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Ali Bateman
Ali Bateman, MD
Assistant Professor, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Acquired and Traumatic Brain Injury; Spinal Cord Injury
Dr. Ali Bateman is a physiatrist at Parkwood Institute and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University. She is also an Associate Scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute, and the Quality Improvement Lead in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.
Dr. Bateman completed her medical degree and residency training at Western University, and is currently completing a master’s degree in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety through the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. She is also certified by the Canadian Society of Clinical Neurophysiologists and holds the designation of CSCN Diplomate (EMG). As a consultant physiatrist, Dr. Bateman provides care in acquired brain injury and spinal cord injury rehabilitation programs and the electrodiagnostic laboratory at Parkwood Institute.
Her research interests centre on quality improvement, patient safety, and knowledge translation with the aim of achieving best practices so that all persons with spinal cord and/or brain injury receive the best quality care.
Caitlin Cassidy
Caitlin Cassidy, MD
Assistant Professor, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Childhood Onset Conditions; Implementation Science and Education
Dr. Caitlin Cassidy is a physiatrist at Parkwood Institute and an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and is also cross appointed to the Department of Paediatrics. Her primary clinical and research roles revolve around the Transitional and Lifelong Care (TLC) program at Parkwood Institute. The TLC program provides longitudinal rehabilitative care to adolescents and adults living with a physical disability of childhood onset, many of whom experience mobility challenges and may struggle to find accessible opportunities to increase their fitness and activity levels.
Dr. Cassidy’s research interests include the natural history and long-term outcomes of people with these conditions, and collaborates closely with Dr. Laura Brunton from the School of Physical Therapy at Western University to determine the impacts that access to activity and wellness programming have on pain, fatigue and other outcomes for people with cerebral palsy and spina bifida. Dr. Cassidy also acts as the discipline lead for Musculoskeletal Medicine in undergraduate medical education at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University.
Dalton L. Wolfe
Dalton L. Wolfe, PhD
Lawson Scientist, Parkwood Institute Research
Implementation Science and Education; Spinal Cord Injury
Dalton Wolfe is a Scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute, an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Health Science and leads the Research 2 Practice (R2P) team, which is a unique research program within Parkwood Institute that focuses on strategies for generating evidence and implementing best practice within rehabilitation. Professor Wolfe’s primary research interest is in the area of knowledge mobilization and best practice implementation with a focus on physical activity and activity-based therapies in spinal cord injury and brain injury rehabilitation.
Professor Wolf also co-leads the Ontario SCI Implementation, Evaluation and Quality Care Consortium, which focuses on implementation of quality indicators towards the enhancement of care across the 5 academic health centres involved in SCI rehabilitation in Ontario. As part of the Parkwood Rehabilitation Innovations in Mobility Enhancement initiative (PRIME), Professor Wolfe is focused on enhancing clinical decision-making to improve locomotor and other movement-related outcomes with activity-based therapies such as robotic, manual and FES-assisted therapies. As with many of the R2P initiatives this involves implementation science and participatory research methods to put in place practice-based research infrastructure that enables iterative knowledge generation as well as implementation. Trainees work alongside clinicians, administrators and persons with lived experience to tackle clinically relevant questions.
Eldon Loh
Eldon Loh , MD
Associate Professor, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Chronic Pain
Dr. Eldon Loh is a Physiatrist at Parkwood Institute and an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. He completed residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Alberta in 2010 and a clinical fellowship in interventional pain management in 2011. His research interests include improving the management of chronic neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury, and the development of novel and improved techniques for interventional pain management of axial spine pain.
He is Chair of the panel that developed and updates the Canadian Best Practice Guidelines for Neuropathic Pain after spinal cord injury and works with international partners to improve point-of-care tools for implementing the guidelines. His interventional pain research focuses heavily on a bench to bedside approach, utilizing anatomical findings to inform clinical practice. He has also examined the impact of Ontario’s healthcare utilization of different interventional procedures such as radiofrequency ablation and paravertebral nerve blocks.
