Assistant Professor
College of Medicine
Department of Neurological Surgery
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
The Ohio State University
Pelotonia Research Center, Suite 4065
2255 Kenny Road
Columbus, OH 43210
Dr. Lauren Wengerd is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at The Ohio State University with a joint appointment at the NeuroTech Institute. With a clinical background in occupational therapy and a PhD in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, she leads interdisciplinary research at the intersection of neurorehabilitation, neurotechnology, and patient-centered care. Her work focuses on advancing recovery and independence for individuals with neurological conditions through the development and implementation of innovative neurotechnologies.
Research interests
- Neurotechnologies and interventions for hand/arm recovery in stroke and spinal cord injury
- Implementation science
- Translational neuro-engineering and human-centric device design
- ALS and other progressive neurological disorders
Clinical interests
- Upper extremity rehabilitation after stroke and spinal cord injury
- Spasticity management, including EMG-based interventions and H-reflex conditioning
- Functional electrical stimulation (FES) and activity-based restorative therapies
- Bridging the research-to-practice gap through collaboration with clinicians, scientists, and engineers
Education
PhD: Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Graduate Minor: Neuroscience, The Ohio State University
MS: Occupational Therapy, Medical University of South Carolina
BS: Business Administration (Marketing), The Ohio State University
Grants and projects
- Identifying Evidence-Based Practice Gaps in Stroke Rehabilitation to Maximize Research Impact: A Video Observational Study (PI: Lauren Wengerd), Funding Agency: American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF; $100,000). Purpose: To characterize and quantify the types of interventions used by occupational therapists to treat stroke-related hemiparesis across three outpatient rehabilitation centers in central Ohio
- A user-friendly, portable and non-invasive neuro-orthosis that restores volitionally controlled grasp functions for SCI survivors with tetraplegia (Co-PIs: Lauren Wengerd, OSU; David Friedenberg, Battelle). Funding Agency: Department of Defense CDMRP Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (1,249,870). Purpose: To investigate the efficacy and feasibility of using an EMG-triggered FES system to improve hand function in SCI survivors with tetraplegia.