Cleveland FES Center

03/04/2026

Restoring cough after spinal cord injury is among the most life-changing goals our Investigators have pursued, and we are thrilled at the opportunity to make more people aware of the ongoing work by FES Investigators Dr. Anthony DiMarco MD, Kris Kowalski PhD, Raymond Onders MD and their teams.

More than 20 years after a historic surgery, a Cleveland researcher's work is still saving lives, thanks in part to the man many knew as Superman.

02/27/2026

We are happy to share that with support from Research & Development - US Department of Veterans Affairs, we are offering new research grant award opportunities for FES Center Member investigators. The new awards focus on new research approaches and also the use of AI in research.

We also congratulate FES Center Investigators Ahlam Salameh PhD and Elias Veizi MD, PhD, the first recipients of the Center's new Pilot Research Awards.

The Pilot awards foster research into new projects and areas of study by FES member investigators.

Dr. Salameh's new work is exploring the use of spinal cord stimulation in people with diabetic neuropathy.

Dr. Veizi's research is focusing on brain connectivity changes related to spinal cord pattern stimulation.

Read more the new FES Center award opportunities at https://fescenter.org/fes-center-announces-new-pilot-research-funding-awards/

02/25/2026

Many Congratulations to Center Investigator Jayme Knutson and MetroHealth on this article in the American Heart Association Stroke Journal and this ground-breaking study showing that contralaterally controlled FES technology can help stroke survivors with hand weakness recover more function than other therapies. It is work that could impact the standard of care for stroke survivors with hand weakness. MetroHealth Old Brooklyn Medical Center https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.013791

02/23/2026

Many Thanks to Tony DiMarco MD, Pulmonologist with MetroHealth, Professor with the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and a Research Investigator with the Center.

Dr. DiMarco presented at our Neural Prosthesis Seminar last week and shared details from his groundbreaking research on cough restoration after spinal cord injury. Thanks to all who joined us!

02/20/2026

A new study getting underway at the Center is looking at how deep brain stimulation might be able to help with vision and focusing impairments that sometimes affect individuals with Parkinson's Disease. Learn more at https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06857851

02/18/2026

Many Thanks to FES Investigator & Executive Director of the Institute for Functional Restoration Megan Moynahan MS, who represented at the Unite2FightParalysis Annual Meeting in Arlington, Va. Feb. 15-17!

This event is dedicated to uniting and empowering the international spinal cord injury community through advocacy, education and research.

FES Center Investigator Kim Anderson-Erisman PhD presented during the event, focusing on what's next: From Surviving to Thriving: What Gets Us There?

Dr. Anderson is a Professor with the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at MetroHealth and at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

02/10/2026

Stroke research taking place at our partner institutions includes various studies of rehabilitation measures for gait, hand function, arm function and more. For details, fill out the contact form at https://fescenter.org/research-participants/research-participation/

02/06/2026

Many thanks to Ana G. Hernandez-Reynoso, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, and our February First Tuesday speaker!

Dr. Reynoso shared research to develop ultra-thin neural interfaces and some of the advantages they may offer, as well as how investigators are studying their use at this time.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for this insightful presentation! Please mark your calendars to join us again on March 3.

02/04/2026

FES Investigator Anne Bryden PhD, OTR/L is committed to improving the lives of people with spinal cord injury. Over the years she identified an important need: finding the right resources at the right time to help manage daily life with a chronic disability. It led Bryden to create NorthStar SCI, a website and resource to help families and individuals navigate the difficult terrain after spinal cord injury. Check it out and share:

This website is intended to help families and individuals navigate the difficult terrain after spinal cord injury (SCI).  The first few years after SCI can be challenging for both the person with SCI and their support persons. We hope this space can point you to resources, based on the experiences ...

01/29/2026

Several FES Center investigators are studying rehabilitation approaches for individuals with spinal cord injury. For example, the KeyGrip study is evaluating the use of a small, inplantable stimulator to activate hand muscles. Study details are at https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06611748

01/27/2026

We congratulate Rohit Bose PhD, a post-doc team member working with FES Investigator Emily Graczyk, on this outstanding honor from Linköping University: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/case-western-reserve-university-department-of-biomedical-engineering_rohit-bose-a-post-doctoral-researcher-in-activity-7421610647081283584-OBW9

Rohit Bose, a post-doctoral researcher in Assistant Professor Emily Graczyk’s lab, earned an award from Linköping University to attend its microneurography workshop, where he learned new nerve recording techniques.

Read more news about students and alumni in our latest newsletter: https://bit.ly/45vYqgU

01/22/2026

The Center was thrilled to host Julius Dewald PhD last week as our Neural Prosthesis guest speaker this month. Dr. Dewald is Chair of the Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences and Professor of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University - The Feinberg School of Medicine. He is also a Professor with NWU McCormick School of Engineering and an Adjunct Professor of BME at University of Twente, The Netherlands.

Dr. Dewald's talk focused on neural mechanisms linked to the loss of independent joint control / spasticity following a unilateral brain injury such as stroke, along with novel treatments using a combination of neurophysiological and engineering techniques. Stay tuned for the video replay on our Youtube channel soon!

Many thanks go out to our marvelous speaker & guest Dr. Dewald, and to our wonderful attendees!