Brose, Steven, DO

Dr. Steven Brose is a board-certified physiatrist and spinal cord injury medicine specialist dedicated to improving the function, health, and quality of life of veterans with spinal cord injury.

Dr. Brose is recognized for his work in applying functional electrical stimulation to manage pelvic dysfunction — including neurogenic bladder, neurogenic bowel, and erectile dysfunction — and his team was the first to use FES to promote bowel emptying in a person with SCI, reported in the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine in 2023. He serves as Associate Editor for both the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, and as Chair of the Awards Committee for the American Spinal Injury Association.

Research goals include understanding the complex interactions involved in the systems-level neural organization and control of bladder and urethral function. Dr. Brose’s team uses this information to develop neural prostheses or rehabilitative techniques that interface with the nervous system and restore genito-urinary function at the earliest opportunity.

Currently the team is studying the use of electrical rectal stimulation to promote bowel emptying after spinal cord injury, and the use of a controllable wearable exoskeleton to stretch the leg on demand as a regimen for people with spasticity. Previous studies have evaluated the use of genital nerve stimulation to inhibit bladder hyperreflexia in persons with SCI, helping to increase the bladder capacity and prevent urinary incontinence. The team has also evaluated electrical high frequency block to inhibit the pudendal nerve, assisting with emptying the bladder.

Dr. Brose is an active mentor and educator, directing the SCI Medicine Fellowship at SUNY Upstate Medical University and serving as primary mentor in the Association of Academic Physiatrists’ Rehabilitation Medicine Scientist Training Program (RMSTP) since 2025. He has mentored medical students, engineering students, residents, and VA Career Development Awardees across a broad range of translational rehabilitation science projects.

RESEARCH PROGRAMS

• Functional electrical stimulation for neurogenic bladder and bowel dysfunction after SCI
• Genital nerve and pudendal nerve stimulation for bladder inhibition and voiding
• High-frequency spinal cord stimulation to restore cough
• Robotic exoskeletons for limb stretching and spasticity management
• Intracortical control of FES-restored arm and hand function in people with SCI
• Controller development for upper limb movement with FES
• Pudendal nerve block neural prosthesis
• Producing micturition by combined afferent and efferent electrical stimulation

MAJOR PROJECTS & FUNDING

• VA-Funded Research, PI on chronic electrical stimulation to reduce bladder hyperreflexia after SCI; $1.6M grant for non-invasive surface FES to manage neurogenic bladder in veterans
• VA-Funded Research, PI on leg stretching using a controllable wearable exoskeleton on demand for people with spasticity (recruiting, 2026)
• Co-investigator on automated closed-loop stimulation to inhibit neurogenic bladder overactivity (Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 2024)
• Co-investigator on minimally invasive electrical rectal stimulation to promote bowel emptying in SCI; first published demonstration of this approach (Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 2023)
• Interdisciplinary bodyweight management and opioid reduction programs for persons with SCI at VA medical centers

HONORS & RECOGNITION

• Certificate of Appreciation, VA SCI/D National Leadership Summit (one of only 5 SCI centers nationwide recognized), 2026
• Leadership Service Award, American Spinal Injury Association, 2025
• Best Poster Award, Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals, 2024, 2023
• National Physicians Clinical Excellence Award, Paralyzed Veterans of America, 2019
• Outstanding Specialty Medicine Physician, Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, 2013
• Best Scientific Paper, Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 2009
• Best Scientific Paper Presentation in Neurorehabilitation, Association of Academic Physiatrists, 2008