Pursuing excellence for patients

In 2022, Fereshteh Ghahremani left behind the familiar sights of Tehran to chase a dream across the globe. What she didn’t know then was that she wasn’t just embarking on a graduate degree in Canada—she was stepping into a research journey that would shape her future, and could change the lives of countless patients.

Having completed her bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy at the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences in Iran, Ghahremani always knew she wanted to work in the rehabilitation space. Drawn to neurological rehabilitation, she applied to the Master’s program in Rehabilitation Sciences at Western University. But it wasn’t just the program that pulled her in. It was a name: Dr. Janelle Unger.

“When I first reached out to her, she replied—and that made all the difference,” Ghahremani says. “Dr. Unger was the reason I chose Western. She encouraged me to apply, told me about a potential donor-funded studentship through St. Joseph’s and said my research ideas would be a good fit.”

She was right. 

Ghahremani’s timely research, focused on individuals with spinal cord injuries, has the potential to bridge the gap between standard patient care and newer, non-invasive treatments. And so, with some encouragement, Ghahremani applied for and received The Siskinds Studentship in Spinal Cord Injury to kickstart her research project.

Thanks to a generous donation from the local law firm Siskinds, a longstanding supporter of St. Joseph’s, this studentship provides dedicated funding for a selected student to pursue innovative research that contributes to improving care and outcomes for individuals living with spinal cord injuries.

These kinds of studentships offer more than just funding, they open doors. From covering tuition fees to providing a stipend for living expenses, awardees are able to focus on their research and feel supported by a community that believes in their potential.

“We started from scratch,” Ghahremani says of her research. “It was a brand-new project, in its very early stages. We developed protocols that had never been done before.”.

The project’s innovation is its combination of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) cycling and repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to treat spinal cord injury—a technique Ghahremani had never used before. 

To support this dual focus, she worked not only with Dr. Unger, who brought deep expertise in spinal cord injury, but also with a leading TMS researcher in pain management—Siobhan Schabrun, PhD. Schabrun is the William and Lynne Gray Endowed Research Chair in Mobility and Activity at St. Joseph’s and a professor in the School of Physical Therapy at Western. The synergy was ideal.

But her journey wasn’t without its struggles. “I moved here alone,” she says. “There were hard days. But I have so many people who supported me. My parents and my sister were everything. I wouldn’t have made it without them.”

And, of course, there was Dr. Unger. “She’s more than a supervisor. She’s a mentor. She helped me not only in the lab but in life—adjusting to Canada, navigating everything.”

Ghahremani is grateful for the donor support that allowed her to pursue her educational dream. She is currently planning the next step in her career that stands on the edge of whatever comes next. It’s a future shaped by courage, compassion and an unshakable belief in the power of rehabilitation to change lives.

What stays with Ghahremani most about her experience in Canada isn’t the data, or the milestones. It’s the patients. 

“That’s what’s really precious to me. Sometimes, research can forget the human side. But I always try to look at things from the patient’s perspective. Their needs, their journey—that’s what should guide us.”