Nur Shazana Ahmad Mazni is a Rehabilitation Medicine trainee based at the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya (PPUM). She has clinical experience in managing individuals with neurological conditions, including spinal cord injury and stroke, within multidisciplinary rehabilitation settings. Her academic work includes research on healthcare delivery and quality of life among persons with spinal cord injury in Malaysia, with findings that highlight gaps in access to care and their impact on long-term outcomes. she has contributed to abstracts and case reports in neurorehabilitation, including presentations on complex cervical spinal cord injury cases. Her work reflects a commitment to advancing evidence-based rehabilitation practice and improving healthcare system to better support individuals living with long-term disabilities.

"Muhamad Shaiful Lizam Bin Mohd Anuar is a medical officer at goverment hospital in Kelantan, Malaysia, specialized in rehabilitation medicine."

Dr. Bryan Amiel L. Brey is a resident physician in Rehabilitation Medicine at the Philippine Orthopedic Center, a premier national apex center for musculoskeletal and spinal cord injury rehabilitation. He is actively involved in clinical research targeting traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI), evaluating the impact of clinical baselines and inpatient efficiency on long-term independence. Dr. Brey is committed to refining institutional clinical pathways, promoting early mobilization protocols, and establishing robust outpatient transition programs to elevate the standard of physiatric care in the Philippines.

Lia Brunn, OTR/L, OTD is an occupational therapist at the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury at Kennedy Krieger. Here she works as part of an interdisciplinary research team studying the impact of combinatorial training and transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation on function in people who have spinal cord injuries. She has worked in spinal cord injury for 12 years and is passionate about studying and implementing new technologies and strategies to maximize outcomes in this population.

Punam D Costa is a physiotherapist with a B.Sc in Physiotherapy (University of Dhaka, Bangladesh) and MPhil in Medicine (The University of Sydney, Australia). She was the recipient of prestigious Australia Awards Scholarship. She is currently working as a lecturer, department of Rehabilitation Science at Bangladesh Health Professions Institute (BHPI) since 2022. She has more than 8 years clinical and research experience in the field of spinal cord injuries (SCI). She worked with people with SCI all over Bangladesh in both hospital and community setting that provided her lived experience of the challenges faced by people with SCI in Bangladesh and working with different stakeholders to mitigate the challenges. In addition, she has brief experience of working in public health response of New South Wales (NSW) Health during the Covid-19 pandemic. She has keen research interest on the area of spinal cord injury, disability, rehabilitation and social inclusion.

Miss Yushen Dai has published six peer-reviewed journal articles and applying a Hong Kong invention patent. Her primary research interests include mental health, physical disability, digital health innovations, and family care for autism spectrum disorder.

My professional efforts are predominantly devoted to the restoration of respiratory muscle function in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). I also have a strong interest in respiratory muscle physiology, both basic science and its application to clinical research. My initial interest was sparked by the plight of patients with respiratory failure who were committed to life-long mechanical ventilation. In collaboration with engineers at Case Medical Center, my research team devised a method of diaphragm pacing utilizing minimally invasive techniques. Electrodes can now be placed via laparoscopic surgery to activate the diaphragm and restore ventilation. This method is now commercially available world-wide and has been applied in more than 500 patients. In collaboration with my colleague Dr. Krzysztof Kowalski, we are now working to further improve diaphragm pacing in pilot animal studies (currently funded by the NIH) in which we have demonstrated that the inspiratory muscles can be activated much more physiologically compared to current methods. More recently, our research team has demonstrated in clinical trials that the expiratory muscles can also be electrically activated to restore cough. In patients with SCI, we have shown that use of this device significantly improves the ease in raising secretions, reduces the incidence of respiratory tract infections, and improves life quality. Since this technique requires an invasive procedure, we have also developed a minimally invasive means of electrode placement to improve patient acceptance of this technique. Throughout my career, I have worked in close collaboration with the Cleveland FES Center, of which our research team are members. In collaboration with other FES members, we are currently developing a single multi-system device which can restore multiple functions including cough, arm/hand control, posture and urinary function.

Dr Jamie Ellis is an early career researcher working to develop a peer support intervention for children with spinal cord disorders, and to coordinate and oversee the implementation of a national spinal cord disorder registry, involving collaboration with several stakeholders and rehabilitation settings across Australia. Jamie recently completed her doctoral studies investigating paediatric spinal cord disorders at the University of Melbourne, with the Royal Children’s Hospital and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Her project explored the effects of spinal cord damage on the musculoskeletal health in children, utilising a scoping review, a clinical audit and an observational clinical study. Her doctoral work yielded five peer-reviewed publications, and she was awarded a PhD Top Up Scholarship for her candidature and the Harold Mitchell Foundation Postdoctoral Travel Fellowship. Prior to this, Jamie completed her Master of Biomedical Science in the Department of Physiology at the University of Melbourne, where she explored the mechanisms underlying muscle wasting as they pertain to disease, and potential approaches to combating muscle wasting. When she is not researching, Jamie competes in show-jumping events across Australia and treasures her time with her beloved border collie Rosie.

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Louise has 30 years of nursing experience with 25 years working in the speciality of Spinal Cord Injury through Royal North Shore Acute Spinal Unit in Sydney, Australia and more recently in private community nursing practice. Louise is a strong advocate for her clients and is committed to improving the quality of life for people living with spinal cord injury. She is passionate about educating her nursing and allied health colleagues to ensure the most up to date practice is provided and she has undertaken PhD studies to ensure that she can continue the advancement of nursing practice in spinal cord injury.

