Erika Petersen

High Impact

Professor

UAMS

Last publication 2026 Last refreshed 2026-05-16

faculty

Neurosurgery, College of Medicine

29 h-index 200 pubs 3,111 cited

Research Areas

Links

ORCID Lab Website UAMS TRI Profile

OverviewAI-generated summary

Erika Petersen is a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), where she directs the Section of Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery. Her clinical practice and research focus on neuromodulation techniques for treating movement disorders, spasticity, and chronic pain. Dr. Petersen investigates new devices, indications, and methodologies for pain management through surgical interventions and stereotactic radiosurgery.

Her research collaborations involve specialists in interventional pain, neuroradiology, neurology, and psychiatry to explore novel applications for deep brain stimulation and neuromodulation in pain treatment. Dr. Petersen's academic background includes undergraduate studies at Princeton University and a medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed her neurosurgery residency at the University of Texas Southwestern and a fellowship in deep brain stimulation at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London.

Dr. Petersen has authored 201 publications with over 3,030 citations and holds an h-index of 29. She is recognized as a highly cited researcher. Her work has been supported by grants, including funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research on spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain.

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: 29
Publications: 200
Citations: 3,111

Selected Publications

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)

DOI OpenAlex
O012 SCS FREQUENCY AND PULSE WIDTH: INSIGHTS ON ECAP MORPHOLOGY AND NEURAL ACTIVATION (2026)

DOI OpenAlex
Long‐term efficacy of 10 <scp>kHz</scp> spinal cord stimulation in managing painful diabetic neuropathy: A post‐study survey (2025)

5 citations DOI OpenAlex
An Evidence-Based Consensus for the Use of Neurostimulation for the Treatment of Non-Surgical Low Back Pain: The NEURON Group (2025)

3 citations DOI OpenAlex
The American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN) Guidelines and Consensus on the Definition, Current Evidence, Clinical Use and Future Applications for Physiologic Closed-Loop Controlled Neuromodulation in Chronic Pain: A NEURON Group Project (2025)

6 citations DOI OpenAlex
Objective, physiologic, biometrically driven spinal cord stimulation trialing is a necessity—The length of the trial is not (2025)

2 citations DOI OpenAlex
Validation of a holistic composite outcome measure for the evaluation of chronic pain interventions (2024)

7 citations DOI OpenAlex
High-Frequency 10-kHz Spinal Cord Stimulation Provides Long-term (24-Month) Improvements in Diabetes-Related Pain and Quality of Life for Patients with Painful Diabetic Neuropathy (2024)

7 citations DOI OpenAlex
Long-Term Treatment of Chronic Postamputation Pain With Bioelectric Nerve Block: Twelve-Month Results of the Randomized, Double-Blinded, Cross-Over QUEST Study (2024)

2 citations DOI OpenAlex
Treatment of Painful Diabetic Neuropathy with 10 kHz Spinal Cord Stimulation: Long-Term Improvements in Hemoglobin A1c, Weight, and Sleep Accompany Pain Relief for People with Type 2 Diabetes (2024)

9 citations DOI OpenAlex
Maximal Analgesic Effect Attained by the Use of Objective Neurophysiological Measurements With Closed-Loop Spinal Cord Stimulation (2024)

17 citations DOI OpenAlex
Identifying SCS Trial Responders Immediately After Postoperative Programming with ECAP Dose-Controlled Closed-Loop Therapy (2024)

9 citations DOI OpenAlex
The Neurostimulation Appropriateness Consensus Committee (NACC)®: Recommendations for Spinal Cord Stimulation Long-Term Outcome Optimization and Salvage Therapy (2024)

9 citations DOI OpenAlex
The Role of Telemedicine in Voice Therapy (2024)

1 citation DOI OpenAlex

View all publications on OpenAlex →

Grants & Funding

No FP attached Nevro Corp. Principal Investigator
No FP attached Nevro Corp. Principal Investigator
Neural Enabled Prosthesis for Upper Limb Amputees (IRB 274358) NIH/Nat. Inst. of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering - Pass Through: University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Principal Investigator
No FP attached ReNeuron - Pass Through: Duke University Principal Investigator
No FP attached ReNeuron - Pass Through: Duke University Principal Investigator
274358 DOD - Neural Enabled Prosthesis for Upper Limb Amputees US Department of Defense - Pass Through: University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Principal Investigator
No FP attached Nevro Corp. Principal Investigator
No FP attached Nevro Corp. Principal Investigator