Keynote Speaker

MJ Mulcahey

Dr. MJ Mulcahey, PhD, OTR\L, FASIA is a licensed occupational therapist with over 30 years of experience as a clinician-scientist in pediatric rehabilitation.  After obtaining her occupational therapy degree, MJ practiced as an occupational therapy clinician and researcher for over 20 years at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia. Her practice area was with families and children with spinal cord injuries, brachial plexus birth injuries, cerebral palsy, limb loss, and other neurologic and musculoskeletal conditions. During her tenure at Shriners, MJ pursued a PhD and advanced training in measurement and outcomes assessment. As part of the Shriners team, she developed the Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury Data Set for longitudinal assessment of pediatric SCI. She led a multi-center study that established guidelines for evaluating the neurological consequence of spinal cord injuries in children, which have been adopted globally. MJ has also conducted pediatric spinal cord injury research on the outcomes of upper extremity reconstruction and percutaneous and implanted functional electrical stimulation. Over the last decade, MJ has focused her research on developing and validating IRT-derived clinical outcome assessments, including the Pediatric SCI Measure and the Pediatric Measure of Participation. Dr. Mulcahey has received numerous awards for her work in spinal cord injury including the Clinical Excellence Award from the American Paraplegia Society, Comarr Memorial Award for Distinguished Clinical Service from the Academy of SCI Professionals, American Spinal Injury Association Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Sir Ludwig Guttmann Lecture and Plenary from the International Spinal Cord Society.  Currently, she is a tenured Professor of Occupational Therapy, Director of the Center for Outcomes and Measurement and Interim Associate Dean of Research in Jefferson College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. 

Speakers

Randal R. Betz

Randal R. Betz, MD is an internationally recognized surgeon with over 40 years of experience in caring for children and adults with spine deformity, including scoliosis, kyphosis, spondylolisthesis, neuromuscular scoliosis, and spinal cord injury. Currently, Dr. Betz is pediatric scoliosis and spinal deformity surgeon at The Institute for Spine and Scoliosis in Lawrenceville, NJ. Previously, Dr. Betz was Chief of Staff and Medical Director of the Spinal Cord Injury Unit at Shriners Hospitals for Children, Philadelphia. Dr. Betz completed his MD, internship, and residency from Temple University School of Medicine and undertook a fellowship in pediatric orthopaedics at the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware. He received several distinguished postdoctoral fellowships, including the ABC Traveling Fellowship, the North American Traveling Fellowship, and the Berg-Sloat Traveling Fellowship. In 2013, Dr. Betz served as the senior mentor for the Scoliosis Research Society Traveling Fellowship. He is an active member of the Scoliosis Research Society, for which he served as President in 2005 and received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. He served on the boards of the American Paraplegia Society and American Spinal Injury Association. He received the A. Estin Comarr Memorial Award for Clinical Service from the American Paraplegia Society (2003) and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Spinal Injury Association (2009). He has coauthored 18 US patents for new methods and treatments for scoliosis, authored over 360 peer-reviewed articles and 70 chapters in medical textbooks, and given over 350 invited lectureships worldwide. He is married and has 4 children and  13 grandchildren. He feels blessed to share fishing, golf, skiing, and life in general with his family and many friends.

   

Marianne Holth Dybwad & Kristine Eide Sörland

Marianne Holth Dybwad is a physiotherapist educated in Scotland, with a Master’s degree in Medical Science and postgraduate studies in leadership. She is the CEO of the Sunnaas Foundation, a Norwegian NGO working for better lives after injury. The foundation acts as a bridge between healthcare, sports science, work, and active leisure after discharge from primary care. With more than 25 years of international experience in spinal cord injury rehabilitation, Dybwad introduced the Swedish model of Active Rehabilitation to Norway and established a national standard. Under her leadership, the foundation has expanded its activities and initiated several research collaborations. The Sunnaas Foundation is actively cooperating with leading research institutions in Norway and abroad to develop innovative solutions for rehabilitation and inclusion. Dybwad is also the driving force behind Active Rehabilitation International – a European network aiming to unite countries and experts in advancing peer-based rehabilitation models. She is a recognized speaker and advocate for inclusion, leadership, and innovation in healthcare.

