Stephen Kemp, PhD

Stephen Kemp, Ph.D., completed his Honours Bachelor of Science at the University of Toronto, where he conducted his undergraduate thesis examining the psychology of creativity under the supervision of Dr. Gerald Cupchik. Following graduation, Dr. Kemp completed his Master’s degree at Wilfrid Laurier University, working under the supervision of Dr. Linda Parker. His research focused on the effect of THC on lithium induced sickness behaviors in both rats and house musk shrews. Stephen completed his Ph.D. at the University of Calgary, under the mentorship of Dr. Rajiv Midha. His research here focused on the anatomical, sensorimotor, and functional evaluation of peripheral nerve regeneration through bio-engineered conduits in rats. During this tenure, Dr. Kemp became a member of numerous scientific societies, including the Society for Neuroscience, Canadian Society for Neuroscience, and the American Society for Peripheral Nerve. Following his tenure in Calgary, Dr. Kemp accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children with Drs. Gregory Borschel and Tessa Gordon. Here, he continued to investigate treatment of nerve injuries, and expanded his research to focus on treatment of neonatal nerve injuries. He then completed a second postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto working under Drs. Michael Salter and Beverley Orser. His main focus of research during this time concerned chronic pain following nerve injury, and repurposing anesthetics for novel clinical treatment uses. Throughout his career, Dr. Kemp has been awarded 16 scholarships/fellowships, with a collective value of over $410,000 in funding. He has published 24 peer reviewed journal articles that have a cumulative citation count of 691, and a current h-index of 15. These include two Editor’s Choice papers in Experimental Neurology and Biotechnology and Bioengineering. He has held grants as a Principal Investigator from both the Plastic Surgery Foundation, and the PSI Foundation. Dr. Kemp is currently an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Michigan and serves as the Director of the Neuromuscular lab in Plastic Surgery.