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Sue Peters
Sue Peters, PT, PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Physical Therapy
Stroke
Sue Peters is an Assistant Professor in the School of Physical Therapy at Western University. Professor Peters is also a trained physiotherapist and neuroscientist who uses neuroimaging to study how the brain functions to control mobility, and how mobility recovery can be optimized after injuries like stroke.
Professor Peters directs the Neurorehabilitation Physiology Lab, which uses advanced neuroimaging including functional near-infrared spectroscopy and electroencephalography to explore neural mechanisms of basic tasks like standing and stepping, to more complex tasks like stepping up and over a curb. Neuroimaging is completed along with task performance measures including kinematics and electromyography to learn how the behaviours that can be observed are linked with brain function. Projects include basic neuroscience questions around how the brain controls mobility, and clinical questions of how to promote mobility recovery through neurorehabilitation. Ultimately, Professor Peters’ lab aims to improve mobility outcomes and quality of life for people after stroke.
Susan Hunter
Susan Hunter, PhD
Associate Professor, School of Physical Therapy
Amputation; Mobility and Cognitive Health
Susan Hunter is an Associate Professor in the School of Physical Therapy and has appointments through Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Departments of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Epidemiology & Biostatistics. Her research program is primarily dedicated to the investigation of falls and falls prevention in older adults, with a particular interest in the effect of changes in balance, gait and cognitive function with aging. Falls in older adults are a major cause of disability and dependence in older adults and represent a serious public-health concern in Canada and internationally. The ability to identify people at risk and the underlying mechanisms related to fall events is crucial to implementing interventions to prevent falls.
Specific areas of research interest include older adults with cognitive impairment and dementia, lower extremity amputees, lower extremity joint arthroplasty surgery, mobility aid use in different populations and attitudes of physiotherapists to working with people with dementia. Her recent research has been supported by funding from Alzheimer’s Association (USA) and Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation.
Swati Mehta
Swati Mehta, PhD
Lawson Scientist, Parkwood Institute Research
Mobility, Cognitive and Brain Health
Swati Mehta is a Scientist at Parkwood Institute Research and Lawson Research Institute, an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Western University and a registered Psychotherapist. Professor Mehta leads the RehabPsych Lab. The aim of the lab is to improve activity engagement and overall wellbeing among those undergoing rehabilitation through online programs including virtual group based physical activity and internet delivered cognitive behavior therapy hosted on the lab’s website.
Professor Mehta has received over 1 million dollars in research funding to date and has authored over 65 peer-reviewed articles. She has been awarded the Lawson Impact Leadership Award in 2016, the Royal Society of Canada Alice Wilson Award in 2017 and the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation Excellence Award in 2017.