Heather MacKenzie
Heather MacKenzie, MD; MSc
Assistant Professor, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Acquired and Traumatic Brain Injury
Dr. Heather MacKenzie is a physiatrist at Parkwood Institute and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. She completed her residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Western University and subsequently earned a Master’s of Science degree in Epidemiology at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
Her research program focuses on predicting outcomes after concussion/mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Although concussions/mTBIs are common and the majority of symptoms resolve within three months, a significant proportion of individuals remain symptomatic beyond one year. These persistent symptoms result in mobility challenges and reduced participation in instrumental activities of daily living as well as vocational and leisure activities. Dr. MacKenzie’s current research focuses on identifying patients that are at high-risk for developing persistent symptoms from concussion/mTBI so that interventions can be prioritized and rehabilitation services can be quickly mobilized. Early intervention for those expected to have a prolonged recovery has the potential to alter their trajectory and optimize their potential for a positive outcome and may also reduce the occurrence of persistent symptoms and decrease secondary disability related to their injury.
Jamie Fleet
Jamie Fleet, MD
Assistant Professor, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Stroke
Dr. Jamie Fleet is a physiatrist at Parkwood Institute and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. Dr. Fleet completed medical school as well as residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at McMaster University. She is currently enrolled in a Master’s program in Clinical Epidemiology through the Health Research Methodology program at McMaster University with a focus on fracture treatment and prevention in older patients after stroke. Her primary clinical area of focus is in stroke rehabilitation.
Though still early in her career, Dr. Fleet has developed a strong research background, primarily focusing on drug safety studies in older adults using large data through ICES. Her other research interests include exercise and health promotion/prevention strategies in patients after stroke, as well as fall prevention strategies and pain management. "
Janelle Unger
Janelle Unger, PT; PhD
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Science
Stroke, Spinal Cord Injury
Janelle Unger is an Assistant Professor in the School of Physical Therapy at Western University and a registered physiotherapist. Professor Unger's research focus is on optimizing recovery following neurological injury. She investigates the effectiveness of novel interventions to improve gait and balance with kinetic, kinematic, and clinical outcomes. Professor Unger is also interested in evaluating service delivery and community programs for individuals with chronic injuries as well as understanding the lived experiences of people with neurological conditions using qualitative data. Her goal is to create a program that will focus on enhancing lifelong mobility and participation in physical activity for people with chronic neurological conditions.
Jaspreet Bhangu
Jaspreet Bhangu, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Balance, Gait and Falls
Dr. Jaspreet Bhangu, is a geriatrician at Parkwood Institute and an Assistant Professor within the Division of Geriatric Medicine in the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. He graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland in 2004. He completed his specialist training in Internal and Geriatric Medicine in Ireland in 2016. He completed a PhD in Medical Gerontology with Trinity College Dublin in 2017 studying falls and syncope in older adults and then completed a clinical fellowship with the University of Toronto. He also holds a Master’s degree in Bioethics and Health. He has extensive experience in human intervention research and his research interests include cardiac causes of falls, orthostatic hypotension and autonomic dysfunction, vascular contributions to cognitive decline and digital medicine.
Jenny Thain
Jenny Thain, MD
Assistant Professor, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Balance, Gait and Falls; Implementation Science and Education
Dr. Jenny Thain is a geriatrician at Parkwood Institute and an Assistant Professor within the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. Dr. Thain completed a Master’s degree in Health Professions Education through the University of Maastricht and completed her medical training at the University of Nottingham, sub-specializing in orthogeriatric medicine.
Her areas of clinical interest include osteoporosis and bone health, with a particular interest in orthogeriatric care. She is the Chair of the Canadian Geriatrics Society Osteoporosis and Bone Health Special Interest Group, a member of the Osteoporosis Canada Scientific Advisory Council and Fragility Fracture Network Scientific Committee and the Geriatric clinical lead of the Hip Fracture Unit at Victoria Hospital, London.
Keith Sequeira
Keith Sequeira, MD
Associate Professor, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Implementation Science and Education
Dr. Keith Sequeira is a physiatrist at St. Joseph's Health Care London and London Health Sciences Centre and an associate professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. Dr. Sequeira completed his medical degree at the University of Toronto in 1994, residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Albany Medical Center in 1998, followed by a fellowship in Electrodiagnostic and Sports Medicine at Michigan State University.
