About the Editors
Associate Editors
Anthony S Burns, MD, MSc, Brain & Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program & University Health Network - Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Canada
Anthony S. Burns graduated from the Yale University School of Medicine in 1994, and afterwards completed combined residency training in Internal Medicine and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the Sinai Hospital of Baltimore - Johns Hopkins University program, followed by a SCI fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is a past participant in the Rehabilitation Medicine Scientist Training Program, sponsored by the Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP) and funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. From 2000 through 2007, he was Assistant Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia PA; Assistant Director of the Regional SCI Center of the Delaware Valley; and adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia PA. In 2007, Dr. Burns joined the University Health Network - Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Program, the largest program of its kind in Canada, and was the Medical Director from 2007 – 2012. Currently he is a Professor in the Division of Physiatry, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, and Affiliate Scientist, Neural Engineering and Therapeutics (NET) Team of the KITE (Knowledge Innovation Talent Everywhere) Research Institute. His clinical and research interests focus on the determination and measurement of outcomes following SCI, as well as the clinical management of spinal cord injuries and related secondary complications.
Christina Rapidi, MD, PhD, LFEBPRM, General Hospital “G.Gennimatas”, Greece
Christina Anastasia Rapidi, MD, PhD, graduated in Medicine from Patras University of Greece in 1985 and completed her training in Physical & Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) in 1991. She conducted her PhD in 2002 at the University of Athens. Since 2015 she has been working as a senior consultant in the PRM Department of the General Hospital “G.Gennimatas” (NHS) in Athens. Prior to this position she was consultant in 2nd PRM Department & scientific director of theNeurogenic Bladder Unit of the National Rehabilitation Center, Athens, Greece and between 2013-2014 she was giving consultation to the Rehabilitation Department for SCI, University of Patras. She is vice-President of the Hellenic Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, President of the Hellenic SCI section of the Hellenic Society of PRM, and an affiliated member of ISCoS. Since 2014 she has been the Head of the Special Interest Scientific Committee of the European Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ESPRM) for SCI. Dr. Rapidi's interests include neuro-rehabilitation, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, neurogenic bladder and bowel, pelvic floor rehabilitation. She is also interested in improving rehabilitation team functioning and medical education. Since 2008 she has been certificated as a European Board Trainer in PRM and during 2013-2016 was a member of the Editorial Board of Spinal Cord, an official journal of ISCoS. She is a co-author of the Chapter of “Autonomic Dysreflexia” in the ISCoS Textbook on Comprenhensive Management for SCI. During previous years, she had participated in the scientific and organizing committee, and as invited speaker in many National, European & International Meetings and Seminars of PRM, Neuro-Urology, Intensive Care Medicine and Neurology.
Martha Macht Sliwinski, PT, PhD, Columbia University Medical Center, United States
Associate Professor of Physical Therapy and of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Sliwinski completed her undergraduate studies at Temple University and both of her advanced degrees at New York University. She is currently a full-time faculty member in the Program in Physical Therapy at Columbia University in New York. Dr. Sliwinski’s research focus is centered to individuals who have suffered a spinal cord injury. These individuals are in an advanced aging process in comparison to the normal population as well hospital readmission and challenges with quality of life. She is interested in pursuing interventions, particularly that have promise to prevent wellness decline in this population and to improve their quality of life. Collaborating with other researchers who have an interest in these same principles provides promise for this population. Her collaboration with community partners and centers serving this population has been an ongoing part of her research. She has been a practitioner for 39 years and an educator for 25 years in the field of physical therapy. Serving as an editor and chapter author for the textbook Spinal Cord Injuries: Management and Rehabilitation provided her with the additional tools to have a broad knowledge for the comprehensive care and life challenges for individuals with a spinal cord injury. In addition to her faculty position community service is a special interest for Dr. Sliwinski as she serves as the faculty advisor for student service activities. She oversees student involvement in the campus pro bono clinic and conducts a yearly service learning experience for students in Guatemala.
Nishu Tyagi, MOT, PHD, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India
Ms Nishu Tyagi is an Occupational Therapist and Telerehabilitation Specialist. Ms Tyagi introduced the concept of telerehabilitation via common technologies in patient routine care as a community outreach and post-discharge service model in India. She has been instrumental in initiating the telerehabilitation services at Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC) and working with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and other esteemed institutes on developing virtual reality, low-cost diagnostics and ICT applications for rehabilitation & healthy living. Awarded more than 20 times for her dedicated efforts and scientific contributions in research, rehabilitation, patient care and service delivery. Ms Tyagi is passionate about thinking out of the box to determine innovative approaches in research and patient care delivery. She currently serves as the Research Associate and Coordinator of Telerehabilitation services at ISIC, and has produced and successfully provided more than 2000 personalised videos to the individuals on Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Patient/Caregiver education. Ms. Tyagi completed her post graduation from I.P University, Delhi in 2013. In free time, she writes health care and awareness blogs and recently launched ‘We CARE India’ project which supports online rehab services for persons with disabilities, children with special needs, elderly, and transgender communities. Ms. Tyagi is one of the producer of Multidisciplinary International Youtube Channel ‘Sustain Our Abilities’ (SoA) and a representative of India in the same.
Currently, serving honorary position of Executive Member at Telemedicine Society of India, her dream is to expand the Multidisciplinary Research & Development (R&D) globally by creating novel ideas, collaborations, and good teamwork. Her other projects include development of COPE (community health exercises web portal) for SCI individuals with University of British Columbia, telerehabilitation with International Telerehab Organization, U.S., elearn Occupational Therapy with University of Sacranton, U.S., development of artificial muscle, low-cost virtual reality applications for rehab and rural health improvement using telehealth and technological applications.
Nishu is also the Social Media Editor for Spinal Cord Series and Cases. Contact: nishutyagi08@gmail.com / Twitter / Research Gate / Linkedin
