Potential Labs for PhD Student Research

Join our Rehabilitation Sciences PhD Program to work with Dr. J. Andrew Taylor, PhD, Principal Investigator for the Cardiovascular Research Lab at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Associate Professor at Harvard University. He is seeking a PhD student to conduct research related to exercise to prevent cardiovascular, pulmonary, and metabolic declines after spinal cord injury. His lab studies cardiovascular and autonomic (patho) physiology in the areas of bone blood flow control, anorexia, spinal cord injury, and aging. Integrative physiological techniques used in the lab include measures of systemic and regional hemodynamics, direct measures of peroneal sympathetic nervous activity, and integrative models of cardiovascular control.

Funding for a PhD student may be available, depending on the area of research interest.

For additional informationjandrew_taylor [at] hms.harvard.edu ( email Dr. Taylor) with your name, CV, and area(s) of interest.

Research opportunity available for a physical or occupational therapist interested in working in the areas of surgical outcomes research, spinal cord stimulation, and quality of life consequences of paralysis reversing reconstructive interventions. The student will pursue a PhD in Rehabilitation Science at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, and work in a collaborative research lab, the Paralysis Center led by Dr. Justin Brown – Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School. The ideal candidate will have completed the requirements for a degree in occupational or physical therapy and have experience working with individuals following paralyzing injuries. Additional experience in data collection methods such as gait evaluation, upper limb and hand function assessment, spasticity assessment or surface electromyography is desirable.

Applications from women and representatives of minority groups are encouraged. If interested, jmbrown [at] mgh.harvard.edu (contact Dr. Justin Brown.)

The mission of the INSPIRE lab is to help people with paralysis regain functional movements. To accomplish this mission, we focus our research on answering several important clinical questions:

1. How do preserved neural pathways communicate with functionally relevant motor targets after spinal cord injury (SCI)?
2. How do plasticity-promoting primers accelerate and anchor the benefits of task-specific training after SCI?

We expect that answering these questions will establish important principles for exploiting endogenous mechanisms of plasticity for treating neurologic pathologies. Understanding and learning how to harness this plasticity will profoundly impact persons with life-altering paralysis. Our recent studies provide new appreciation for the capacity of the human spinal cord to adapt and reorganize after injury. In particular, we demonstrated that a novel spinal plasticity-promoting primer elicits respiratory and non-respiratory motor recovery in rodent SCI models (Lovett-Barr et al., 2012) and improved limb function in humans with SCI (Trumbower et al., 2012). An important goal guiding our translational research is to identify whether endogenous mechanisms of spinal plasticity demonstrated in rodents also contribute to functional recovery in humans with SCI. To achieve this goal, our team uses advanced electrophysiology, pharmacology, neuromechanics, and computer simulation techniques in able-bodied humans and persons with SCI.
 
Funding available for two years of PhD training. Contact is Dr. Randy Trumbower, PT, PhD, Lab Director.

The time is now for Spaulding to lead survivors of brain injury to rehabilitation levels never before imagined. For this reason, Spaulding established the Discovery Center for Brain Injury and Concussion Recovery within their new Research Institute. The following opportunities are available:

Dr. Morgan O’Neil is recruiting a PhD student to support her project funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). Specifically, the objective of this project is to develop educational materials for children with concussion and to implement the materials in different clinical settings within Mass General Brigham. For more information, contact Dr. O’Neil at moneil18 [at] mgb.org.

Dr. Shanti Pinto is funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to study the link between autonomic nervous system dysfunction, cerebrovascular autoregulation impairments, and outcomes after traumatic brain injury. She was recently awarded a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) to study the association between depression and cardiovascular health after traumatic brain injury. Contact Dr. Pinto at smpinto [at] mgb.org.

Dr. Chad Swank investigates the clinical application of advanced rehabilitation technologies as a means to improve gait and mobility. He is looking for a PhD student with an allied health license and prior experience working with clinical populations to support his new and ongoing federally funded projects. For more information, contact Dr. Swank at cswank1 [at] mgb.org.

Dr. Simon Driver is the Director of the Discovery Center for Brain Injury and Concussion Recovery Research at Spaulding Rehabilitation. He has a growing interest in comparative effectiveness research and implementation science to ensure the Diabetes Prevention Program is accessible to people after brain injury. His research has been funded by NIDILRR, NIH, DOD, PCORI, and others. He is currently hoping to recruit a doctoral student to work on his funded research. For more information, contact Dr. Driver at sdriver2 [at] mgb.org.

The lab focuses on medical entropy and quantification of diagnostic uncertainty, visual communication and patient reported outcomes, and health data analytics for triage, risk prediction, and resource allocation. Our work integrates computational methods, AI, and clinical research to improve decision making in acute care settings.
PI: Shuhan He, MD - email: she8 [at] mgb.org

The Center for Laryngeal Surgery and Voice Rehabilitation at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH Voice Center) Voice Center brings together an interdisciplinary group of clinicians and scientists to treat and study voice and airway disorders. The Center has several research laboratories with state-of-the-art facilities for studying voice and speech production including stroboscopic and high-speed endoscopic imaging, electromyography, electroglottography, accelerometry, and measures of aerodynamics and acoustics. Support for research and PhD students is provided by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and private foundations. Following are the research interests of the Senior Research Staff:

James Heaton, PhD (he/him) serves as the Director of the Laryngeal Surgery Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and Adjunct Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the MGH Institute of Health Professions. His research focuses on motor control related to vocalization and swallowing, as well as advances in cranial nerve regeneration techniques. Recently, his work has centered on utilizing face and neck electromyography for automatic speech recognition and developing implantable devices offering closed-loop functional electrical stimulation to restore movement in paralyzed facial and laryngeal muscles.

Robert Hillman, PhD (he/him) is Co-Director and Research Director of the MGH Voice Center, Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and Adjunct Professor at the MGH Institute of Health Professions (Founding Director of the Rehab Sciences PhD Program). Dr. Hillman research interests focus on the quantitative measurement of normal and disordered voice and speech production and he leads a multi-institutional NIH-funded Clinical Research Center (P50 grant) that is studying ways to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of hyperfunctional voice disorders: Vocal Hyperfunction Clinical Research Center

Daryush Mehta, PhD (he/him) is Director of the Voice Science and Technology Laboratory at the MGH Voice Center, Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Director of Student Affairs in the Harvard Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology Program, and Adjunct Associate Professor at the MGH Institute of Health Professions. Dr. Mehta’s research interests include voice and speech signal processing, wearable sensors, vocal biomarkers of human health, and laryngeal imaging technologies. Learn more. 

Jarrad Van Stan, PhD (he/him) is Associate Professor of Speech-Language Pathology at the MGH Voice Center, Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Adjunct Professor at the MGH Institute of Health Professions. His research program explores the nuance of rehabilitation assessment and treatment, harnessing the latest theories, wearable technology, machine learning, and virtual reality to ensure that every voice is heard.