Dr. Sequeira is the Medical Director of the Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program at Parkwood Institute and runs spasticity, EMG, brain and spinal cord injury clinics. Dr. Sequeira is the past Residency Program Director of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Western, a program that he designed and initiated in 2005 and functions. He is the WSIB Champion, working on the integration of WSIB education into the medical school curriculum at Western, past director of the undergraduate the musculoskeletal curriculum within the medical school at Western, the recipient of the Dean’s Award of Excellence for Undergraduate Medical Education, and has authored numerous publications, including a 2020 article in the New England Journal of Medicine on lumbar radiculopathy.
Laura Brunton
Laura Brunton, PT, PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Physical Therapy
Childhood Onset Conditions
Laura Brunton is an Assistant Professor in the School of Physical Therapy at Western University and is a registered Physiotherapist. Professor Brunton's current research focus is exploring and understanding fatigue and pain experienced by individuals with cerebral palsy and the possible relationships with physical activity, sleep, pain and mental health. Professor Brunton has an interest in developing novel approaches to increase and support the self-management skills for youth and adults with childhood-onset conditions. A secondary interest of Professor Brunton’s is the development and validation of clinical measures to support comprehensive assessment of clients in clinical practice.
Laura Graham
Laura Graham, PT, PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Physical Therapy
Neurological injury, mild traumatic brain injury
Laura Graham is an Assistant Professor and Graduate Chair of Western University’s Master of Physical Therapy Program, and an Associate Scientist with Lawson Health Research Institute. Professor Graham’s teaching focus is neurological injury/illness rehabilitation and her research interests revolve around the development of interventions for adults with persistent symptoms following concussion or other mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI).
Professor Graham has worked as a physiotherapist at Parkwood Institute since 2011, primarily in adult brain injury rehabilitation. She has consulted with Ontario Brain Institute and WSIB Ontario on mTBI Program of Care revision, presented education of the treatment of mTBI both locally and internationally, and has taught physiotherapist instructors across Canada about concussion/mTBI rehabilitation for the National Orthopaedic Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association.
Professor Graham is currently helping to develop and evaluate two interventions for adults with mTBI. The first is BrainEx90, which is a circuit training-style therapy that covers self-management exercises, vision rehabilitation, vestibular rehabilitation, balance and core stability, cardiovascular training, and cognitive rehabilitation. nd the second is MyBrainPacer™ App, which is a symptom self-management tool to support people with mTBI through planning and pacing activities.
Manuel Montero-Odasso
Manuel Montero-Odasso, MD; PhD
Professor, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Mobility, Cognitive and Brain Health
Dr. Manuel Montero-Odasso is a geriatrician at Parkwood Institute and Professor and Faculty Scholar in the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. He is also the Director of the Gait & Brain Lab at Parkwood Institute, a clinician-scientist at the Lawson Health Research Institute and serves as team leader at the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging and the Ontario Neurodegenerative Research Initiative.
Dr. Montero-Odasso leads the Gait and Brain Health Program goal of understanding mechanisms and treatments of mobility and cognitive decline in aging by focusing on the interaction between gait performance and cognition and how this increases the risk of falls. Through this work Dr. Montero-Odasso has established the use of “motor biomarkers”, like slowing of gait speed and dual-task effects on gait to predict frailty, falls, and dementia. He is also a co-PI of the Canadian Therapeutic Platform for Multidomain Interventions to Prevent Dementia, which focuses on multi-domain lifestyle interventions that include physical exercises, cognitive training, diet, self-management of cardiovascular factors and sleep, in order to reduce the risk or delay the onset of dementia in older adults.
Dr. Montero-Odasso has received more than $6 million of competitive peer-reviewed research funding, has published over 150 scientific articles, 14 books and book chapters, and has received several accolades, including the American Geriatrics Society New Investigator Award, the Schulich Clinician Scientist Award, the Premier of Ontario Excellence Research Award, and the CIHR New Investigator Award. In 2019, he was inducted as one of the Top 10 Hispanic Canadian for his contribution in Medicine and Science. He has been invited to give more than 100 international presentations as a guest speaker. He serves as associate editor for the Journal of Gerontology Medical Sciences, Geriatrics, and Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, among others. He also serves as executive member and Vice-President of the Canadian Geriatrics Society.
