Gustaf Van Acker, III, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist specializing in pain management and physical medicine & rehabilitation, and serves as a Member of the Research Committee for the American Society of Pain & Neuroscience (ASPN). He is Director of Pain Medicine and Director of Research at the Pain & Healing Center at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and holds an appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He is also an investigator with the Cleveland FES (Functional Electrical Stimulation) Center.
Dr. Van Acker earned his Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Kansas School of Medicine and his PhD in Molecular and Integrative Physiology, with a focus in neuroelectrophysiology, also at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He completed postdoctoral research fellowships at the University of Kansas Medical Center and at Case Western Reserve University, followed by internship, residency, a Postdoctoral Physician-Scientist Fellowship, and a Pain Medicine Fellowship, all at MetroHealth Medical Center. He is board-certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation in both Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine.
His research centers on neuromodulation for chronic pain and spasticity, spanning both implantable approaches, such as spinal cord stimulation targeting the dorsal and ventral columns, and non-invasive techniques, including transcutaneous and percutaneous direct current stimulation for selective peripheral nerve block. His clinical practice emphasizes minimally invasive, neuromodulation-based techniques for chronic pain conditions. He has been recognized as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor (2024-2025) and a Cleveland Magazine Top Doctor (2023-2025), and earlier in his career received the Allergan Foundation Pain Management and Spine Care Research Award (2015) and the Association of Academic Physiatrists’ Electrode Store Best Paper Award (2016).