Erika Petersen

High Impact

Professor

UAMS primary UA Little Rock

Also affiliated: United States Food and Drug Administration (2014); University of Graz (2010); Medical University of Graz (2010); Aix-Marseille Université (2010); University of Arkansas Medical Center (2026); Cancer Research UK (2010); Western Reserve Hospital (2015); Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe (2010); Arkansas State Hospital (2014); University Hospital of Umeå (2010); Wolters Kluwer Health (2014); National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (2010); International Neuromodulation Society (2020); UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology (2010–2011); University College London (2010–2011); The University of Texas at Austin (2010); The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (2010)

Neurosurgery, College of Medicine

30 h-index 185 pubs 3,192 cited

Research Areas

Biomedical Subjects

Links

ORCID Lab Website UAMS TRI Profile

OverviewAI-generated summary

Erika Petersen's research focuses on the development of new devices, indications, and methodologies for treating chronic pain through neuromodulation. She directs the Section of Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery at UAMS Medical Center and holds a professorship in the Department of Neurosurgery, where she also serves as Vice-Chair for Education and program director for the neurosurgery residency. Dr. Petersen's clinical practice involves treating movement disorders, spasticity, and chronic pain using surgical procedures, including stereotactic radiosurgery.

Her research collaborations extend to colleagues in interventional pain, neuroradiology, neurology, and psychiatry, with the goal of identifying novel applications for deep brain stimulation and neuromodulation in pain management. Dr. Petersen has published on topics such as the effect of high-frequency spinal cord stimulation for painful diabetic neuropathy and improvements in targeting for image-guided deep brain stimulation. Her scholarly work includes 199 publications, with an h-index of 30 and over 3,300 citations. She has been recognized as a highly cited researcher.

Dr. Petersen completed her undergraduate studies at Princeton University and earned her medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her neurosurgery training occurred at the University of Texas Southwestern, followed by a fellowship in deep brain stimulation at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London.

Research Overview

Dr. Petersen directs the Section of Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery at UAMS Medical Center. She is a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at UAMS, Vice-Chair for Education, and program director for the neurosurgery residency. Dr. Petersen is a board certified neurosurgeon whose clinical practice focuses on neuromodulation, treating movement disorders, spasticity, and chronic pain through surgical procedures and stereotactic radiosurgery. Dr. Petersen's research interests focus on developing new devices, indications, and methods for treating chronic pain using neuromodulation. Her collaborations with colleagues in interventional pain, neuroradiology, neurology and psychiatry are aimed toward identifying new applications for the use of deep brain stimulation and neuromodulation for pain. Dr. Petersen completed her undergraduate education at Princeton University and received her medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She trained in neurosurgery at the University of Texas Southwestern with a fellowship in deep brain stimulation at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London. Dr. Petersen has served on the Joint Section on Pain of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)/Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) and the CNS Scientific Programming Committee and sits on the Executive Board of the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience, where she is president. She serves as associate editor of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery for Operative Neurosurgery, section editor for the Journal of Pain Research, and on the editorial board of Neuromodulation and Neurosurgery, and contributes as a reviewer for several other journals. Dr. Petersen lectures frequently at national and international meetings on neuromodulation for pain, emerging considerations and uses of neuromodulation, chronic pain management and deep brain stimulation. She has authored numerous articles and book chapters related to stereotactic and functional neurosurgery and neuroscience.

Metrics

h-index: 30
Publications: 185
Citations: 3,192

Positions

Professor 2010–present

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Neurosurgery, College of Medicine Institutional directory

Selected Publications

Spinal Cord Stimulation Tolerance and Treatment by Waveform Conversion Using Externalized Trialing: A Retrospective Review (2026)

Pain Physician 1 citation DOI OpenAlex
Correction: Next‑Generation SCS Programming Platform: Enhancing ECAP Fidelity and Objectivity to Improve Patient Experience (2026)

DOI OpenAlex
Next-Generation SCS Programming Platform: Enhancing ECAP Fidelity and Objectivity to Improve Patient Experience (2026)

Pain and Therapy 1 citation DOI OpenAlex
O012 SCS FREQUENCY AND PULSE WIDTH: INSIGHTS ON ECAP MORPHOLOGY AND NEURAL ACTIVATION (2026)

DOI OpenAlex
Real-World Spinal Cord Stimulation Utilization and Implant Status: An Analysis of a Novel, Real-Time, Remote Monitoring Database (2025)

Neuromodulation Technology at the Neural Interface 1 citation DOI OpenAlex
Clinical utility of ECAP dosing in a real-world population delivered via EVOKE therapy: the ECAP study (2025)

Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine 2 citations DOI OpenAlex
Evaluating pain and neurological function with high frequency 10 kHz spinal cord stimulation in the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy: design of a multicentre, randomised controlled trial (PDN-Sensory) (2025)

BMJ Open 2 citations DOI OpenAlex
Author's Response to Letter to the Editor Regarding “Long‐Term Efficacy of 10 <scp>kHz</scp> Spinal Cord Stimulation in Managing Painful Diabetic Neuropathy: A Post‐Study Survey” (2025)

Pain Practice DOI OpenAlex
First Objective Evidence Characterizing Differences in Cervical and Thoracic Spinal Cord Neurophysiology Using ECAP-Controlled Closed-Loop Technology (2025)

Pain and Therapy DOI OpenAlex
Technical and Clinical Overview: Spinal Cord Stimulation (2025)

Neuromodulation Technology at the Neural Interface 5 citations DOI OpenAlex
ID# 1905850 Next Generation ECAP Detector For Signal Processing Using Dose-Controlled Closed-Loop SCS (2025)

Neuromodulation Technology at the Neural Interface DOI OpenAlex
ID# 1907171 Daily opioid use and Side Effects in Nonsurgical back pain patients treated with 10kHz SCS (2025)

Neuromodulation Technology at the Neural Interface DOI OpenAlex
ID# 1901157 Using SCS to treat chronic back pain patients ineligible for surgery: A US Delphi consensus (2025)

Neuromodulation Technology at the Neural Interface DOI OpenAlex
ID# 1907019 Beyond Pain: RCT Design to evaluate 10kHz SCS for sensory improvement in painful diabetic neuropathy (2025)

Neuromodulation Technology at the Neural Interface DOI OpenAlex
ID# 1907212 Walking Speed is Improved in Nonsurgical Back Pain Patients Treated with 10kHz Spinal Cord Stimulation (2025)

Neuromodulation Technology at the Neural Interface DOI OpenAlex

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Grants & Funding

As listed on this researcher's institutional profile.

Neural Enabled Prosthesis for Upper Limb Amputees (IRB 274358) NIH/Nat. Inst. of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering via University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Principal Investigator
274358 DOD - Neural Enabled Prosthesis for Upper Limb Amputees US Department of Defense via University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Principal Investigator