Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Anesthesiology
Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center

Scott F. Lempka, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Anesthesiology and the Director of the Neuromodulation Laboratory. The Neuromodulation Lab implements engineering approaches, such as computational modeling, to study the mechanism of action of clinical neuromodulation therapies for chronic pain management and other neurological disorders. The fundamental goal of the research program is to innovate future neuromostimulation technologies that dramatically improve patients’ lives.

Select Publications

Lempka SF, Barnett DW. Optimization of multi-frequency techniques used for cell membrane capacitance estimation. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2004;2006:522-5. doi: 10.1109/IEMBS.2004.1403209. PubMed PMID: 17271728.
Lempka SF, Johnson MD, Barnett DW, Moffitt MA, Otto KJ, Kipke DR, McIntyre CC. Optimization of microelectrode design for cortical recording based on thermal noise considerations. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2006;2006:3361-4. doi: 10.1109/IEMBS.2006.259432. PubMed PMID: 17947023.
Weinberg BD, Blanco E, Lempka SF, Anderson JM, Exner AA, Gao J. Combined radiofrequency ablation and doxorubicin-eluting polymer implants for liver cancer treatment. J Biomed Mater Res A. 2007 Apr;81(1):205-13. doi: 10.1002/jbm.a.30926. PubMed PMID: 17120205.
Miocinovic S, Lempka SF, Russo GS, Maks CB, Butson CR, Sakaie KE, Vitek JL, McIntyre CC. Experimental and theoretical characterization of the voltage distribution generated by deep brain stimulation. Exp Neurol. 2009 Mar;216(1):166-76. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2008.11.024. Epub 2008 Dec 11. PubMed PMID: 19118551; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2645000.
Lempka SF, Miocinovic S, Johnson MD, Vitek JL, McIntyre CC. In vivo impedance spectroscopy of deep brain stimulation electrodes. J Neural Eng. 2009 Aug;6(4):046001. doi: 10.1088/1741-2560/6/4/046001. Epub 2009 Jun 3. PubMed PMID: 19494421; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2861504.
Chaturvedi A, Butson CR, Lempka SF, Cooper SE, McIntyre CC. Patient-specific models of deep brain stimulation: influence of field model complexity on neural activation predictions. Brain Stimul. 2010 Apr;3(2):65-7. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2010.01.003. PubMed PMID: 20607090; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2895675.
Lempka SF, Johnson MD, Miocinovic S, Vitek JL, McIntyre CC. Current-controlled deep brain stimulation reduces in vivo voltage fluctuations observed during voltage-controlled stimulation. Clin Neurophysiol. 2010 Dec;121(12):2128-33. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2010.04.026. Epub 2010 May 20. PubMed PMID: 20493764; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2928413.
Lempka SF, Johnson MD, Moffitt MA, Otto KJ, Kipke DR, McIntyre CC. Theoretical analysis of intracortical microelectrode recordings. J Neural Eng. 2011 Aug;8(4):045006. doi: 10.1088/1741-2560/8/4/045006. Epub 2011 Jul 20. PubMed PMID: 21775783; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3196618.
Lempka SF, McIntyre CC. Theoretical analysis of the local field potential in deep brain stimulation applications. PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e59839. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059839. Epub 2013 Mar 28. PubMed PMID: 23555799; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3610913.
Moore NZ, Lempka SF, Machado A. Central neuromodulation for refractory pain. Neurosurg Clin N Am. 2014 Jan;25(1):77-83. doi: 10.1016/j.nec.2013.08.011. Epub 2013 Oct 10. Review. PubMed PMID: 24262901; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3867973.
Matias CM, Amit A, Lempka SF, Ozinga JG 4th, Nagel SJ, Lobel DA, Machado AG. Long-term outcomes after replacement of percutaneous leads with paddle leads in a retrospective cohort of patients with spinal cord stimulation systems. Neurosurgery. 2014 Oct;75(4):430-6; discussion 436. doi: 10.1227/NEU.0000000000000460. PubMed PMID: 24983442.
Nagel SJ, Lempka SF, Machado AG. Percutaneous spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain: indications and patient selection. Neurosurg Clin N Am. 2014 Oct;25(4):723-33. doi: 10.1016/j.nec.2014.06.005. Epub 2014 Aug 3. Review. PubMed PMID: 25240659.
McIntyre CC, Chaturvedi A, Shamir RR, Lempka SF. Engineering the next generation of clinical deep brain stimulation technology. Brain Stimul. 2015 Jan-Feb;8(1):21-6. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2014.07.039. Epub 2014 Jul 30. Review. PubMed PMID: 25161150; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4501497.
