Ken Baker, PhD
Associate Staff
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Molecular Medicine, CCLCM-CWRU
Email: [email protected]
Location: Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
Research
The Baker Lab aims to develop and translate more effective neurostimulation-based approaches to help patients suffering from acquired brain injuries, including stroke and traumatic brain injury, as well as movement disorders associated with cerebellar pathology - including tremor and ataxia. Our preclinical efforts emphasize novel targets and strategies to personalize the use of options like deep brain stimulation (DBS), with the help of a wide range of preclinical disease models. Our clinical work involves clinical research and trials dedicated to better understanding the effects of DBS-based treatment approaches and refining their application.
Both efforts combine behavioral, neurophysiological, and imaging data and involve crucial collaborations across neurosurgery, neurology, radiology, and biomedical engineering.
Biography
Dr. Baker has more than twenty-five years of experience in deep brain stimulation in both preclinical and clinical research. In addition to his Neurosciences associate staff role, Dr. Baker holds a secondary appointment in the Center for Neurological Restoration at Cleveland Clinic’s Neurological Institute. He serves as co-director of the Center of Excellence in Translational Therapies for Post-Stroke Rehabilitation.
Dr. Baker earned his PhD at the University of Arizona in Speech & Hearing Science. He then started at Cleveland Clinic in 2000 through a fellowship in Movement Disorders Research within the Department of Neurology.
Education & Professional Highlights
Appointed: 2000
Fellowship - Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, OH USA
1999
Medical Education - University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ USA
1998
Graduate School - University of Redlands
Ca USA
1991
Undergraduate - University of Redlands
Ca USA
1990
Ongoing Professional Memberships
2005 – present: Member, Society for Neurosciences
2018 – present: Cleveland Functional Electrical Stimulation Center, Cleveland, OH
Honors
2004: Innovator Award, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
2005: Research Project Award, Bakken Heart-Brain Institute, Cleveland Clinic
2005: Innovator Award, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Research
Overview
My research interests are in the areas of neuromodulation, in particular the application of neurostimulation-based approaches for the study and treatment of neurological and psychiatric disease. I am currently involved in studies of the neurophysiology of movement disorders, the therapeutic mechanisms of deep brain stimulation (DBS), and the potential of novel DBS approaches to improve treatment efficacy and outcomes in both Parkinson’s disease and stroke. My work involves experimental and clinical trial research in humans as well as preclinical trials using non-human animal models of disease. Many of my projects involve close collaboration with other neuroscientists as well as neurosurgeons, neurologists, radiologists, and/or biomedical engineers.
Our Team
Selected Publications
1. Chen J, Koop MM, Baker KB, Alberts JL, Liao JY. Reconstructing time-domain data from discontinuous PerceptTM PC and RC output using external data acquisition and linear filtering. J Neurosci Methods (in press)
2. Hogue O, Zelinsky M, Sonneborn C, Anantasagar T, Tumma S, Genuario I, Prabhakar T, Smith E, Adebulu O, Salvaterra M, Pasadyn FL, Dolansky MA, Obuchowski NA, Baker KB, Barnholts-Sloan JS. Association of Statistical Methodology and Design in Pre-Clinical Animal Studies with Successful Translation into Clinical Phase 2 Trials. Neurol (in press)
3. Slobodin N, Anderson O, Dullur P, Escobar D, Mandava N, Singh A, Toth C, Machado AG, Baker KB. Timing- and Frequency-Specific Effects of Dentate Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation on Somatosensory Evoked Potentials in People with Post-Stroke Hemiparesis. J Neurophysiol 2025 (in press)
4. White A, Chintada L, Chan HH, Fisher B, Mandava N, Hogue O, Machado AG, Baker KB. Sex-Specific Cell Death Mechanisms in Rodent Sub-acute and Chronic Stroke. Neurosci Lttrs 2025 Aug;863:138307 doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2025.138307
5. Koop MM, Rosenfeldt AB, Scelina K, Scelina L, Waltz C, Bazyk AS, Berki V, Baker K, Reyes Torres J, Kuvliev E, Nagel S, Walter B, Liao J, Escobar D, Baker KB, Alberts JL. An Experimental Approach for Investigating Freezing of Gait in Parkinson’s Disease Using Virtual Reality and Neural Sensing: A Pilot Study. Sensors 2025 Jun;25(13):4036 doi: 10.3390/s25134036