Dr. Yan Li holds the position of Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She completed her postdoctoral training at the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery, and Palliative Care at King's College London, United Kingdom. Dr Li has been a visiting researcher at several esteemed institutions, including the University of Sydney, the National University of Singapore, and the University of Turku. Dr Li has authored over 90 peer-reviewed journal articles with a focus on spinal cord injury research or other healthcare topics. Her research in this area focuses on the psychosocial and mental health aspects of individuals with spinal cord injuries, aiming to improve their quality of life and overall well-being.

Brandon Lieu, MD, FRCPC, CSCN (EMG) Dr. Brandon Lieu attended the University of Alberta for his undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences. He continued his training at the University of Alberta for both medical school and residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. His interest in Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Medicine grew into a passion throughout his residency training and he went on to complete his SCI Medicine fellowship at Stanford University. Dr. Lieu currently is a lecturer in the Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto and holds a hospital appointment with the University Health Network (Toronto Rehabilitation Institute—Lyndhurst Centre), where he continues to provide specialized care for individuals with SCI and contribute to research and education in this field. Dr. Lieu’s research interest has focused on the application of nerve and tendon transfers for people with SCI. He has obtained his Canadian certification in electrodiagnostic medicine and plans to apply this skill to push the frontier of nerve transfers and functional restoration in the SCI population.

Grace is a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. She works as part of the MDT in the London Spinal Cord Injury Centre and orthopaedic wards with patients who have voice and swallow problems. Grace is part of the spinal cord injury (SCI) respiratory team who are involved in the assessment and treatment of sleep apnea after SCI. Her research interests include post spinal surgery voice and swallow disorders, tracheostomy, complex + altered airways and quality of life.

Rutger Osterthun is a PRM physician and senior researcher in the field of spinal cord injury at the Rijndam Rehabilitation Center and the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of the Erasmus University Medical Center. He is leading a research line on spinal cord injury which focuses on improving mobility with innovative solutions to improve both daily functioning as well as health

Sophie Lykkegaard Ravn is a psychologist and research leader at the Special Hospital for Polio and Accident Victims in Denmark and Associate Professor at Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark. Her research area is trauma rehabilitation with particular interest in psychological and psychosocial aspects of rehabilitation, persistent pain, functioning, and adjustment to life-changing health conditions.

Hanne Bjørg Slettahjell is a Registered Clinical Dietitian, MSc, at Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital in Norway, and a PhD candidate at the University of Oslo, Norway, with a research focus on metabolic health and body composition following traumatic spinal cord injury. Her work centers on early, individualized nutrition interventions during subacute rehabilitation and their long-term impact on cardiometabolic risk.

Chatwalai Sonthikul is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Bath, United Kingdom, conducting research within the Department of Health’s Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism (CNEM). She concurrently holds the position of Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. Her current doctoral research focuses heavily on the prevention of cardiometabolic syndrome in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI), a population at significantly increased risk for cardiovascular disease due to muscle atrophy and metabolic dysfunction. To combat this, Chatwalai is investigating the therapeutic potential of targeted exercise modalities—specifically arm crank ergometry and Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES)—to activate paralyzed muscles, enhance glucose uptake, and promote vascular repair. Before advancing to her PhD, Chatwalai built a robust foundation in neurological physical therapy as a clinician, lecturer, and researcher. She earned her B.Sc. in Physical Therapy from Prince of Songkla University and an M.Sc. from Mahidol University. Her extensive clinical background continually informs her academic mission to discover practical, exercise-based interventions that directly improve the cardiometabolic health of patients with neurological deficits.

Dr Shangita Subramaniam is a Rehabilitation Medicine trainee at Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. Her clinical and research interests include spinal cord injury, neurorehabilitation and pain medicine. She is actively involved in clinical research exploring practical and innovative approaches to rehabilitation, with ongoing work in neuroprotection and patient safety.

Dr. Raktim Swarnakar, MBBS, MD (AIIMS, New Delhi), is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at AIIMS Deoghar, India. His clinical and research interests include spinal cord injury rehabilitation, neurorehabilitation, pressure injury management, and rehabilitation research. He has received several national and international recognitions, including the International Scholarship by the Korean Academy of Rehabilitation (KARM) 2025 for the International Fellowship Program in Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, South Korea; ISPRM President's Cabinet Grant 2026; Best Young Scientist Award 2025; Early-Career Researcher Award 2026; IPARM Rehabilitation Research Award 2024; IFNR Young Investigator Award 2024; Bindeshwari Sudershan IAPMR Gold Medal Award; IPARM Gold Medal; and the ICMR MD Thesis Grant Support Fellowship. He has also received multiple awards for research presentations and competitive posters, as well as travel grants from the Movement Disorder Society of India and the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders. He has more than 50 peer-reviewed publications in national and international journals and three book chapters, with research spanning spinal cord injury, telerehabilitation, pressure injury management, Parkinson’s disease, and emerging technologies in rehabilitation.

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Conor White is a physiotherapist and PhD student in University College Dublin School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science. His research primarily focuses on the effects of exoskeleton walking on neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury. Secondary aims of his research include the health economic implications of exoskeleton walking on healthcare resource utilisation, work presenteeism/absenteeism and medication use.

Previous Surgeon in China, 1994-2004 Physician Associate, 2018 - Now Working in Midland Centre for Spinal Injuries, RJAH, UK since 2020