Dennis Bourbeau, PhD

The MetroHealth System

Staff Scientist, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Case Western Reserve University

Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Biomedical Engineer, Research Service

Cleveland FES Center

Investigator

Broad Research Programs

Paralysis after Spinal Cord Injury
Innovative Rehabilitation Technologies

Summary

Dr. Bourbeau is a Staff Scientist in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the MetroHealth System, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and a research investigator in the Research Service at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. His research focuses on developing approaches that use electrical stimulation to restore pelvic autonomic functions, including bladder and bowel functions, lost to spinal cord injuries or other neurological disorders. With his collaborators, he has conducted chronic studies in human study participants with spinal cord injury using electrical stimulation to inhibit unwanted bladder contractions and improve urinary continence. Other projects include electrical stimulation to inhibit unwanted reflex sphincter contractions to improve bladder emptying; a wireless bladder pressure and volume sensor for automatic control of these electrical stimulation approaches; and electrical stimulation to improve colonic motility for individuals with chronic constipation. This research program provides new insights into the neurophysiological pathways and mechanisms underlying pelvic autonomic functions.

Publications

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/dennis.bourbeau.1/bibliography/public/

Professional Society Memberships

2016 – present Member, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA)
2005 – present Member, Society for Neuroscience (SfN)

Specific Research Topics

Contact Information

MetroHealth Old Brooklyn Health Center
4229 Pearl Road, Suite N5-36
Cleveland OH, 44109
Phone: 216-957-3337
Email: [email protected] ; [email protected]