Bazarek, Stanley F., MD, PhD

Dr. Stanley Bazarek is an Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals, and Co-Director of the UH Peripheral Nerve Surgery Center.

He completed dual doctoral training in neuroscience (PhD, Rosalind Franklin University) and medicine (MD, Chicago Medical School), followed by neurosurgical residency at Harvard Medical School and specialized fellowships in peripheral nerve/reconstructive neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and complex spine surgery at Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

Dr. Bazarek’s work integrates cutting-edge neurosurgical techniques with biomedical engineering to restore independence for individuals with severe neurological impairments. His clinical and research expertise focuses on bridging the gap between spinal cord injury and functional mobility.

Dr. Bazarek serves as investigator and surgeon on the REHAB (REconnecting the Hand and Arm to the Brain) project, in which a brain-computer interface records cortical commands to activate nerve electrodes and restore arm function in patients with tetraplegia. His overarching goal is to bridge bench discovery and bedside application to restore neurological function.

RESEARCH PROGRAMS

• Nerve transfer surgery for restoration of upper extremity function in tetraplegia
• Nerve transfers for bladder control following spinal cord injury
• Cell therapy using human iPSC-derived spinal motor neurons to sustain neuromuscular viability after nerve injury
• Neuronal replacement strategies: in vivo reprogramming of resident glia and endogenous neural stem cell recruitment
• Brain-computer interface and neural electrode systems for restoring arm function in tetraplegia (REHAB project)
• Peripheral nerve repair and neuro-reconstruction

MAJOR PROJECTS & FUNDING

• REHAB (REconnecting the Hand and Arm to the Brain) Project — Investigator and surgeon; brain-computer interface recording cortical commands to activate nerve electrodes and restore arm function in patients with tetraplegia.
• Nerve Transfers for Bladder Control — Collaborative project with Mary Barbe (Temple University) and Justin Brown (MGH); cadaver feasibility studies, large animal model success, and first-in-human nerve transfer from obturator nerve to bladder; now extending to novel electrical stimulation systems for bladder control after SCI
• Nerve Transfer Surgery for Tetraplegia — Ongoing clinical research program with Justin Brown (MGH) optimizing surgical techniques, patient selection, and outcomes reporting for upper extremity nerve transfers in cervical SCI

HONORS & RECOGNITION

• Kline Peripheral Nerve Top Abstract Award, AANS/CNS Joint Section on Spine & Peripheral Nerves, 2023
• Scoville Resident Top Clinical Paper Award, New England Neurosurgical Society, 2023
• Medtronic Research Fellowship Award, Neurosurgery Research Education Foundation, 2021