Erika Petersen

High Impact

Professor

UAMS primary UA Little Rock

Also affiliated: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (2010); University of Minnesota (2015); Queen Mary University of London (2010); Medical University of Graz (2010); Medical College of Wisconsin (2018–2019); Queen's University (2025); Instituto Cajal (2010); University of Arkansas Medical Center (2023–2026); Sobell House (2010); Oxford University Press (United Kingdom) (2020); Rigshospitalet (1979); Western Reserve Hospital (2015); Medtronic (Ireland) (2023); United States Army (1991); Medtronic (United States) (2023); Queens University (2025); Arkansas State Hospital (2014); Boston Scientific (Netherlands) (2023); Leitat Technological Center (2010); National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (2010); Kingston Health Sciences Centre (2025); Arkansas Department of Agriculture (2024); International Neuromodulation Society (2020); Arkansas Department of Health (2026); University College London (2010–2011); Credit Suisse (Switzerland) (2014); The University of Texas at Austin (2010); Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (2014); The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (2010); The Hague University of Applied Sciences (2014); University of Tampa (2020–2023); Stanford University (2023)

Faculty Researcher

Neurosurgery, College of Medicine

30 h-index 200 pubs 3,279 cited

Research Areas

Biomedical Subjects

Links

ORCID Lab Website UAMS TRI Profile

OverviewAI-generated summary

Dr. Erika Petersen's research focuses on the development of novel devices, indications, and methodologies for treating chronic pain through neuromodulation. She investigates new applications for deep brain stimulation and other neuromodulation techniques, collaborating with specialists in interventional pain, neuroradiology, neurology, and psychiatry.

Dr. Petersen's clinical practice encompasses neuromodulation for movement disorders, spasticity, and chronic pain, including surgical procedures and stereotactic radiosurgery. Her work has resulted in publications examining the efficacy of high-frequency spinal cord stimulation for conditions such as painful diabetic neuropathy and refractory back pain. She also contributes to guidelines and definitions for assessing treatment outcomes in spinal cord stimulation therapy.

With an h-index of 30, over 200 publications, and more than 3,200 citations, Dr. Petersen is recognized as a highly cited researcher. She holds leadership positions within the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, including directing the Section of Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery, serving as Vice-Chair for Education, and directing the neurosurgery residency program. Her academic background includes undergraduate studies at Princeton University and a medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, followed by neurosurgery training at the University of Texas Southwestern and 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: 200
Citations: 3,279

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)

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

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 1 citation 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 4 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
ID# 1906098 ECAP Study Premiere: Real-World IDE Study Showing Relationship between Physiologic ECAP Biomarkers and Pain Outcomes (2025)

Neuromodulation Technology at the Neural Interface DOI OpenAlex
Significant pain reduction in refractory post-mastectomy pain syndrome with closed-loop spinal cord stimulation: illustrative cases. (2025)

PubMed 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