Speakers

Fabrisia Ambrosio, PT, PhD

Dr. Ambrosio graduated with a Master of Science in Physiology-Endocrinology from Laval University in Québec City, Canada and a Master of Physical Therapy from Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Ambrosio then completed her PhD in Rehabilitation Science & Technology from the University of Pittsburgh. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the University of Pittsburgh, where she holds secondary appointments in the Departments of Physical Therapy, Orthopaedic Surgery, and Microbiology & Molecular Genetics. Dr. Ambrosio’s research has the long-term goal of developing Regenerative Rehabilitation approaches to improve the l muscle healing and functional recovery. Her laboratory uses murine and human models to investigate mechanisms by which mechanical signals can be used to enhance donor and/or host stem cell functionality. Dr. Ambrosio has published several educational modules on the topic of Regenerative Rehabilitation and has assumed national leadership roles in several work group efforts to promote the integration of regenerative medicine technologies with rehabilitation approaches. She is the Founding Course Director of the Annual International Symposium on Regenerative Rehabilitation. She is also the Founding Director of the International Consortium for Regenerative Rehabilitation, which includes nine participating institutions representing North America, Europe, and Asia.

 

Elizabeth Ardolino, PT, PhD

Dr. Ardolino is Assistant Professor in the University of St. Augustine’s Austin Campus DPT program. Dr. Ardolino earned a MPT from University of Scranton (2002), and an Advanced Masters of Science Degree in Physical Therapy from Temple University (2008). She completed her PhD (2010) at Seton Hall University. Her dissertation, “The ABLE Scale: the development and psychometric properties of a new outcome measure for the spinal cord injury population” was published in the Physical Therapy Journal. Dr. Ardolino’s clinical experience has focused on neurorehabilitation of pediatric and adult clients. She has served as Co-Director of the NeuroRecovery Network (NRN), a nation-wide network of clinical sites that provide standardized, activity-based therapy to persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Dr. Ardolino’s research is two-fold: development of new outcome measures and efficacy of locomotor training to improve health, function and quality of life for persons with SCI. She is currently developing the ABLE scale, a balance measure, and has recently initiated a second multi-center clinical trial to further test its psychometric properties. As co-PI of a Neilsen-funded grant, she has collaborated in developing the Pediatric Neurologic Recovery Scale. She also is examining its utility for persons with acquired brain injury.

 

Deborah Backus, PT, PhD, FACRM

Dr. Backus is director of multiple sclerosis research at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a grant-funded investigator, physical therapist clinician, and educator with over 30 years of experience in neurorehabilitation, specifically in spinal cord injury (SCI) and multiple sclerosis (MS). Her early research ranges from dissertation work using animal models to understand corticomotor processes during upper extremity movements to rehabilitation studies related to upper extremity function and interventions for people with SCI. Debbie’s research in the Eula C. and Andrew C. Carlos MS Rehabilitation and Wellness Program at Shepherd focuses on investigation of rehabilitation interventions to facilitate greater function, health and quality of life in people living with MS. She combines her clinical and research experience to facilitate the translation of evidence into clinical practice, to ultimately influence practice, reimbursement and health policy. At Shepherd Debbie has been instrumental in growing the research culture and facilitating clinician involvement in research activities. Debbie is funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the National Institute of Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. She has presented both nationally and internationally related to this work, and her studies have been published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals.

 

D. Michele Basso, PT, EdD

Dr. Basso is a Professor, Director of Research and Associate Director of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The Ohio State University. She received a BS (1984) in Physical Therapy from the University of Utah, an MA (1986) and EdD (1991) in Motor Learning from Teachers College, Columbia University. She completed postdoctoral fellowships with Michael Goldberger, PhD, in recovery of function after SCI at Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1991-1992, and with Jacqueline Bresnahan, PhD, and Michael Beattie, PhD, in mechanisms of recovery at The Ohio State University, 1992-1996. Dr. Basso leads SCI research projects in basic science as well as translation. The basic science projects focus on cellular and molecular mechanisms of sensory and motor recovery after SCI, especially neuroinflammatory mechanisms and exercise-induced improvements in function.  Dr. Basso participated in the first multicenter clinical trial in neurorehabilitation for SCI (SCILT) and now directs the Neurorecovery Network Center at OSU. Currently funded studies focus on translating task-specific training that was shown to be effective in the basic science studies to individuals with chronic SCI in the clinic. Her work is funded through several NIH grants, the DOD and Craig H. Neilsen Foundation. She received the 2005 Research Award for the Neurology Section of the ATPA and the 2011 Helen Hislop Award for Outstanding Contributions to Professional Literature, APTA. Translating basic science findings into novel clinical interventions is the driving mission for Dr. Basso and her lab.