Michael Payne
Michael Payne, MD
Assistant Professor, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Amputation
Dr. Michael Payne is a physiatrist at Parkwood Institute and an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University. He completed his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at Queens University followed by a Master’s degree in Sports Medicine and a medical degree at Western University, residency training in Physiatry at the University of Ottawa, and then a clinical fellowship in Australia.
Dr. Payne’s clinical practice has always focused on addressing mobility limitations across a wide range of physical impairments and has been the medical director of the Regional Amputee Rehabilitation program at St. Joseph’s Health Care London since 2009. Dr. Payne collaborates extensively with Dr. Susan Hunter from the School of Physical Therapy from Western University to address research questions centred around improving meaningful outcomes for people with limb loss or deficiencies. Specific interests include mobility outcome measurements, dysvascular amputation associated cognitive impairment, biomechanics, quality of life, gait abnormalities and falls.
Ricardo Viana
Ricardo Viana, MD, OT
Associate Professor, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Amputation; Stroke
Dr. Ricardo Viana is a physiatrist at Parkwood Institute and an Associate Professor in the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. Prior to studying medicine, Dr. Viana was an cccupational therapist. Dr. Viana completed his medical training in 2008 and his Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency training in 2013. Dr. Viana’s clinical focus is on Stroke and Amputee rehabilitation as well as neuromuscular and pain medicine.
Dr. Viana has two primary research interests. First, is understanding the impact of dual-task performance on mobility, balance and falls for those with amputation. And second, is systematic reviews in support of the Evidence Based Review Stroke Rehabilitation. Dr. Viana also has a growing interest in education, both medical education and knowledge translation in the clinical setting.
Robert Teasell
Robert Teasell, MD
Professor, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Stroke
Dr. Robert Teasell is a physiatrist at Parkwood Institute, a Professor in the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University, former Chair-Chief and current Research Director of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is a Clinical Researcher with Lawson Health Research Institute, Parkwood Institute Research and Director of the CORRE Research Group. Dr. Teasell has authored over 800 publications including over 350 peer-reviewed articles and has been involved with $24 million of research funding. He has won over 50 awards including Lawson Scientist of the Year, and Post-Acute Stroke Excellence Award, both in 2018, American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and National Stroke Association in the United States.
Dr. Teasell has supervised many graduate students and since 2014, three research team members have won the Lawson Leadership Impact Award (best graduate student at Lawson Institute) and three have become Vanier Scholars. Research interests include the Clinical Application of Best Evidence in Neurorehabilitation. Projects include: Stroke Rehabilitation Evidence-Based Review, Acquired Brain Injury Evidence-Based Review and Spinal Cord Injury Evidence-Based. The details of all projects within the CORRE Research Group can be found on the lab website.
Siobhan Schabrun
Siobhan Schabrun, PhD
Professor, School of Physical Therapy
Chronic Pain
Siobhan Schabrun is the incoming William and Lynne Gray Endowed Research Chair in Mobility and Activity and Professor in the School of Physical Therapy. Her research program is focused on understanding, treating and preventing persistent pain – a major cause of reduced mobility and activity amongst otherwise healthy individuals and those living with musculoskeletal and neurological conditions. In addition, Professor Schabrun explores the use of non-invasive brain stimulation technologies to boost neuroplasticity and improve outcomes following traditional forms of rehabilitation such as exercise, functional electrical stimulation and virtual reality training. Professor Schabrun is passionate about improving the translation of research evidence into practice and about promoting the participation of women and girls in science.
Steven Macaluso
Steven Macaluso, MD
Associate Professor, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Implementation Science and Education
Dr. Steven Macaluso is a physiatrist at Parkwood Institute and an Associate Professor and the current Residency Program director in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. He completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology prior to completing his medical degree at Western University in 2007. He went on to complete residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Western University in 2012.
He is currently a consultant physiatrist on the Stroke and Neuro rehabilitation unit at Parkwood Institute and has outpatient clinics at Parkwood Institute, and the Fowler Kennedy Sports Medicine Clinic. His current academic endeavors are focused on promotion of physical activity amongst individuals with impairment and disability, including formation of physical activity guidelines the design and implementation of an online evidence-based resource and clinical skills guide for the management of musculoskeletal disorders. Dr. Macaluso also has a special interest in Sports Medicine, has provided medical coverage for Team Canada at national and international levels, and is currently serving as a team physician for the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Team.
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.