARPA Ling was a tenured  professor and Acting Chair of the Department of Neurology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). He worked at the USUHS from 1995-2012 and for many years was the Army's only neuro-intensive care physician. Ling is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology and Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a member of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Ling served as an Army doctor for 27 years, and retired in 2012. Ling and his work have been featured twice on the TV show 60 Minutes, in 2009 and 2012.

Other
Ling is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology and Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a member of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Ling and his work have been featured twice on the TV show 60 Minutes, in 2009 and 2012. He was also one of the doctors who treated American senator Gabrielle Giffords after she had been shot in the head. Ling's publications include 150 peer reviewed journal articles, research reviews, and book chapters



Prosthetic arm development
Because of engineering and medical concerns, arm replacement is more difficult than leg replacement. Arm replacement technology was far behind leg replacement technology when DARPA began the Revolutionizing Prosthetics team in 2006. As of 2013, testing these arms with input from the patient's brain is ongoing. The biggest problem has long been a lack of the sense of touch in prosthetic arms. Significant progress in that regard has been made because of discoveries in ways to deliver a sense of touch through a prosthtetic hand back to the nervous system. Ling has described the problem of developing a high quality artificial arm as "doggone hard". Ling's Revolutionizing Prosthetics team's work could lead to the restoration of sight and hearing. Using his artificial arms, amputees could precisely move their artificial arms with just thought.

Awards
Ling is a recipient of the Order of Military Medical Merit. In Toronto, Canada, in 2012, Ling was awarded the Humanitarian Award from the Brain Mapping Foundation.