Science Corporation names Yale neurosurgery chair Murat Gunel to lead first-in-human trial of its 520-electrode biohybrid brain sensor
TechCrunch reported on 14 April 2026 that Science Corporation has enlisted Dr Murat Gunel, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Yale School of Medicine, to lead the first US human trials of its biohybrid brain-computer interface, following two years of discussions. The first step is to implant the company's sensor - without the lab-grown neurons the eventual device is intended to carry - inside a living human skull, resting on top of the cortex rather than inserted into brain tissue as Neuralink's device is. The sensor contains 520 recording electrodes in an area the size of a pea. The company says it does not plan to seek FDA approval for these trials, arguing the device poses no significant risk; the plan is to recruit patients already undergoing major brain surgery, such as stroke patients requiring partial cranium removal. Chief Science Officer and co-founder Alan Mardinly leads biohybrid development with a team of 30 researchers. Gunel told TechCrunch it would be 'optimistic' to expect trials to begin in 2027. Science published a working paper in 2024 showing the device could be safely implanted in mice and used to stimulate brain activity.