 

Andrea L. Behrman, PT, PhD, FAPTA

Dr. Behrman is the Kosair Charities Endowed Chair in Pediatric Neurorecovery in Neurological Surgery, Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, Louisville, KY. Dr. Behrman is the Executive Director of the Kosair Charities Center for Pediatric NeuroRecovery providing activity-based therapies to promote recovery from neurologic injury in children and conducting pediatric research to advance clinical practice. She also is a Co-Director of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation NeuroRecovery Network that provides standardized activity-based therapies for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) at six rehabilitation centers in the United States. As a physical therapist, her research focuses on developing therapeutic interventions promoting recovery after SCI in children and adults using principles of activity-dependent plasticity and an understanding of the neurobiology of motor control and walking. She has received several awards for her work including the 2013 John H. Maley Lectureship Award by the APTA, recognized as a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of APTA (2009), and received the APTA Neurology Section Research Award (2006) for contributions to recovery of function after spinal cord injury. Dr. Behrman earned her Bachelor of Science from Furman University, Masters in Physical Therapy from Duke University, and PhD from the University of Florida.

 

Lara Boyd, PT, PhD

Dr. Boyd is the Canada Research Chair in Neurobiology of Motor Learning, a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Career Investigator, a Peter Wall Scholar, and a Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, at the University of British Columbia. She is a Neuroscientist and Physical Therapist. Dr. Boyd directs the Brain Behaviour Lab at the University of British Columbia. Her work is centered on answering the question of what limits, and what facilitates, neuroplasticity. Dr. Boyd is also the Health Research Advisor to the Vice President for Research at UBC and the University’s delegate to the Canadians Institutes for Health Research.

 

Jane Burridge, PT, PhD

Dr. Burridge is Professor of Restorative Neuroscience at the University of Southampton, where she leads the Neurorehabilitation Research Group. Her research is about improving recovery of movement following acquired brain damage. Fundamental to this is understanding the mechanisms associated with normal, loss and recovery of motor function. Dr. Burridge’s work crosses traditional rehabilitation boundaries, collaborating with engineers, neuroscientists and psychologists. She graduated as a physiotherapist, but later changed career and trained as a musician playing and teaching the flute. Her PhD at the University of Southampton enabled response to Functional Electrical Stimulation for drop-foot to be better predicted by accurate measurement of muscle dysfunction. Dr. Burridge’s current research is with wearable sensors to support home-based rehabilitation and generate objective measures of impairment. She leads a research programme into the use of the Internet to support home-based rehabilitation, and is particularly interested in understanding how rehabilitation technologies can translate into clinical practice.

 

Lisa A. Chiarello, PT, PhD, PCS, FAPTA

Dr. Chiarello is a Professor and Director of the PhD and DHSc Programs at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA and is board certified as a Pediatric Clinical Specialist. She received her PT degree from Ithaca College and her PhD degree from Hahnemann University. Dr. Chiarello has served the APTA Section on Pediatrics as the Region IV Director, chair of the Practice and Nominating Committees, and chair of the Early Intervention Special Interest Group. She is currently a board member for United Cerebral Palsy of Philadelphia and vicinity. Dr. Chiarello practices, teaches, and conducts research in the area of pediatric community-based service delivery, determinants of outcomes, family-centered care, engagement of families and children in rehabilitation, and participation of children with physical disabilities in family, school, and recreational activities. She was principal investigator for the Move & PLAY research study and co-PI for the PT COUNTS study. Dr. Chiarello is currently co-investigator for the On Track and Engagement in Pediatric Rehabilitation studies. Her recent publications include “Child Engagement in Daily Life: A measure of participation for children with cerebral palsy” and “Understanding participation of young children with cerebral palsy” as well as book chapters on Family-Centered Care and Early Intervention Services.

