Dr. Justin Sanchez was named Director of BTO in May 2016, after serving as Acting Deputy Director of BTO since December 2015. The mission of BTO is to develop breakthrough technologies and capabilities for national security. He oversees 10 Program Managers working in areas of science and technology development including neurotechnology, gene editing, synthetic biology, and outpacing infectious diseases.

He joined DARPA as a Program Manager in 2013 to explore neurotechnology, brain science and systems neurobiology. Dr. Sanchez's research portfolio at DARPA includes innovative visualization and decoding of brain activity, new neuroprosthetic devices to help patients with memory deficits or neuropsychiatric illness, and advanced upper-limb prosthetic arm systems to restore movement and sensation that result from injury.

Before coming to DARPA, Dr. Sanchez was an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Neuroscience at the University of Miami, and a faculty member of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. He directed the Neuroprosthetics Research Group, where he oversaw development of neural-interface medical treatments and neurotechnology for treating paralysis and stroke, and for deep brain stimulation for movement disorders, Tourette’s syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.