Global Webcast - Mobility Challenges in Progressive MS

Tune into our Facebook page on June 20 at 11am ET to hear the latest research about identifying and measuring mobility challenges in progressive MS, in a global webcast presented by the International Progressive MS Alliance.  

Webcast Panel 

Sarah Donkers, PT, PhD, is an Associate Professor, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan. She is a physiotherapist turned neuroscience researcher specialized in neurorehabilitation. In addition to her clinical experience, Dr. Donkers has conducted numerous studies investigating interventions to promote improvements in walking, balance, mobility, physical activity levels, symptom management, and neurorecovery for people living with multiple sclerosis. She is dedicated to improving the access to and quality of neurorehabilitation services.

Peter Feys, PhD, with a background in physiotherapy, is professor at the faculty of rehabilitation sciences at Hasselt University in Belgium. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles in international clinical neurological and rehabilitation journals. His inter-disciplinary research is focused on rehabilitation for gait and upper limb function in predominantly persons with neurological conditions. It comprises investigations of walking motor fatigability, music-based entrainment and sonification, cognitive-motor interference, technology-supported training, upper limb functioning and community self-directed training. Neuroimaging is performed to understand the impact of interventions on neural function and structure. The research is mostly performed in persons with multiple sclerosis besides stroke and CP. He is part of the UMSC Hasselt-Pelt consortium.

Brad Willingham, PhD, is the Director of MS Research at Shepherd Center in the United States. His work focuses on the development of innovative strategies to expand accessibility and improve the precision of rehabilitation for people with MS. Dr. Willingham started his career in rehabilitation working as an Exercise Physiologist at Shepherd Center. Through this clinic experience, he became interested in scientific questions that could guide evidence-based care and developed research collaborations that led him to complete his PhD in Physiology at the University of Georgia. Before returning to Shepherd Center in 2021, Dr. Willingham spent four years serving as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health where he received advanced training in neuromuscular physiology and biotechnology.

Host

Candice Maenza, PhD, is a neuroscientist by training and is currently the Managing Director of the Neuromechanics in Translational Rehabilitation Program at Penn State College of Medicine in the United States. After completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology at Lock Haven University in 2012, she started working as a Research Coordinator in the Neurorehabilitation Laboratory at Penn State College of Medicine. She continued working in the lab as the Laboratory Manager while completing her Master of Science and PhD in Kinesiology at Penn State University. During her first year of graduate school in 2016, she lost her vision, followed by ger sensation and mobility, and was subsequently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Since then, she has taken on roles of both a neuroscientist studying MS and a patient advocate with a goal of using research methods to benefit and educate patients.