 

John D. Corrigan, PhD, ABPP

Dr. Corrigan is a Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Ohio State University and Director of the Ohio Valley Center for Brain Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation, which among other activities is the designated lead agency in the state of Ohio for TBI policy and planning. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. Dr. Corrigan is the Project Director for the Ohio Regional Traumatic Brain Injury Model System and chairs the Executive Committee of the TBI Model Systems Project Directors. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Board on the Health of Select Populations, and the Neurological & Behavioral Health Subcommittee of the Defense Health Board. He has provided consultation to the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs and has served on three IOM committees examining the health and well-being of military personnel. Dr. Corrigan is a member of the Board of Directors of the Brain Injury Association of America and previously served on the Advisory Committee to the National Center on Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Board of Directors of the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). He has received many awards for his service and research in brain injury rehabilitation, including the Brain Injury Association of America’s William Fields Caveness Award, the 2007 Robert L. Moody Prize and the Gold Key Award from the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.

 

Steven C. Cramer, MD

Dr. Cramer is a Professor of Neurology, Anatomy & Neurobiology, and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the University of California, Irvine. He is also the Clinical Director of the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, and the Associate Director of the UC Irvine Institute for Clinical & Translational Science. Dr. Cramer graduated with Highest Honors from University of California, Berkeley; received his medical degree from University of Southern California; did a residency in internal medicine at UCLA; and did a residency in neurology plus and a fellowship in cerebrovascular disease at Massachusetts General Hospital. He also earned a Masters Degree in Clinical Investigation from Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on neural repair after central nervous system injury in humans, with an emphasis on stroke and recovery of movement. Treatments under examination include robotic, stem cell, brain stimulation, pharmacologic, and telehealth methods. A major emphasis is on translating new drugs and devices to reduce disability after stroke, and on individualizing therapy for each person’s needs. Dr. Cramer co-edited the book “Brain Repair after Stroke” and is the author of over 250 articles and chapters.

 

Judy Deutsch, PT, PhD, FAPTA

Dr. Deutsch received her BA in Human Biology from Stanford, her MS in Physical Therapy from USC and her PhD in Pathokinesiology from NYU. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Rehabilitation Research at UMDNJ. Dr. Deutsch is Professor and Director of the Research in Virtual Environments and Rehabilitation Sciences (Rivers) Lab in the Doctoral Programs in Physical Therapy at the Rutgers University. Her current research includes the development and testing of virtual environments, and serious games to improve functional mobility and fitness of individuals with neurologic conditions as well as knowledge translation relative to evidence based practice and adoption of video games in practice. She is the immediate past Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy and a member of the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Neural Engineering Research and Games for Health. The American Heart Association, National Science Foundation and NIH fund her work.

 

Eileen G. Fowler, PT, PhD

Dr. Fowler is the current President of the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine. She holds the Peter William Shapiro Chair and is Director, Research & Education for the Center for Cerebral Palsy at UCLA. She is the Director of the Kameron Gait and Motion Analysis Laboratory and a faculty member of the Tarjan Center for Disabilities, a University Center of Excellence. She is a member of the Center for Duchenne Muscuar Dystrophy at UCLA and and an investigator for multiple groundbreaking clinical trials for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Her early research refuted the premise that exercise performance increases spasticity in children with cerebral palsy. Her lab’s current focus is reduced selective motor control and maladaptive plasticity in spastic CP using clincal, biomechanical and neural imaging approaches. She oversees a broad research agenda for the Center for Cerebral Palsy, including the unmet healthcare needs of adults and technology to increase recreational opportunities for children with severe movement disorders

 

Mary Gannotti, PT, PhD

Dr. Gannotti is a medical anthropologist who studies the inter-relationships among contextual factors, disability, health, function, and quality of life. She performed a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine, is a member of the Scientific Staff at the Shriners Hospital for Children, and has been teaching at the University of Hartford for more than fifteen years. She is the 2015 recipient of the American Physical Therapy Association Section on Pediatrics Stephen M. Haley award for sustained excellence in research in pediatrics and is an Editorial Board Member of the Physical Therapy Journal. Her work includes validation of a Spanish translation of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory, ethnography of childhood disability in Puerto Rico, cultural influences on perceived unmet needs of caregivers, psycho-social and physical outcomes of adults with cerebral palsy, exploration of individuals’ perspectives/experiences to inform practice, modeling influences on treatment effectiveness, and exploration of common measures for outcome assessment. Current work focuses on identifying dosing parameters that promote health, function, and quality of life.

