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The roots of National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC) date back to 1970. At that time, the Rehabilitation Services Administration of the United States Department of Health Education and Welfare began to fund demonstration project at medical centers throughout the country, collectively known as the Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems (SCIMS).

The Paul W. Burleson Award is presented to a physician member of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama in recognition of a medical career that encompasses not only high ethical and professional standards in patient care, but also includes extraordinary service to physician organizations at the county, state, and national levels.

UAB Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Associate Professor Jereme Wilroy, Ph.D. is passionate about his research to benefit the lives of individuals with disability through exercise, rehabilitation, and sport.

Cynthia Francis, M.D. and Darien McNeill, M.D. were selected as the 2024-2025 Chief Residents for the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Program. Effective April 1, 2024, Dr. Francis will serve as Administrative Chief and Dr. McNeill will serve as Education Chief.

The American Psychological Association has selected UAB’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation associate professor Megan Hays, Ph.D., ABPP as the 2024 recipient of the Division 22 Mentoring Award.

UAB Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation leadership is proud to support and advance its faculty to the next level of development and growth. Congratulations to Drs. Azuero, Teranishi, and Twist on their new leadership roles within the department.

Living with spinal cord injury (SCI) can have a negative effect on person’s mental health and desire to participate in activities, so there continues to be a need to explore ways of improving mental health.

UAB Medicine Spain Rehabilitation Center is one of only 10 rehabilitation hospitals in the country designated as a Rehabilitation Innovation Center formed to change the face of clinical care for Americans with disabilities.

Following extensive research and personal experience, Jereme Wilroy, Ph.D., associate professor in UAB's Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, found that many public health professionals are not prepared to design health promotion programs and opportunities to address the pervasive health disparities that continue for the over 60 million Americans with disabilities.

Rachel Cowan, Ph.D., associate professor at the  University of Alabama at BirminghamDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and program co-director for UAB’s Spinal Cord Injury Model System, was awarded $1.6 million from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command to study the impact of fitness on quality of life after spinal cord injury.

Associate Professor Danielle Powell, M.D. has been appointed Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs in the UAB Heersink School of MedicineDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM) recently held the largest annual conference in the world for interdisciplinary rehabilitation research. It was the 100th annual conference, and it brought together researchers, clinicians, administrators, and others to learn about cutting-edge research and its translation into clinical practice.

The UAB Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation welcomes Assistant Professor Radhika Sharma, M.D., effective November 2023. 

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. 

Megan Hays, Ph.D., associate professor and clinical psychologist in the UAB Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation was selected to join the Class of 2024 Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA).

Jereme D. Wilroy, Ph.D., assistant professor for the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, was awarded a $3.3 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health for his study, “Examining the effects of live telehealth exercise training on cardiometabolic outcomes in wheelchair users." 

Spina bifida is the most common permanently disabling birth defect that is associated with life. Each year approximately 1,400 babies born in the United States have spina bifida, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Spina bifida, usually apparent at birth, is a type of neural tube defect in which the neural tube does not completely close during development in the womb resulting in damage to the spinal cord and nerves.

Rachel Cowan, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and program co-director for UAB’s Spinal Cord Injury Model System, co-chaired the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Wheelchair Service Guidelines Develop Group (GDG) and co-authored the Wheelchair Service Guidelines alongside Kylie Shae and Sarah Sheldon. The Guidelines were official launched at the April 2023 meeting of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics in Guadalajara, Mexico.