Professor Yuying Chen, M.D., Ph.D. was awarded the prestigious Dr. Margaret Nosek Award by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine’s (ACRM) Spinal Cord Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group. 

The award is given each year as part of the Margaret Nosek Lecture series presented by ACRM SCI-ISIG. This award recognizes an individual who demonstrates drive and commitment to advancing scientific knowledge, developing standards of clinical practice, raising awareness, and advocating for appropriate health care and community support for women with disabilities.

Dr. Margaret Nosek was an internationally recognized authority on the health of women with disabilities and the Margaret Nosek Award recognizes her contributions through more than 30 years of sharing and disseminating knowledge as a researcher and advocate of disability rights.

“I am so very proud of Dr. Chen for having received this most prestigious award. Dr. Margaret Nosek was a strong champion of rehabilitation research, independent living, and the rights of women with disability. To be an awardee reflects on Dr. Chen’s national stature as a researcher and a leader,” states Vu Nguyen, M.D., chair of the UAB PM&R Department. “Dr. Chen is well recognized in the world of spinal cord Injury (SCI) research and has been the PI of our NIDILRR National SCI Statistical Center 5-year grant currently in its fourth cycle. As impressive as that fact is, it is even more incredible to recognize that UAB PM&R has been the sole holder of this national grant continuously since 1983! Dr. Chen has earned our thanks and will no doubt be recognized among the greatest rehabilitation researchers in our specialty. She is truly deserving of the Dr. Margaret Nosek Award.”

Dr. Chen was presented with the award at the ACRM 100th Annual Conference in November 2023 in Atlanta, GA. This event is the premier interdisciplinary conference for rehabilitation research. Dr. Chen gave a lecture on her research and the future of Spinal Cord Injury rehabilitation.

“I am thrilled to be honored with this award of Dr. Nosek’s namesake. She was such a hero in advocating for the health and wellness of women with disability. I am certainly standing on the shoulder of many giants, including the former chair of the Department, Dr. Amie McLain. Dr. McLain built the first reproductive health clinic for women with disabilities at UAB and has inspired me in research to ensure equitable and quality health care for women with disability,” said Chen.

Dr. Chen is the Director of Research in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine. Since 2005, she has served as Project Director of the National SCI Statistical Center, which is within the department of PM&R. She is also Co-Director for the UAB Center for Engagement in Disability Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. She has led a number of studies and published over 100 manuscripts and book chapters, most of which involved the use of the National SCI Database.