 

Susan J. Harkema, PhD

Dr. Harkema holds the Owsley B. Frazier Rehabilitation Chair in Neurological Surgery and is the Associate Director of the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at the University of Louisville. She is the Director of Research at Frazier Rehab Institute and is Director of the NeuroRecovery Network that provides standardized activity-based therapies for individuals with spinal cord injury at six national rehabilitation centers in the United States. Her research focuses on neural plasticity of spinal networks and recovery of function after spinal cord injury. Dr. Harkema has published numerous scholarly articles on her research and has received several honors and awards throughout her career. In 2007, the National Spinal Cord Injury Association nominated her into the SCI Hall of Fame for Achievement in Research in Quality of Life, and Dr. Harkema was a co-recipient of the Reeve-Irvine Research Medal, awarded to individuals who have made critical contributions to promoting repair of the damaged spinal cord and recovery of function. Dr. Harkema earned her Bachelor of Science and PhD from Michigan State University and conducted her postdoctoral fellowship in neurophysiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

 

Susan R. Harris, PhD, PT, FAPTA, FCAHS

A Professor Emerita in the Department of Physical Therapy in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Harris is the former Editor-in-Chief of Physiotherapy Canada and currently serves on the editorial board of Infants & Young Children. Her pediatric research has focused on early diagnosis of movement disorders in infants and the effectiveness of early intervention for at-risk infants and children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. She is co-author, with Dr. Marci Hanson, of Teaching the Young Child with Motor Delays: A Guide for Parents and Professionals (1986), primary author of the 2009 manual for the Harris Infant Neuromotor Test (HINT), and has authored/co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed journal articles. As a PT student in the late 1960s, the proceedings of the original NUSTEP Conference served as the primary text from which Susan first learned about pediatric and adult neurorehabilitation. Since then, she has been a speaker at II STEP and III STEP and is now delighted to be able to open IV STEP in collaboration with her old friend (and erstwhile tenant), Dr. Carolee Winstein!

 

Arun Jayaraman, PT, PhD

Dr. Jayaraman is the Director, Max Näder Center for Rehabilitation Technologies & Outcomes Research at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. He is also an Assistant Professor Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Department of Physical Therapy & Human Movement Sciences at Northwestern University. Dr. Jayaraman’s group is very unique that it is one of the few clinical labs that develops and executes both industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated research in prosthetics, orthotics, rehabilitation robotics, and other assistive and adaptive technologies to treat physical disability. The lab conducts all its outcome research using advanced wearable patient monitoring wireless sensors in addition to the traditional performance-based and patient-reported outcome measures.

 

Sarah H. Kagan, PhD, RN, FAAN

Dr. Kagan is a gerontological nurse. She holds the Lucy Walker Honorary Term Chair as Professor of Gerontological Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and practices in the Living Well Geriatric Oncology Program at Pennsylvania Hospital. Sarah is known for her expertise in teaching and conducting qualitative inquiry, especially in relation to life and care experiences of vulnerable individuals and particularly older people. She serves on the Editorial Board of PTJ among other professional activities and has presented on Naturalistic qualitative methodology at APTA CSM. Sarah was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2004 and received the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching from University of Pennsylvania in 1998. In 2013, Sarah accepted an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom.

 

Teresa Kimberley, PT, PhD

Dr. Kimberley is an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Programs in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences in Minneapolis, MN. She is a clinical science researcher with dedicated focus to understand the neuropathophysiology of motor impairment and develop novel rehabilitation interventions for dystonia, stroke and other neurologic motor disorders. She is co-director of the Brain Plasticity Lab, which has helped to pioneer the use of neuroimaging and non-invasive brain stimulation and in the investigation of rehabilitation-related research. She is currently funded through the National Institutes of Health and several foundations. She serves on the Foundation for Physical Therapy Scientific Review Committee and is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy and Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience.

 

Catherine Lang, PT, PhD

Dr. Lang is a Professor in the Program in Physical Therapy, Program in Occupational Therapy, and Department of Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. She received her physical therapy degree from the University of Vermont in 1993 and her PhD in Movement Science from Washington University in 2001, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Rochester between 2001 and 2004. Dr. Lang directs the Neurorehabilitation Research Laboratory where efforts are targeted toward the development of effective and efficient, individualized rehabilitation for people with stroke and other neurological injury. The interdisciplinary, interactive laboratory environment promotes collaborations within and outside the lab with scientists and clinicians, resulting in a productive, successful research program. Numerous studies are focused on characterizing neurobehavioral changes over the course of stroke recovery, developing new and optimizing current motor interventions, and improving clinical practice. Research funding has been provided by the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, Department of Defense, Foundation for Physical Therapy, HealthSouth Corporation, Barnes Jewish Hospital Foundation, and Missouri Physical Therapy Association.

