Erika Ross Ellison, PhD

Erika Ross Ellison joined ONWARD Medical in 2023 as Vice President of Global Clinical, Regulatory, and Quality. ONWARD Medical is a neurotechnology company focused on developing neuromodulation therapies for spinal cord injury. The company’s first therapy received FDA approval in December 2023, with plans to seek approval in additional global markets in 2024. In addition to her role at ONWARD, Erika is the current President of the IEEE Engineering Medicine & Biology Society (EMBS), a role she assumed in 2025. As President, she leads a global community of about 14,000 bioengineers across 100 countries. Previously, Erika was the Director of Clinical & Applied Research at Abbott, where she oversaw the development of neuromodulation research strategies, focusing on emerging healthcare trends and technologies. She worked to create next-generation treatments for chronic conditions like Parkinson’s Disease and chronic pain. Before joining Abbott, Erika was the Neuroscience Director at Cala Health, a Stanford Biodesign-incubated startup developing a non-invasive, digitally enabled neuromodulation solution for Essential Tremor patients. She played a key role in the company’s growth, leading the development of their digital health architecture and commercialization efforts. Erika's earlier career included serving as Assistant Professor of Neurologic Surgery and Deputy Director of the Surgical Device Innovation Accelerator at the Mayo Clinic. There, she developed innovative neuromodulation and surgical solutions to address unmet patient needs and collaborated with physician and healthcare professional entrepreneurs. She also led neuromodulation research as an Investigator under multiple DARPA-funded neuroplasticity training projects. Erika holds a BS in Biology and Neuroscience, an MS in Molecular Biology from the University of Denver, and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience (Neural Engineering), with a focus on Deep Brain Stimulation, from the Mayo Clinic.