Kristine Eide Sørland, graduated as a nurse in the spring of 2000. Prior to nursing school, she studied for a few years at the University of Oslo and also completed a degree in administration and management from Oslo University College. She has over 20 years of experience at Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital – mainly within spinal cord injury – working as a nurse, team coordinator, quality advisor, and for the past 10 years as department/unit manager in several different departments and units at the hospital. She has been a project manager at the Sunnaas Foundation for the past five years – and is now the Foundation’s project lead for the international SCI children’s camp planned for 2027.

Raymond P. Onders

Dr Raymond P. Onders is Professor of Surgery at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio.  He is honored with the Walter and Margaret Remen Chair of Surgical Innovation. Over the last 25 years, he has focused his research efforts on ways to help people breathe naturally using their own diaphragm. He has authored multiple publications and book chapters on the primary muscle of breathing –the diaphragm. Diaphragm pacing, electrical stimulation of the diaphragm muscle, is a technology aimed at either replacing or delaying the need for mechanical ventilation or maintaining and improving normal breathing.  One of his first research subjects was the late Christopher Reeve (Superman).   Diaphragm pacing technology was recognized as one of the most important medical innovations at the 6th Medical Innovation Summit in 2008.  His advancements in the technology of pacing the diaphragm have led to multiple patents. He co-founded the medical device company Synapse Biomedical which helped to bring this technology to patients. He has given invited lectures around the world and presented his research at numerous scientific meetings. He has helped spread this knowledge training surgeons to do the diaphragm pacing operation in over 35 countries which has helped countless patients worldwide.  His present research focuses on using diaphragm pacing to shorten the time to wean from a ventilator on all intensive care unit patients which is one of the largest health care expenditures in the United States. With the possibility of a shortage of ventilators early in the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked and obtained emergency use authorization by the FDA of the new temporary pacing system in April of 2020. This has led to multiple new applications for the use of temporary diaphragm pacing wires to decrease ventilator times significantly in high risk cardiac patients and lung transplant patients. He earned his M.D. at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in 1988, and he has received the Distinguished Alumni Award, its highest honor, for his work in advancing medicine. He received his surgical training at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine integrated with University Hospitals finishing in 1993. Dr. Onders joined the University Hospitals staff in 1997, following his service with the military where he was a Major in the United States Air Force.

Alex Rouse

Dr. Alex Rouse is a Consultant Physician and Lead of the Paediatric SCI service at the National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville. He holds an Honours BSc in Medical Sciences with Management, MB BS, MRCP (London), and a Diploma from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. His clinical expertise includes ventilation, acute care, perioperative medicine, and paediatric rehabilitation. Dr. Rouse has published on war-related spinal cord injuries and early warning scores. He is actively involved in service development, contributing to NICE guidelines, ISCoS committees and national reviews. Dr Rouse is clinical lead of the London SCI Network, combining clinical excellence with leadership in healthcare planning and policy.

Cristina Sadowsky

Dr. Sadowsky, Associate Professor in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, is Clinical Director of the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. The spinal cord injury center cares for both children and adults with spinal cord related paralysis and is built on the philosophy that functional restoration is activity dependent and can be best achieved through structured medico-rehabilitative interventions. She is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Spinal Cord Injury Medicine. Dr. Sadowsky serves as the chair of the Secondary Conditions in Spinal Cord Injuries subcommittee and is an active member of the Primary Care subcommittee at ASIA, is on the planning committee of the annual conference and served as co-chair of the Pediatric Rehabilitation Networking Group at ACRM. She is a Fellow of the AAPMR and a Diplomate of the AAP. She thoroughly enjoys mentoring individuals passionate for the care of individuals with disabilities. Dr. Sadowsky is licensed for telehealth in Virginia and Florida. 