 

Deborah Larsen, PT, PhD, FAPTA 

Dr. Larsen is Director of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The Ohio State University, Associate Dean in the College of Medicine, and Associate Vice President for Health Sciences. She is also the President of the Neurology Section. Her research focuses on neural mechanisms of recovery and treatment induced plasticity following stroke and brain injury, including the development of better outcome measures and treatment methods, and has been funded by NIH. Recently, her work is targeting the impact of cognitive and sensory dysfunction on movement and quality of life outcomes post-stroke.

 

Alan Chong W Lee, PT, PhD, CWS, GCS

Dr. Lee is an Associate Professor at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles.

He has served as the secretary of the Telerehabilitation Special Interest Group at American Telemedicine Association. His telehealth research includes international pediatric teleconsultation in physical therapy and he co-authored the Blueprint for Telerehabilitation Guidelines. Dr. Lee has participated in telehealth collaborations with stakeholders in health care, rehabilitation engineering, corporate industry, and the community. He graduated as a physical therapist from Duke University, completed a gerontology degree from SDSU, and a transitional DPT from Creighton University. His PhD at Nova Southeastern University focused on social responsibility and cultural competence in physical therapists engaged in global health activities. His current research activity focuses on telehealth simulation and interprofessional collaborations in academia. Dr. Lee maintains clinical practice in San Diego, California at Scripps Mercy Hospital with dual board certifications in geriatrics and wound management.

 

Michele Lobo, PT, PhD

Dr. Lobo is an Assistant Professor in Physical Therapy at the University of Delaware where she is Co-Director of the Move to Learn Innovation Lab. Dr. Lobo’s clinical focus is in the area of pediatric physical therapy and she has experience working with children and families across in-patient, out-patient, early intervention, and school-based settings. Her teaching focuses on pediatrics, learning, and the impact of physical activity from the level of physiology through mood and cognition. Her research program focuses on: 1) understanding typical developmental processes, 2) identifying how these processes differ for those at risk, and 3) designing effective early assessments, interventions, and devices to maximize participation, play, and learning. She leads an interdisciplinary research group that includes team members from a variety of fields including rehabilitation, developmental psychology, engineering, and fashion. She is also the Founder and Director of the Super Suits FUNctional Fashion & Wearable Technology Program that developed the first exoskeletal garment for rehabilitation. The program is currently developing and testing a range of low- to high-tech clothing aimed at increasing independence and function.

 

Sarah Westcott McCoy, PT, PhD, FAPTA

Dr. McCoy is currently Professor and Head of the Division of PT in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Dr. McCoy received her BS in Health and Physical Education from University of Montana, and her Masters in Physical Therapy and PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience at University of Washington. She has practiced 25 years within academic settings including her present job, the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, and Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. Her clinical research has focused on assessment and intervention of children with postural control dysfunction focusing on children with cerebral palsy and children with developmental coordination disorder. Currently she is working in collaboration with researchers across the US and Canada on longitudinal studies of children with cerebral palsy. She has been a member of the Physical Therapy and the Pediatric Physical Therapy Editorial Boards and is a member of the Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics Editorial Board. The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, NIH, and Department of Education fund her work.

 

Ellen McGough, PT, PhD

Dr. McGough received a BS in Microbiology and a BS in Physical Therapy from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and her PhD in Nursing Sciences from the University of Washington. She also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Biobehavioral Nursing Research at the University of Washington. Dr. McGough is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Physical Therapy at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Her research focuses on identifying early functional and neuroimaging markers of decline in older adults at risk for neurodegenerative disease. She uses motion analysis technology and neuroimaging to investigate relationships between brain health and physical performance in older adults with cognitive impairment. She also studies the effects of exercise on motor and non-motor function in individuals with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The Alzheimer’s Association International and NIH/NIA fund her current research.