6. Malan NS, Gopalakrishnan R, Cunningham D, Hogue O, Baker KB, Machado AG. Human cortico-cerebellar dynamics during motor error processing after stroke. Hum Brain Mapp 2025 46:e70227 doi.org/10.1002/hbm.70227
7. Baugher B, Kaya R, Sonneborn C, Baker KB, Fernandez HH, Szewczyk N, Alberts J, Liao J. Effects of augmented reality cueing strategies on freezing of gait: The ELIMINATE FoG trial. Clin Park Relat Disord 2025 Apr 29;12:100332. doi: 10.1016/j.prdoa.2025.100332
8. Li X, Baker KB, O’Laughlin K, Lin Y-L, Baker K, Chen R, Chen J, Machado AG, Plow EB. Acute dentate nucleus deep brain stimulation modulates corticomotor excitability in chronic stroke survivors. Brin Stimulation 2025 May-Jun;18(3):640-648. doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2025.02.021
9. Chan HH, Fisher BM, Oimoen MA, Chintada L, Khanna H, Sonneborn CA, Hogue O, Machado AG, Baker KB. Carry-Over Effect of Deep Cerebellar Stimulation-Mediated Motor Recovery in a Rodent Model of Traumatic Brain Injury. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 2024 Dec;38(11-12):808-819. doi: 10.1177/15459683241277194
10. Gopalakrishnan R, Cunningham D, Hogue O, Campbell B, Schroedel M, Baker KB, Machado AM. Electrophysiological correlates of dentate nucleus deep brain stimulation for post-stroke motor recovery. J Neurosci 2024 Jul 3;44(27):e2149232024. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2149-23.2024
11. Tiefenbach J, Yu JRT, Kondylis ED, Floden D, Baker KB, Fernandez HH, Machado AG. Loss of Efficacy in Ventral Intermediate Nucleus Stimulation for Essential Tremor. World Neurosurg 2024 May; 185;e1177-e1181. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2024.03.045
12. Chan HH, Mathews ND, Khanna H, Mandava N, Hogue O, Machado AG, Baker KB. The role of dorsolateral striatum in the effects of deep cerebellar stimulation-mediated motor recovery following ischemic stroke in rodents. Exp Neurol 2024 Jun;376:114751. doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2024.114751
13. Tiefenbach J, Shannon L, Lobosky M, Johnson S, Chan HH, Byram N, Machado AG, Androjna C, Baker KB. A Novel Restrainer Device for Acquisition of Brain Images in Awake Rats. Neuroimage 2024 Apr 1;289:120556. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120556
14. Li X, Baker KB, O’Laughlin K, Chen J, Hogue O, Machado AG, Plow EB. Paired DBS and TMS reveals dentato-cortical facilitation underlying upper extremity movement in chronic stroke survivors. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 2024 Feb;38(2):109-121. doi:10.1177/15459683231219265
15. Baker KB, Plow EB, Nagel S, Rosenfeldt AB, Gopalakrishnan R, Clark C, Wyant A, Schroedel M, Ozinga J, Davidson S, Hogue O, Floden D, Chen J, Ford P, Sankary L, Huang X, Cunningham D, DiFilippo FP, Hu B, Jones SE, Bethoux F, Wolf SL, Chae J, Machado AG. Cerebellar deep brain stimulation for chronic post-stroke motor rehabilitation: a phase I trial. Nat Medicine 2023 Sep; 29(9):2366-2374. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-023-02507-0
16. Campbell BA, Bocca LF, Tiefenbach J, Hogue O, Nagel SJ, Rammo R, Escobar Sanabria D, Machado AG, Baker KB. Myogenic and cortical evoked potentials vary as a function of stimulus pulse geometry delivered in the subthalamic nucleus of Parkinson’s disease patients. Front Neurol 2023 Aug 24:14:1216916. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1216916
17. Bocca LF, Tiefenbach J, Sonneborn C, Hogue O, Dorn K, Painter T, Centeno RS, Baker KB, Machado AG. The Evaluation of Spatial Precision and Accuracy of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) using an in vitro phantom model. J Neurosurg 2023 Sep (in press) doi: 10.3171/2023.7.JNS231057
18. Tiefenbach J, Bocca LF, Hogue O, Nero N, Baker KB, Machado AG. Intracranial bleeding in deep brain stimulation surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ster Funct Neurosurg 2023; 101(3):207-216. doi: 10.1159/000530398
19. Campbell BA, Bocca LF, Sanabria DE, Almeida J, Rammo R, Nagel S, Machado AG, Baker KB. The influence of pulse timing on cortical and subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation evoked potentials. Front Hum Neurosci 2022 Sept 20; 16:1009223. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.1009223
