Epidural Stimulation Program

The Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center’s Epidural Stimulation Program focuses on studying the combination of neuromodulation and rehabilitation strategies to restore motor function in individuals with spinal cord injury. We study various aspects of motor recovery including movement, standing, and locomotion. We understanding how controlled electrical stimulation to the lower portion (lumbosacral) of the spinal cord enables the recovery of specific functions of the nervous system. Our mission is to advance the continuum of care and cure.
Program Overview

Director Susan Harkema, PhD
Principal Investigator Maxwell Boakye, MD	Principal Investigator Alex Ovechkin, MD, PhD	Principal Investigator Beatrice Ugiliweneza, PhD, MSPH
Principal Investigator Charles Hubscher, PhD	Principal Investigator Yury Gerasimenko, PhD, D Sci
Medical Team
Clinical Director Maxwell Boakye, MD	Sarah Wagers, MD	Darryl Kaelin, MD
Forest Arnold, DO, MSc, FIDSA	Robert Bert, MD, PhD	Marcus Stoddard, MD
Research Team
Mariel Basa Activity-Based Technician III	Manpreet Chopra Senior Research Scientist	Katie Fields Activity-Based Technician Manager
Steven Gruneisen Statistician Data Analyst	Isabelle Kuo Research Technician II	Matt Peveler, MS Research Technician II
Dylan Pfost Activity-Based Technician III	Curtis Standafer Activity-Based Technician II	Catherine Reis Activity-Based Technician I

Post Doctoral Fellows


Collaborators
Sunil Agrawal, PhD Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine, Columbia University	Ona Bloom, PhD Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research	V. Reggie Edgerton, PhD UCLA Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, Neurobiology and Neurosurgery
Gail Forrest, PhD Kessler Foundation, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School	Robert Grossman, MD Houston Methodist, Neurosurgery, Institute for Academic Medicine	James Guest, MD, PhD The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Miami, Florida
Noam Harel, MD, PhD James J Peters VA Medical Center, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai	Steven Kirshblum, MD Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation; Chair and Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School	Andrei Krassioukov, MD, PhD University of British Columbia, Department of Medicine, ICORD
Todd Linsenmeyer, MD Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation; Director of Urology Services	Michael C. Park, MD, PhD Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota	Jill M. Wecht, Ed D James J Peters VA Medical Center, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai
Sponsors

EMG Assessment During Stand-scES

Step Stimulation

Voluntary Movement Stimulation

Epidural Stimulation Program

Proof of Principle

Cardiovascular and Respiratory

Proof of Principle

Inter-system Participation

Bladder, Bowel, and Sexual Function

Publications: Epidural Stimulation

Epidural Stimulation Timeline

KSCIRC Research Labs

KSCIRC Motor Systems

KSCIRC Autonomic Systems

KSCIRC Neurophysiology

KSCIRC Engineering

KSCIRC Research Medical

KSCIRC Biostatistics Outcomes, Database, and Communications

KSCIRC Finance and Administration