 

Jennifer Moore, PT, DHS, NCS

Dr. Moore is the Clinical Practice Leader of Neurologic Physical Therapy at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and serves as an Advisor to the South Eastern Norway Regional Knowledge Translation Center in Oslo, Norway. Currently, Dr. Moore is focused on the selection, adaptation, and implementation of evidence-based practices within large organizations and multi-facility healthcare networks. In addition to her focus on implementation, she developed the Rehabilitation Measures Database (www.rehabmeasures.org), which is a free, online repository of summaries of psychometric properties and clinical utility of over 300 assessments used in rehabilitation. This website currently receives more than 160,000 visits per month from over 160 countries. Because of her passion for systematic measurement in clinical practice, Dr. Moore is co-chair of an APTA sponsored Clinical Practice Guideline on a core set of outcome measures for neurologic physical therapy. She also served as the guest editor for the Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy’s special issue on knowledge translation research (published April 2016). Her efforts have been recognized by the Illinois Physical Therapy Association with the “Physical Therapist of the Year” award in 2011 and the National Association of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers’ Knowledge Translation Activity Award in 2012.

 

Don W. Morgan, PhD

Dr. Morgan is a Professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance at Middle Tennessee State University and Director of the Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth, a university-community partnership aimed at increasing the activity and fitness levels of Tennessee youth. An exercise physiologist and Past-President of the North American Society for Pediatric Exercise Medicine, Dr. Morgan is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Academy of Kinesiology, and the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine. Over the past decade, Dr. Morgan’s research and public health promotion efforts, which have focused on enhancing mobility, physical fitness, and physical activity in youth and adults with physical disabilities and understanding how physical activity and sedentary behavior influence health across the lifespan, have been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

Chet T. Moritz, PhD

Dr. Moritz received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado. A second post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Washington began his interest in brain-computer interfaces and neuroprosthetic technology to treat paralysis. He is now an Associate Professor in the Departments of Rehabilitation Medicine and Physiology & Biophysics. He was recently named an Allen Distinguished Investigator, and serves as the deputy director for the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering at the University of Washington. His lab focuses on developing technologies to treat paralysis and other impairments due to brain and spinal cord injury.

 

Iona Novak, OT, PhD

Dr. Novak is the Head of Research at Cerebral Palsy Alliance, University of Sydney, Australia. She is a Fulbright Scholar establishing “Xcellerate” – an American-Australian Cerebral Palsy Stem Cell Research Consortium that pools collective efforts to find a cure. Driven by an internal belief that research and healthcare has the potential to change lives, Dr. Novak has pursued projects and roles with the greatest possible impact on children and families, including, leadership of the Australian Cerebral Palsy Register. In the last 10 years she has given over 100 international keynotes and been awarded $16mil in research grant funding.

 

Lori Quinn, PT, EdD

Dr. Quinn is Associate Professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Sciences at Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Quinn holds joint appointments as Lecturer in Rehabilitation & Regenerative Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, as well as Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Physiotherapy at Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK. Dr. Quinn’s research has focused on developing evidence and clinical guidelines for targeted physical interventions in neurodegenerative diseases, and in particular for people with Huntington’s disease (HD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Together with colleagues in the UK and across Europe, Dr. Quinn has conducted feasibility studies and larger scale clinical trials evaluating exercise and physical activity interventions. In addition to her work in neurodegenerative diseases, Dr. Quinn is the co-author of the physical therapy textbook Documentation for Rehabilitation: A guide to clinical decision making in physical therapy, currently in its 3rd edition. Dr. Quinn’s clinical and research work spans areas of motor learning and control, goal setting, and functional outcomes measures.

 

Keiko Shikako-Thomas, PhD, OT

Dr. Shikako-Thomas is a Canada Research Chair in Childhood Disability: Participation and Knowledge Translation, Assistant Professor in at the McGill University School of Physical and Occupational Therapy in Montreal, Canada, and a researcher from the Centre of Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation. An associate member of the McGill Institute of Health and Social Policy, and the CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, she obtained her PhD in Rehabilitation Science at McGill University and her BSc in Occupational Therapy at University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. She has post-doctoral training in Knowledge Translation in policymaking for children with disabilities at McMaster University and in Knowledge Translation in policymaking in Environmental Design at University of Montréal. Her research focuses on the promotion of healthy living and participation for children with disabilities, and knowledge translation to policymaking. Her research program adopts a participatory methodology to engage different stakeholders, including policymakers, children and their families, in finding solutions to change the environment and promote participation of children with disabilities. She co-leads a series of knowledge translation initiatives, including CHILD LeisureNET, a network of over 200 stakeholders in Canada developing solutions and strategies to promote leisure participation for children with disabilities, the childhooddisability.ca website, aimed at disseminating research information in an accessible format for users, the Knowledge Translation strategic initiative for rehabilitation in Québec, and the NeuroDevNet Knowledge Translation core.