Matias CM, Mehanna R, Cooper SE, Amit A, Lempka SF, Silva D, Carlotti CG Jr, Butler RS, Machado AG. Correlation among anatomic landmarks, location of subthalamic deep brain stimulation electrodes, stimulation parameters, and side effects during programming monopolar review. Neurosurgery. 2015 Mar;11 Suppl 2:99-108; discussion 108-9. doi: 10.1227/NEU.0000000000000645. PubMed PMID: 25599207.
Lempka SF, McIntyre CC, Kilgore KL, Machado AG. Computational analysis of kilohertz frequency spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain management. Anesthesiology. 2015 Jun;122(6):1362-76. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000000649. PubMed PMID: 25822589.
Malaga KA, Schroeder KE, Patel PR, Irwin ZT, Thompson DE, Nicole Bentley J, Lempka SF, Chestek CA, Patil PG. Data-driven model comparing the effects of glial scarring and interface interactions on chronic neural recordings in non-human primates. J Neural Eng. 2016 Feb;13(1):016010. doi: 10.1088/1741-2560/13/1/016010. Epub 2015 Dec 14. PubMed PMID: 26655972.
Gopalakrishnan R, Burgess RC, Lempka SF, Gale JT, Floden DP, Machado AG. Pain anticipatory phenomena in patients with central poststroke pain: a magnetoencephalography study. J Neurophysiol. 2016 Sep 1;116(3):1387-95. doi: 10.1152/jn.00215.2016. Epub 2016 Jun 29. PubMed PMID: 27358316; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5040387.
Gunalan K, Chaturvedi A, Howell B, Duchin Y, Lempka SF, Patriat R, Sapiro G, Harel N, McIntyre CC. Creating and parameterizing patient-specific deep brain stimulation pathway-activation models using the hyperdirect pathway as an example. PLoS One. 2017;12(4):e0176132. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176132. eCollection 2017. PubMed PMID: 28441410; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5404874.
Lempka SF, Malone DA Jr, Hu B, Baker KB, Wyant A, Ozinga JG 4th, Plow EB, Pandya M, Kubu CS, Ford PJ, Machado AG. Randomized clinical trial of deep brain stimulation for poststroke pain. Ann Neurol. 2017 May;81(5):653-663. doi: 10.1002/ana.24927. PubMed PMID: 28380672.
Ramirez-Zamora A, Giordano JJ, Gunduz A, Brown P, Sanchez JC, Foote KD, Almeida L, Starr PA, Bronte-Stewart HM, Hu W, McIntyre C, Goodman W, Kumsa D, Grill WM, Walker HC, Johnson MD, Vitek JL, Greene D, Rizzuto DS, Song D, Berger TW, Hampson RE, Deadwyler SA, Hochberg LR, Schiff ND, Stypulkowski P, Worrell G, Tiruvadi V, Mayberg HS, Jimenez-Shahed J, Nanda P, Sheth SA, Gross RE, Lempka SF, Li L, Deeb W, Okun MS. Evolving Applications, Technological Challenges and Future Opportunities in Neuromodulation: Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Deep Brain Stimulation Think Tank. Front Neurosci. 2017;11:734. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2017.00734. eCollection 2017. PubMed PMID: 29416498; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5787550.
Lempka SF, Howell B, Gunalan K, Machado AG, McIntyre CC. Characterization of the stimulus waveforms generated by implantable pulse generators for deep brain stimulation. Clin Neurophysiol. 2018 Apr;129(4):731-742. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2018.01.015. Epub 2018 Jan 31. PubMed PMID: 29448149; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5856638.
Gopalakrishnan R, Burgess RC, Malone DA, Lempka SF, Gale JT, Floden DP, Baker KB, Machado AG. Deep brain stimulation of the ventral striatal area for poststroke pain syndrome: a magnetoencephalography study. J Neurophysiol. 2018 Jun 1;119(6):2118-2128. doi: 10.1152/jn.00830.2017. Epub 2018 Jan 31. PubMed PMID: 29384450; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6032114.
Maling N, Lempka SF, Blumenfeld Z, Bronte-Stewart H, McIntyre CC. Biophysical basis of subthalamic local field potentials recorded from deep brain stimulation electrodes. J Neurophysiol. 2018 Oct 1;120(4):1932-1944. doi: 10.1152/jn.00067.2018. Epub 2018 Jul 18. PubMed PMID: 30020838; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6230781.
Hill M, Rios E, Sudhakar SK, Roossien DH, Caldwell C, Cai D, Ahmed OJ, Lempka SF, Chestek CA. Quantitative simulation of extracellular single unit recording from the surface of cortex. J Neural Eng. 2018 Oct;15(5):056007. doi: 10.1088/1741-2552/aacdb8. Epub 2018 Jun 20. PubMed PMID: 29923502; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6125199.
