Biography
Scott F. Lempka, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI, USA) with a secondary appointment in the Department of Anesthesiology. Dr. Lempka is the Principal Investigator of the Neuromodulation Laboratory and the Director of Neuromodulation in the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center. His research group utilizes engineering approaches, such as computational modeling, to study the mechanisms of action of clinical neuromodulation therapies for chronic pain management and other neurological disorders.
Prior to joining the University of Michigan in 2017, Dr. Lempka earned a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Saint Louis University (St. Louis, MO, USA) in 2004 and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH, USA) in 2008 and 2010. His dissertation work focused on the use of computational and experimental techniques to characterize the interface between neural stimulation and recording electrodes and the surrounding tissue. He performed his postdoctoral training at the Cleveland Clinic and the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center (Cleveland, OH, USA) in the area of neurostimulation for chronic pain management.
Research Interests
- Neurostimulation for chronic pain: Characterization of the therapeutic mechanisms of neurostimulation therapies for chronic pain management with the goal to innovate new technologies that improve outcomes.
- Spinal cord stimulation: Investigation of the mechanisms of action of current and novel spinal cord stimulation technologies for chronic pain management.
- Neural engineering: Utilization of computational models and experimental techniques to understand the effects of electrical stimulation on neural tissue and the factors that affect the quality of neural recordings.
Current Projects
- CRCNS: Model-based characterization of spinal cord stimulation for pain (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH): R01 AT010817)
- Electrodes for selective stimulation of the lateral spinal cord to restore sensation after lower-limb amputation (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS): R01 NS121028)
- Defining mechanisms of pain relief associated with dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord stimulation (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS): RM1 NS128775)