 

Jill C. Stewart, PT, PhD

Dr. Stewart is an Assistant Professor in the Program in Physical Therapy, Department of Exercise Science at the University of South Carolina. She directs the Motor Behavior and Neuroimaging Laboratory where her research focuses on improving our understanding of brain-motor behavior relationships with the aim of improving motor rehabilitation in individuals with neurologic diagnoses. Her current research focuses on the behavioral and neural effects of practice aimed at challenging motor planning processes and determining the individual factors that predict response to targeted practice conditions. Dr. Stewart earned her physical therapy degree at the University of Evansville and a post-professional Master’s degree in physical therapy at the University of Indianapolis. She practiced in a variety of clinical settings before completing her PhD in Biokinesiology at the University of Southern California and a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of California, Irvine.

 

Edgar van Mil, MD, PhD

Dr. van Mil is a paediatric endocrinologist who received his training at the University Hospitals of Maastricht, Utrecht and Amsterdam (Prof H. Delemarre-van de Waal) in the Netherlands. Before he started his clinical fellowship, he conducted research in Paediatrics, starting with a research fellowship at the Children’s Exercise and Nutrition Centre at the McMaster University in Canada, which was awarded the Government of Canada Award (1993) (Prof O. Bar-Or). After medical school he first worked as a clinical research fellow at the Department of Human Biology, at the Nutrition Toxicology and Research Institute Maastricht (1995). Further scientific training was obtained at the Metabolism and Nutrition Research School, a research institute supported by the Universities of Wageningen, Rotterdam, and Maastricht. In 2000 he received his PhD on his studies on Energy Metabolism in Paediatric Obesity, e.g. Prader-Willi syndrome. He is both nationally and internationally active in the field of childhood obesity and an enthusiastic member of the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) in which he has chaired the Obesity Working Group for several years. In 2010 he initiated the Obesity Lifestyle Intervention Center (www.olic.nl) to create an open innovative platform for care, research, and business development that is supported by the Dutch government. After 20 years of experience, he co-authored a book with Arianne Struik, clinical psychologist and family therapist (www.ariannestruik.com), about a new approach toward childhood obesity, which was well received in the Netherlands. This new method of approach is currently tested in his practice in paediatric endocrinology at the Jeroen Bosch Medical Centre in the Netherlands.

 

Ann Van Sant, PT, PhD, FAPTA

Dr. Van Sant is Professor Emeritus of Physical Therapy at Temple University, and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Pediatric Physical Therapy. Her research has focused on lifespan development of motor behavior, and movement patterns used to perform functional activities in both those with a variety of disabling conditions and those who are healthy. Dr. Van Sant has held a variety of leadership positions in the Neurology, Research, and Pediatric Sections of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and has been honored with a Lucy Blair Service Award from APTA and the Bud DeHaven Award from the Pediatric Section. She is a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of APTA. She served as Research Committee Chair for the International Organization of Physical Therapists in Pediatrics for WCPT and on the International Scientific Committee for the 2015 WCPT Congress in Singapore. She served on the II STEP and IV STEP Conference Planning Committees.

 

Carolee J. Winstein, PT, PhD, FAPTA

Dr. Winstein serves as Professor in the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy and as Director of the Motor Behavior and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory at the University of Southern California (USC). She has a joint appointment in the Department of Neurology at USC. She has mentored over a dozen doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars from diverse backgrounds including neuroscience and engineering. She has more than 10 years of clinical experience primarily in neurological physical therapy, and 30 years of multidisciplinary collaborative research experience with a focus on neurorehabilitation, motor learning and clinical trials; she has (co) authored more than 100 research papers, including chapters, proceedings and commentaries. Her research program has been funded through NIH, NIDRR and the Foundation for Physical Therapy consistently over the past 20 years. Her first STEP conference was the 1990 II STEP meeting in Oklahoma—she convinced the program committee to invite her mentor, Richard Schmidt to be a plenary speaker; he was the only non-physical therapist on the program. Fifteen years later, Dr. Winstein served on the program committee for III STEP. It was a sign of growth and maturity that by 2005, there were many non-physical therapist scientists giving plenary talks at III STEP.