James (Jim) Hokanson

Dr. Hokanson completed his PhD in Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh where he studied how to provide artificial somatosensory feedback to amputees via electrical stimulation of the peripheral nervous system. In 2014, Dr. Hokanson joined the laboratory of Dr. Warren Grill, PhD at Duke University as a postdoctoral associate. Under the mentorship of Dr. Cindy Amundsen, MD, Dr. Hokanson has also expanded into human subjects research. One such project included electrical stimulation of the urethra in women with urgency urinary incontinence, sponsored by the Urology Care Foundation (AUA research scholar award). It also includes his K01 grant where the goal is to develop models that can be used to predict how patients will respond to third-line therapies (sacral neuromodulation and Onabotulinum toxin A) for treating urgency incontinence. He is also a co-investigator on an NIDDK UO1: Advancing the Measurement of Classification of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction, which involves a physiologic testing protocol to identify subtypes of women with urgency urinary incontinence. Dr. Hokanson’s focus on both therapy design as well as understanding the conditions that lead to lower urinary tract dysfunction continues at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is a member of the AUGS Advisory Panel to set the AUGS research agenda.