About

Blair M. Calancie, PhD

Blair M. Calancie, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. His career has focused on clinical and translational neurophysiology, with an emphasis on understanding how the human nervous system changes after injury and disease — and how that knowledge can be applied to improve patient care.

Across nearly four decades of research, Dr. Calancie’s work has centered on motor function: how it is controlled, how it is disrupted by spinal cord injury and neurological disease, how it can be monitored during surgery, and how it might be restored after injury.

His current research focuses on two major projects: advancing translational repair strategies for cauda equina nerve root injury, and developing SuperConditioning TMS as a biomarker of upper motor neuron function in ALS.

Training and Early Work

Dr. Calancie earned his BSc and PhD degrees (under Parveen Bawa) from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, where he trained in kinesiology and human motor control. He completed postdoctoral work in physiology and neuroscience at the University of Alberta (under Richard Stein) and spent a visiting fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology at Uppsala University (under Karl-Erik Hagbarth) in Sweden.

His early work examined motor unit recruitment, reflexes, muscle physiology, and non-invasive stimulation of the human motor cortex. These studies helped establish a foundation for later work using electrophysiologic methods to study motor pathways in health, injury, disease, and surgery.

The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis

n 1988, Dr. Calancie joined the Department of Neurological Surgery and The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami. During his years in Miami, his laboratory studied spinal cord injury, motor pathway function, intraoperative monitoring, and neural repair.

This period included work on human spinal cord injury plasticity, including studies of involuntary stepping, interlimb reflexes, and electrophysiologic measures of recovery. It also marked the beginning of his major contributions to intraoperative neuromonitoring, including Motor Evoked Potential monitoring and stimulus-evoked EMG methods for evaluating pedicle screw placement during spine surgery.

Upstate Medical University

Dr. Calancie moved to Upstate Medical University in 2001, where he continued his work in spinal cord injury, intraoperative neuromonitoring, rehabilitation, cauda equina repair, and transcranial magnetic stimulation.

At Upstate, his laboratory completed major studies of spinal motor conduction and recovery after human spinal cord injury, randomized clinical work on rehabilitation after chronic incomplete SCI, and animal-model studies of cauda equina repair. His work also continued to shape neuromonitoring approaches used to reduce the risk of neurological injury during spine surgery.

In addition to his primary appointment in Neurosurgery, Dr. Calancie has held secondary appointments in Neuroscience and Cell & Developmental Biology at Upstate Medical University, and an adjunct appointment in Biomedical and Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University.

Research Focus

A consistent theme throughout Dr. Calancie’s career has been the practical use of neurophysiology.

His work has contributed to:

  • Understanding spinal cord plasticity after injury

  • Developing electrophysiologic methods to assess motor recovery

  • Improving intraoperative monitoring during spine and neurosurgical procedures

  • Advancing methods for safer pedicle screw placement

  • Exploring rehabilitation and neuromodulation after spinal cord injury

  • Pursuing translational repair of cauda equina nerve root injury

  • Developing SuperConditioning TMS to study upper motor neuron function

The common thread is simple: use careful measurement of nervous system function to help protect, interpret, and restore motor function.

Teaching, Mentorship, and Service

Dr. Calancie has taught medical students, graduate students, residents, and fellows across neuroscience, neurosurgery, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, and biomedical engineering. He has supervised graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, served on university promotion and tenure committees, and reviewed grants for NIH and the New York State spinal cord injury research program.

His academic work reflects a sustained commitment not only to discovery, but to training, clinical translation, and scientific service.