Eimear Smith

Dr Eimear Smith, MB BCh BAO MSc MD FRCPI FFSEM Pg Dip. is currently Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine, National Rehabilitation & Mater Misericordiae University Hospitals, Dublin. Her clinical remit concerns patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic and non-traumatic, throughout the continuum of care from acute to community.Amongst the services which she has had a substantial role in developing over the past 12 years, are the following:

1. Management of the ventilator dependent spinal cord injured patient at the NRH – a collaboration between the NRH & MMUH critical care medicine
2. Specialist upper limb tendon transfer service for cervical level spinal cord injured patients – a collaboration between MMUH upper limb surgeons and NRH SCI rehabilitation team
3. Specialist paediatric SCI service: inpatient consultation service & out-patient clinic

Lawrence C. Vogel

Lawrence C. Vogel, M.D. was the Medical Director of the Spinal Cord Injury program at the Chicago Shriners Hospitals for Children from its inception in 1983 to 2017. Dr. Vogel is the Emeritus Chief of Pediatrics and is an active member of the medical staff at the Chicago Shriners Hospital. Dr. Vogel is a diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics and is certified in the Subspeciality of Spinal Cord Injury Medicine. Dr. Vogel is a Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at Rush Medical College. Dr. Vogel is Past President of the American Paraplegia Society and the American Spinal Injury Association and the former Chairman of the steering committee of the Consortium for Spinal Cord Medicine. Dr. Vogel is on the Board of Directors of the Steel Assembly, an affiliate of the American Spinal Injury Association.

Dr. Vogel has received the following honors: the James J. Peters Distinguished Service Award and Lectureship in 2013: the American Spinal Injury Association Life Time Achievement Award in 2016; the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, Pediatric Rehabilitation Award Lecture in 2016; the Estin Comarr Award for Distinguished Clinical Service in  2017; named a Fellow of the  American Spinal Injury Association in 2018,  the Jayanthi Lecturer, Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals in 2019, and the Leadership Award, Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals in 2024.

Kathy Zebracki

Kathy Zebracki, Ph.D. is Chief of Psychology at Shriners Children’s Chicago and an Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Zebracki is the Editor-in-Chief of Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation and an Associate Editor of Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 54 Pediatric Psychology and Division 22 Rehabilitation Psychology) and of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA). She serves on the Board of Directors of the Steel Assembly for Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury and Dysfunction and Co-Chair of the Paediatric Special Interest Group of the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) and formerly on the Boards of ASIA, the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine and the Illinois Spina Bifida Association. Dr. Zebracki is an active clinician, researcher, and educator. Her primary clinical interests are in the care of children and adolescents with physical disabilities and chronic health conditions. Her research focus is in the area of psychosocial and medical outcomes of youth with spinal cord dysfunctions, including spinal cord injury and spina bifida. She also serves as a clinical and research mentor for clinical psychology doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows. Dr. Zebracki has authored over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles, 18 book chapters, and over 200 presentations or posters at national and international meetings. Dr. Zebracki is a Co-Editor of the textbook: Spinal Cord Injury in the Child and Young Adult.

Anna Gunnerbeck

Anna Gunnerbeck MD, PhD, Associate Consultant in Pediatric Neurology, Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

Dr. Gunnerbeck leads the pediatric spinal cord injury rehabilitation team at Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital. She also serves as a board member of the National Council for Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation in Sweden.

Lisa Bondjers

Lisa Bondjers, MD, Consultant in Pediatric Neurology, Head of the Pediatric Neurology Center, Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. Dr. Bondjers is a board member of the National Council for Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation in Sweden.

 

Samuel Jansson and Elin Salmiranta

Samuel Jansson is a young adult who has lived with a spinal cord injury since the age of seven. His experiences shape his perspective on accessibility, inclusion, and what meaningful support means for children and their families.

His mother, Elin Salmiranta, is a PhD student at Jönköping University. With an IT and systems consulting background, Elin changed career direction after Samuel’s injury. Her research focuses on co-production and participatory approaches to improving care and support systems for families affected by pediatric spinal cord injuries.