Ela Plow

Ela Plow, PhD, is a Research Professor at Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute within the Biomedical Engineering department. She leads the Ela Plow Laboratory focused on harnessing brain plasticity for neurological recovery through rehabilitation and noninvasive brain stimulation techniques.

Her research spans brain stimulation, motor control, neuroimaging, and clinical neuroscience with applications in stroke rehabilitation, spinal cord injury, and aging-related neurodegeneration. Key methodologies include transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with functional neuroimaging to investigate neural substrates of movement control and relearning.

Current research examines neurodegenerative markers in motor networks, neuromodulation for stalling disease progression, and adaptive modification of neural substrates to enhance therapeutic benefits. Her work addresses four primary study areas: stroke rehabilitation, spinal cord injury memory restoration, aging-related strength markers, and chemotherapy-induced fatigue mechanisms.

Dr. Plow's publication trends reveal strong focus on patient stratification for brain stimulation therapies, cortico-cerebellar connectivity in motor control, and aging/neurodegeneration interfaces. Her recent work emphasizes precision rehabilitation through biomarker identification and pathway-specific neuromodulation.

Notable scientific recognition includes a $3M grant for novel brain stimulation in post-stroke paralysis and a $2.5M Department of Defense award for spinal cord injury rehabilitation research.

• Principal Investigator: Ela Plow Laboratory
• Research Focus: Neurorehabilitation through brain plasticity modulation
• Key Techniques: TMS, tDCS, fMRI, Motor Control Analysis
• Major Grants: DoD SCI Research Program ($2.5M), Novel Stimulation Technique ($3M)

Her laboratory actively mentors numerous researchers and clinicians, with significant publications in top-tier journals including Nature Medicine, Lancet Neurology, and Brain Stimulation. Current projects investigate dentate nucleus deep brain stimulation, cerebellar connectivity, and aging-related neural changes in motor control.