Gregory F. Molnar, Ph.D.

Associate Professor - Department of Neurology | Director - Deep Brain Stimulation Research Program | Industrial Fellow & Member, IEM | University of Minnesota School of Medicine | Fellow of The Medical Device Innovation Consortium | Medical Device Consultant

Dr. Molnar brings to UMN his 20 years of experience as a medical device innovator and expertise in neuromodulation research and therapies. Greg provides leadership to the clinical and preclinical research across the UMN Deep Brain Stimulation Research program. He works with his team and many collaborators to grow the visibility and impact of their discoveries and therapy innovations in this space.  Dr. Molnar trained as a clinical neuroscientist at the University of Toronto, where his research focused on the mechanism of action of deep brain stimulation. Greg has always been passionate about innovations that simplify, and foster patient access, and started his medical device career with a small consulting business in Canada while finishing his studies.

Dr. Molnar holds several patents and publications in the neurostimulation space and leverages his leadership by chairing and serving on various industry, academic and government committees to help advance the field.

Prior to joining UMN, Dr. Molnar served as the director of neuromodulation research at Medtronic plc and was responsible for providing strategic leadership and partnership to his team of scientists and their many internal and external stakeholders to advance our understanding of several therapies including: Deep Brain Stimulation, Spinal Cord Stimulation, Sacral Nerve Stimulation, Gastric Stimulation, and Intrathecal Drug Infusion. Greg has a huge focus on customer engagement and was a primary contact involved with establishing and maintaining research collaborations.

Dr. Molnar is a strong advocate for innovation, championing culture change activities and efforts to bring the various stakeholders together with common goals in the medical device research field. He currently also serves as an Industrial Fellow and Member of the Institute of Engineering in Medicine, a Fellow of the Medical Device Innovation Consortium, a consultant for various firms, and as a mentor for students.