Lempka SF, Patil PG. Innovations in spinal cord stimulation for pain. Curr Opin Biomed Eng. 2018 Dec;8:51-60. doi: 10.1016/j.cobme.2018.10.005. Epub 2018 Nov 12. PubMed PMID: 30911705; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6430588.
Sankarasubramanian V, Harte SE, Chiravuri S, Harris RE, Brummett CM, Patil PG, Clauw DJ, Lempka SF. Objective Measures to Characterize the Physiological Effects of Spinal Cord Stimulation in Neuropathic Pain: A Literature Review. Neuromodulation. 2019 Feb;22(2):127-148. doi: 10.1111/ner.12804. Epub 2018 Sep 24. Review. PubMed PMID: 30246905.
Anderson DJ, Kipke DR, Nagel SJ, Lempka SF, Machado AG, Holland MT, Gillies GT, Howard MA 3rd, Wilson S. Intradural Spinal Cord Stimulation: Performance Modeling of a New Modality. Front Neurosci. 2019;13:253. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00253. eCollection 2019. PubMed PMID: 30941012; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6434968.
Graham RD, Bruns TM, Duan B, Lempka SF. Dorsal root ganglion stimulation for chronic pain modulates Aβ-fiber activity but not C-fiber activity: A computational modeling study. Clin Neurophysiol. 2019 Jun;130(6):941-951. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2019.02.016. Epub 2019 Mar 15. PubMed PMID: 30981900; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6692908.
Anaya CJ, Zander HJ, Graham RD, Sankarasubramanian V, Lempka SF. Evoked Potentials Recorded From the Spinal Cord During Neurostimulation for Pain: A Computational Modeling Study. Neuromodulation. 2020 Jan;23(1):64-73. doi: 10.1111/ner.12965. Epub 2019 Jun 19. PubMed PMID: 31215720; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6920600.
Khadka N, Liu X, Zander H, Swami J, Rogers E, Lempka SF, Bikson M. Realistic anatomically detailed open-source spinal cord stimulation (RADO-SCS) model. J Neural Eng. 2020 Apr 23;17(2):026033. doi: 10.1088/1741-2552/ab8344. PubMed PMID: 32209741.
Capogrosso M, Lempka SF. A computational outlook on neurostimulation. Bioelectron Med. 2020;6:10. doi: 10.1186/s42234-020-00047-3. eCollection 2020. PubMed PMID: 32490037; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7247210.
Finn KE, Zander HJ, Graham RD, Lempka SF, Weiland JD. A Patient-Specific Computational Framework for the Argus II Implant. IEEE Open J Eng Med Biol. 2020;1:190-196. doi: 10.1109/ojemb.2020.3001563. Epub 2020 Jun 11. PubMed PMID: 33748766; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7971167.
Zander HJ, Graham RD, Anaya CJ, Lempka SF. Anatomical and technical factors affecting the neural response to epidural spinal cord stimulation. J Neural Eng. 2020 Jun 12;17(3):036019. doi: 10.1088/1741-2552/ab8fc4. PubMed PMID: 32365340; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8351789.
Sperry ZJ, Graham RD, Peck-Dimit N, Lempka SF, Bruns TM. Spatial models of cell distribution in human lumbar dorsal root ganglia. J Comp Neurol. 2020 Jul;528(10):1644-1659. doi: 10.1002/cne.24848. Epub 2020 Jan 6. PubMed PMID: 31872433; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7211131.
Lempka SF, Zander HJ, Anaya CJ, Wyant A, Ozinga JG 4th, Machado AG. Patient-Specific Analysis of Neural Activation During Spinal Cord Stimulation for Pain. Neuromodulation. 2020 Jul;23(5):572-581. doi: 10.1111/ner.13037. Epub 2019 Aug 28. PubMed PMID: 31464040.
Willsey MS, Lu CW, Nason SR, Malaga KA, Lempka SF, Chestek CA, Patil PG. Distinct perceptive pathways selected with tonic and bursting patterns of thalamic stimulation. Brain Stimul. 2020 Sep – Oct;13(5):1436-1445. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2020.07.007. Epub 2020 Jul 23. PubMed PMID: 32712343.
Mirzakhalili E, Barra B, Capogrosso M, Lempka SF. Biophysics of Temporal Interference Stimulation. Cell Syst. 2020 Dec 16;11(6):557-572.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.cels.2020.10.004. Epub 2020 Nov 5. PubMed PMID: 33157010.
