Kay Bartholdi

Papers

Total Citations

754

H-Index

About

Kay Bartholdi is a pioneering neuroscientist whose research focuses on restoring motor function after severe spinal cord injury, with a particular emphasis on neuroprosthetics, rehabilitation engineering, and neural plasticity. Her most influential contribution is the landmark 2012 study, "Restoring Voluntary Control of Locomotion after Paralyzing Spinal Cord Injury," which has garnered over 750 citations. In this work, Bartholdi and her team demonstrated that a combination of electrochemical neuroprosthesis and a robotic postural interface could enable rats with complete paralyzing spinal lesions to regain voluntary, supraspinally mediated locomotion. This breakthrough challenged long-held assumptions about the irreversibility of chronic paralysis and opened new avenues for designing rehabilitation strategies that harness residual neural pathways. Bartholdi’s work is notable for its translational potential, bridging basic neurobiology with cutting-edge biomedical engineering. Her achievements have been recognized through multiple awards and invitations to speak at major international conferences. For students and researchers, Bartholdi exemplifies how creative, interdisciplinary approaches can transform our understanding of neural repair and recovery.