20. Tiefenbach J, Chan HH, Machado AG, Baker KB. Neuromodulation for functional recovery following traumatic brain injury: Current evidence and future directions for invasive surgical approaches. J Neurosurg 2022 Dec 1;91(6):823-830. doi: 10.1227/neu.0000000000002134
21. Hermann JK, Borseth A, Pucci FG, Toth C, Hogue C, Chan HH, Machado AG, Baker KB. Changes in somatosensory evoked potentials elicited by lateral cerebellar nucleus deep brain stimulation in the naïve rodent. Neurosci Lttrs 2022 Aug 24;786:136800. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2022.136800
22. Chan HH, Hogue O, Mathews ND, Hunter JG, Kundalia R, Hermann JK, Floden DP, Machado AG, Baker KB. Deep cerebellar stimulation enhances cognitive recovery after prefrontal traumatic brain injury in rodent. Exp Neurol 2022;355:114136. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2022.114136
23. Gopalakrishnan R, Cunningham D, Hogue O, Schroedel M, Campbell B, Plow E, Baker KB, Machado AG. Cortico-cerebellar connectivity underlying motor control in chronic post-stroke individuals. J Neurosci 2022 Jun 29;42(26):5186-5197. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2443-21.2022
24. Bore J, Campbell B, Cho H, Pucci F, Gopalakrishnan R, Machado AG, Baker KB. Long-Lasting effects of Subthalamic Nucleus Coordinated Reset Deep Brain Stimulation in the Non-Human Primate Model of Parkinsonism: A case report. Brain Stim 2022;15(3):598-600. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2022.04.005
25. Hogue O, Harvey T, Crozier D, Sonneborn C, Postle A, Block-Beach H, Somasundaram E, May FJ, Braun MS, Pasadyn FL, King K, Johnson C, Dolansky M, Obuchowski NA, Machado AG, Baker KB, Barnholtz-Sloan JS. Statistical practice and transparent reporting in the neurosciences: Preclinical motor behavioral experiments. PLOSONE 2022 Mar 21;17(3):e0265154 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265154
26. Bore J, Toth C, Campbell B, Cho H, Pucci F, Hogue O, Machado A, Baker KB. Consistent Changes in Cortico-Subthalamic Directed Connectivity are Associated with the Induction of Parkinsonism in a Chronically Recorded Non-Human Primate Model. Front Neurosci 2022; Mar 4; 16:831055. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.831055
27. Chornyy S, Das A, Borovicka JA, Patel D, Chan HH, Hermann JK, Jaramillo TC, Machado AG, Baker KB, Dana H. Cellular-resolution monitoring of ischemic stroke pathologies in the rat cortex. Biomed Optics Express 2021; Jul 16;12(8):4901-4919. doi: 10.1364/BOE.432688. PMID: 34513232
28. Campbell BA, Cho H, Faulhammer RM, Hogue O, Tsai JP, Hussain S, Machado AG, Baker KB. Stability and Effect of Parkinsonian State on Deep Brain Stimulation Cortical Evoked Potentials. Neuromod 2021;Jul 26. DOI: 10.1111/ner.13508
29. Sui Y, Ye T, Ko WKD, Wang Z, Jia F, Horn A, De Ridder D, Choi KS, Bari AA, Wang S, Hamani C, Baker K, Machado A, Aziz TZ, Fonoff ET, Kuhn AA, Bergman H, Sanger TD, Liu H, Haber S, Li L. Deep Brain Stimulation Initiative: Towards Innovative Technology, New Disease Indications, and Approaches to Current and Future Clinical Challenges in Neuromodulation Therapy. Front Neurol 2021; Jan 28; 11: 597451. DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2020.597451
30. Cooperrider J, Momin A, Baker KB, Machado AG. Cerebellar neuromodulation for stroke. Curr Phys Med Rehabil Rep 2020; Feb 20; 8: 57-63. DOI:10.1007/s40141-019-00253-4
31. Bore JC, Campbell BA, Cho H, Gopalakrishnan R, Machado AG, Baker KB. Prediction of mild Parkinsonism revealed by neural oscillatory changes and machine learning. J Neurophys 2020; Dec 1;24(6):1698-1705. DOI: 10.1152/jn.00534.2020
32. Jones SE, Lempka SF, Gopalakrishnan R, Baker KB, Beall E, Bhattacharya P, Huang X, Lin J, Lowe M, Malone D, Machado AG. Functional MRI during simultaneous DBS of limbic neural pathways to modulate affective sphere of chronic pain. Neuromodulation 2021; 24: 259-264. DOI: 10.1111/ner.13247.
Research News
Dr. Hod Dana partners with Drs. Ken Baker and Andre Machado to help understand neural activity behind deep brain stimulation for stroke.
First in-human trial phase one results, published in Nature Medicine, build on more than a decade of preclinical research.
In this three-year clinical study, Drs. Alberts and Baker will utilize virtual reality technology to isolate the causes of freezing of gait, a debilitating symptom of Parkinson’s disease, thanks to support from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
The grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH) , will further advance their pioneering work using deep brain stimulation (DBS) to enhance post-stroke motor rehabilitation.