NO BIO

Dennis Bourbeau is a research investigator in the Research Service at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, a Staff Scientist in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the MetroHealth Medical System, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. His research focuses on developing approaches that use electrical stimulation to restore pelvic autonomic functions, including bladder and bowel functions, lost to spinal cord injury or other neurological disorders. He has conducted studies with individuals with spinal cord injury using electrical stimulation to inhibit unwanted bladder contractions and improve urinary continence. Other projects include electrical stimulation to inhibit unwanted reflex sphincter contractions to improve bladder emptying; a wireless bladder pressure and volume sensor for automatic control of these electrical stimulation approaches; and electrical stimulation to improve colonic motility for individuals with chronic constipation. This research program provides new insights into the neurophysiological pathways and mechanisms underlying pelvic autonomic functions.

No BIO

Dr. Andreas Limacher is a Senior Biostatistician and Methods Consultant in Clinical Research. For many years, he headed the Statistics and Methodology Unit at CTU Bern, University Hospital of Bern and now leads the Methods Unit at the Functioning Information Reference Lab of Swiss Paraplegic Research in Nottwil, Switzerland. He supports and performs statistical analyses of randomized clinical trials and observational studies and has collaborated on and contributed to various study protocols, grant applications, and scientific manuscripts in spinal cord injury, as well as other medical fields. His current research focuses on utilizing neuromuscular electrical stimulation to enhance bowel management and on improving respiratory muscle function in individuals with spinal cord injury during rehabilitation.

Dr Chloë Lefèvre, MD, PhD, is a specialist in Neurological Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine at Nantes University Hospital (France). She is specialised in the management of patients with spinal cord injury, with a particular focus on autonomic dysfunction, and is specifically interested in bowel dysfunction following spinal cord injury. She worked on the enteric nervous system and its alterations following spinal cord injury as part of her PhD, and she is currently pursuing translational research based on the first French longitudinal cohort dedicated to the follow-up of individuals with spinal cord injury.

Anne E Palermo, PT, DPT, PhD is a physiotherapist and researcher aiming to improve trunk muscle function after spinal cord injury. Her work focuses on aspects of wellness related to trunk muscles including breathing, balance, and bowel function. She investigates trunk muscle function from physiological mechanisms to clinical and community implementation.

Since October 2020, I have been Head of Research at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, School of Health Professions in Bern, Switzerland. Previously, from 2014 to 2021, I worked as a researcher in the Clinical Trials Unit at the Swiss Paraplegic Centre in Nottwil, Switzerland. I started my career as a physiotherapist at the same centre, where I worked from 2006 to 2016. I completed my PhD at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands in 2021 with a thesis on 'Respiratory complications in spinal cord injury and the potential for reduction', supervised by Prof Maria Hopman and Dr Gabi Müller. In the course of my career I have been honoured with the Ludwig Guttman Prize in 2021 for my thesis on respiratory complications in SCI, the Prof. Friedrich-Wilhelm Meinecke Memorial Prize for the best abstract (co-author) on the incidence and risk factors of pneumonia in people with acute spinal cord injury based on the RESCOM study in 2023 and the Jury Award at the Cybathlon in 2024 in the discipline 'Assistance Robots' for the development of an assistance robot with an innovative, user-friendly and practical design. My research interests are broad and include respiratory diseases and interventions for people with SCI. I am also investigating the effectiveness of digital lifestyle interventions on the quality of life of different populations, such as the elderly, lung cancer survivors and people with SCI. Another focus is the development and accompanying research of assistive technologies for people with tetraplegia. orcid.org/0000-0002-4139-2173

NO BIO

NO BIO

Dr. Sara Guilcher (BSc, MSc, MScPT, PhD) is the Principal Investigator and Scientific Director of the Optimizing Health and Healthcare Experiences (OPTI-HEx) Lab. Sara is an Associate Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto. She has clinical training in physical therapy and clinical health psychology, along with applied health services research expertise.