Stephen H. Scott


Stephen Harold Scott is a Canadian neuroscientist and engineer who has made significant contributions to the field of sensorimotor neuroscience and the methods of assessing neurological function. He is a professor in both the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences and the Department of Medicine at Queen's University. In 2013, he was named the GlaxoSmithKline-Canadian Institutes of Health Research Chair in Neurosciences at Queen's. He is the Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Kinarm, the technology transfer company that commercializes and manufactures his invention the Kinarm.

Education

Scott received his Bachelor's of Applied Science in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 1988. He went on to complete his Masters of Applied Science in Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo in 1989, and then completed his PhD in Physiology at Queen's University in 1993.

Career

Scott pursued his scientific career as a post-doctoral fellow and then as a chercheur adjoint at the Université de Montréal. He joined the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences at Queen's University in 1997.
During his time at Queen's University, he developed the KINARM, a robotic device that objectively and quantitatively assesses the sensorimotor and cognitive impairments associated with a range of damages and diseases. The KINARM is now being sold worldwide for both basic and clinical research purposes.
His current research focuses on the use of optimal control principles during voluntary motor actions, as well as collaborating with clinical researchers to understand how robotics can improve our assessment of brain function.

Awards and honours

Scott was the 2012 recipient of the Barbara Turnbull Award, which recognizes outstanding research into spinal cord injury in Canada. He also received the Mihran and Mary Basmajian Award in 2002 for his research into the adaptive learning of the limbs.