New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center

SCI Consumer Education - Annual Conference

2011 Stepping Forward-Staying Informed

November 12, 2011 (Saturday)

Speakers

As Speakers are confirmed we will post them here. Below are the speakers
that are confirmed at this time.

John D. Steeves, PhD, Founding Director of ICORD (International Collaboration On Repair Discoveries) at UBC and Vancouver Coastal Health 

Dr. Steeves is the founder of ICORD and served as Director from 1995 to 2010. ICORD currently has over 300 researchers led by over 40 faculty members investigating various aspects of spinal cord injury (SCI) from preclinical discovery and development, through acute clinical trials and best rehabilitation practices, to community integration and ongoing care of medical and social challenges.

Dr. Steeves brings over 30 years experience in SCI. He has been an executive member or chair of many national and international committees and organizations concerned with SCI such as  SCOPE, ASIA, ISCoS, and ISNR. He has an extensive list of publications and patents. He has started biotechnology ventures, and serves on scientific and clinical advisory boards to several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Over the years, his research has focused on the mechanisms essential to facilitate functional repair after SCI, utilizing techniques that range in scope from the molecular basis of CNS development and function to the study of voluntary movement. For example, his work has demonstrated that specific pathways from the brainstem (reticulospinal projections) are essential for the initiation of locomotion in all vertebrates, including humans. He and his colleagues made significant contributions to the identification of CNS myelin as inhibitory to functional CNS regeneration. More recently, he has focused his activities on translational research, including: development of valid clinical trial protocols, neurological and electrophysiological outcome measures after human SCI, and activity-dependent rehabilitation of human arm and hand function.

J. Scott Richards, PhD, ABPP, Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Dr. Richards is a licensed clinical psychologist and tenured Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at University of Alabama (UAB).  He has been providing clinical services and conducting clinical research to individuals with spinal cord injury at UAB for over 33 years. Dr. Richards has served as Co-Principal Investigator and/or Research Director for a number of NIDRR-funded multi-project grants funded through the Rehabilitation Research Training Centers and Model Systems mechanisms.  His primary research interest is pain following SCI.  He is currently involved with an international group convened to refine a standardized classification scheme for SCI pain research and clinical practice.  Additionally, he is currently funded to investigate the effect of nicotine on neuropathic pain and has lead a multi-site team  examining venlafaxine’s impact on neuropathic pain.

Rachel Cowan, PhD, ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist, Post-Doctoral Associate, the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Dr. Cowan is a Post-Doctoral Associate in the Applied Physiology Research Laboratory at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami (Miami, FL). She is an American College of Sports Medicine Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist with a particular interest in defining how improving fitness can enhance mobility and daily function in persons with spinal cord injury. Dr. Cowan is the 2010 Paralyzed Veterans of America Fritz Krauth Memorial Post-Doctoral Fellow, and is studying the relationship between spinal cord injury level, manual wheelchair mobility, fitness, and perception of the physical environment as a barrier.  In addition, she currently is serving as a Co-Investigator and director of testing and exercise training core for the NIDRR funded study “Exercise Treatment of Obesity-Related Secondary Conditions in Adults with Spinal Cord Injury.” Her research interest is to integrate biomechanical and fitness interventions to maximize functional mobility in disabled individuals, with the ultimate goal of enhancing quality-of-life by enabling all persons to achieve their desired levels of participation.

Jennifer Otitigbe, MS, Director of User Experience and Research, Institute for Human Centered Design

As IHCD’s Director of User Experience and Research, Ms. Otitigbe coordinates a multi-disciplinary team of people in engineering/technology, marketing, social sciences and design to help organizations that seek to apply principles of Human Centered Design in their services, policies & procedures, products and technologies.  In addition to providing consulting and training in this area, she is assisting with the launch of a multifaceted event in Boston called “Products and Technologies that Change People’s Lives” which increases awareness to the possibilities of inclusive and universally designed products and technologies to enhance experiences and open opportunities for individuals across the spectrum of age and ability.