Jones SE, Lempka SF, Gopalakrishnan R, Baker KB, Beall EB, Bhattacharyya P, Huang X, Lin J, Chen J, Lowe MJ, Malone DA, Machado AG. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Correlates of Ventral Striatal Deep Brain Stimulation for Poststroke Pain. Neuromodulation. 2021 Feb;24(2):259-264. doi: 10.1111/ner.13247. Epub 2020 Aug 3. PubMed PMID: 32744789.
Graham RD, Bruns TM, Duan B, Lempka SF. The Effect of Clinically Controllable Factors on Neural Activation During Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation. Neuromodulation. 2021 Jun;24(4):655-671. doi: 10.1111/ner.13211. Epub 2020 Jun 24. PubMed PMID: 32583523.
Sankarasubramanian V, Chiravuri S, Mirzakhalili E, Anaya CJ, Scott JR, Brummett CM, Clauw DJ, Patil PG, Harte SE, Lempka SF. Quantitative Sensory Testing of Spinal Cord and Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation in Chronic Pain Patients. Neuromodulation. 2021 Jun;24(4):672-684. doi: 10.1111/ner.13329. Epub 2021 Jan 20. PubMed PMID: 33471409.
Jones MG, Rogers ER, Harris JP, Sullivan A, Ackermann DM, Russo M, Lempka SF, McMahon SB. Neuromodulation using ultra low frequency current waveform reversibly blocks axonal conduction and chronic pain. Sci Transl Med. 2021 Aug 25;13(608). doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abg9890. PubMed PMID: 34433642.
Dalrymple AN, Ting JE, Bose R, Trevathan JK, Nieuwoudt S, Lempka SF, Franke M, Ludwig KA, Shoffstall AJ, Fisher LE, Weber DJ. Stimulation of the dorsal root ganglion using an Injectrode®. J Neural Eng. 2021 Nov 4;18(5). doi: 10.1088/1741-2552/ac2ffb. PubMed PMID: 34650008; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9002967.
Verma N, Graham RD, Mudge J, Trevathan JK, Franke M, Shoffstall AJ, Williams J, Dalrymple AN, Fisher LE, Weber DJ, Lempka SF, Ludwig KA. Augmented Transcutaneous Stimulation Using an Injectable Electrode: A Computational Study. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2021;9:796042. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.796042. eCollection 2021. PubMed PMID: 34988068; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8722711.
Graham RD, Sankarasubramanian V, Lempka SF. Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation for Chronic Pain: Hypothesized Mechanisms of Action. J Pain. 2022 Feb;23(2):196-211. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2021.07.008. Epub 2021 Aug 20. Review. PubMed PMID: 34425252; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8943693.
Rogers ER, Zander HJ, Lempka SF. Neural Recruitment During Conventional, Burst, and 10-kHz Spinal Cord Stimulation for Pain. J Pain. 2022 Mar;23(3):434-449. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2021.09.005. Epub 2021 Sep 25. PubMed PMID: 34583022; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8925309.
Lee H, Graham RD, Melikyan D, Smith B, Mirzakhalili E, Lempka SF, Duan B. Molecular Determinants of Mechanical Itch Sensitization in Chronic Itch. Front Mol Neurosci. 2022;15:937890. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.937890. eCollection 2022. PubMed PMID: 35782385; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9244800.
North RB, Lempka SF, Guan Y, Air EL, Poree LR, Shipley J, Arle J, Rigoard P, Thomson S. Glossary of Neurostimulation Terminology: A Collaborative Neuromodulation Foundation, Institute of Neuromodulation, and International Neuromodulation Society Project. Neuromodulation. 2022 Oct;25(7):1050-1058. doi: 10.1016/j.neurom.2021.10.010. Epub 2021 Dec 18. PubMed PMID: 35088746.
Liang L, Damiani A, Del Brocco M, Rogers ER, Jantz MK, Fisher LE, Gaunt RA, Capogrosso M, Lempka SF, Pirondini E. A systematic review of computational models for the design of spinal cord stimulation therapies: from neural circuits to patient-specific simulations. J Physiol. 2022 Nov 21;. doi: 10.1113/JP282884. [Epub ahead of print] Review. PubMed PMID: 36409303; NIHMSID:NIHMS1850385.
Zander HJ, Kowalski KE, DiMarco AF, Lempka SF. Model-Based Optimization of Spinal Cord Stimulation for Inspiratory Muscle Activation. Neuromodulation. 2022 Dec;25(8):1317-1329. doi: 10.1111/ner.13415. Epub 2022 Jun 14. PubMed PMID: 33987918; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8876828.