Moffitt, Michael, PhD

Dr. Michael Moffitt is a biomedical engineer and neuromodulation innovator with over 27 years of combined academic and industry experience spanning spinal cord stimulation, deep brain stimulation, and photobiomodulation therapeutics.

After 18.5 years at Boston Scientific Neuromodulation — where he rose to Director and Distinguished Corporate Fellow and established a portfolio of 240+ issued U.S. patents across 115+ patent families — he returned to academia full-time in 2023 to focus on translating light-based therapies for pain, neurodegeneration, and neural injury. He holds the Dr. Donald and Ruth Weber Goodman Professorship in Innovative Cardiovascular Research at Case Western Reserve University.

His current academic research is centered on transient Selective Neural Inhibition via Photobiomodulation (tSNIP), a subclass of photobiomodulation that uses brief focal laser irradiation of peripheral nerves to significantly inhibit noxious thermal hypersensitivity for several days without pharmacological agents. He has received multiple Case-Coulter Translational Research Program awards to advance tSNIP therapies toward clinical application for arthritic hand pain and post-operative pain following total knee arthroplasty.

Dr. Moffitt shares that photobiomodulation can elicit fascinating effects that are extremely relevant translationally. For example, light delivered at proper wavelengths and doses can:

1. Selectively inhibit small somatosensory neurons, which has the potentially to be extremely useful in the treatment of various pain syndromes
2. Expedite healing processes and reduce inflammation, which has the potential to and minimize damage in the post-traumatic period following spinal cord injury, stroke, and traumatic brain injury; and
3. Reduce oxidative stress and increase ATP production, with implications in some neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease and others

A hallmark of Moffitt’s career has been taking ideas from concept to commercialization with examples including the Illumina3D™ stimulation steering algorithm, the Cartesia™ directional DBS lead with corresponding steering and visualization algorithms, and DBS Anodic Monopolar stimulation.

RESEARCH PROGRAMS

• Transient Selective Neural Inhibition via Photobiomodulation (tSNIP) for chronic and post-operative pain
• Implantable photobiomodulation for Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury
• Sub-perception spinal cord stimulation — empirical and mechanistic research
• Computational modeling of neurostimulation and neural recording
• Deep brain stimulation device and algorithm development based on first principles

MAJOR PROJECTS & FUNDING

• NIH-Funded Research, multi-PI (with Jenkins and Anders) on tSNIP; demonstrated that brief focal laser irradiation of a nerve significantly inhibits noxious thermal hypersensitivity for several days in animal models of neuropathic and nociceptive pain
• Case-Coulter Translational Research Program, advancing tSNIP therapy to treat arthritic hand pain by applying light transcutaneously to nerves at the wrist
• Case-Coulter Translational Research Program, advancing tSNIP therapy to apply light to the saphenous or femoral nerves to treat pain and reduce opioids following total knee arthroplasty
• Implantable photobiomodulation for Parkinson’s disease — led industry-side technical collaboration with Clinatec (Grenoble, France); developed implantable power source and control system currently under clinical evaluation
  

HONORS & RECOGNITION

• Commercialization Award (Innovation Week), Case Western Reserve University, 2024, 2023
• Discovery Award, Case Western Reserve University, 2022
• Meaningful Innovation Award (Novel SCS Therapy Enabling Rapid Onset and Significant Pain Relief Team), Boston Scientific Neuromodulation, 2019
• Technical Achievement Award (pinnacle of individual achievement within technical and scientific ranks), Boston Scientific Neuromodulation, 2017
• Pete Nicholas Award (Business Impact), Boston Scientific Neuromodulation, 2017
• Outstanding Patent Award (US Patent 8,412,345), Boston Scientific Neuromodulation, 2017
• John Abele Technical Award (Vercise PC & Directional Lead System Team), Boston Scientific Neuromodulation, 2016
• Meaningful Innovation Award (Illumina3D SCS Algorithm Team), Boston Scientific Neuromodulation, 2013