Meet the Clinician - Neuroscience Edition

Overview: 

The "Meet the Clinician" series is a virtual forum where clinicians from various specialties and backgrounds speak on their "day in the life."

Clinicians will touch on their educational backgrounds, experiences, certifications, and more to help inform students and new graduates interested in their specialties.

Join the Canadian Physiotherapy Association for this Meet the Clinician episode, which is based on Neuromuscular Rehab and Neurosciences. It is part of the CPA virtual summit series.

Speakers:

Dr. Kim Dao - Assistant Professor at Tufts University

Kim Dao is an Assistant Professor with the Tufts University Doctor of Physical Therapy accelerated, hybrid program based in Phoenix, Arizona. She graduated with her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Duke University in 2006 and has been a American Physical Therapy Association Board-Certified Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy since 2009. She has over 16 years as a practising clinician in the acute, tertiary, and outpatient rehabilitation settings in both the United States and Alberta. In addition, she has spent over 12 years educating physical therapy students at the University of Alberta, and now Tufts University. Neurological rehabilitation has always fascinated her for its predictable unpredictability, unknown abilities to tap into neuroplasticity, and witnessing the successes of her patients as they recover. 

Sonia Vovan - PhD Student and Clinician

Sonia Vovan is a Registered Physiotherapist and Vestibular Therapist based in Toronto, Ontario.  She completed her MScPT at the University of Toronto and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at York University.  Her research focuses on sensorimotor changes following concussions in working-aged adults, specifically concerning visual and vestibular issues.  In addition to completing her graduate studies, Sonia works part-time in the private practice setting.  What she finds interesting about neuro rehab is that no two patients’ brain injuries are exactly the same due to the complexities of the brain; therefore, neuro rehab needs to be tailored to each individual and their specific goals.

Karla Andrews - Clinician

Karla Andrews is a physiotherapist practicing in Guelph, ON. She graduated in 1995 from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Medical Rehabilitation in Physiotherapy. She has worked in a variety of clinical environments and started her own private homecare practice, in 2012, called Andrews In-Home Physiotherapy. During the pandemic she became a casual employee at Guelph General Hospital. However, her passion is in home and community care. 

Karla loves the variability that working with individuals with neurological conditions brings to her practice.

Allison Smith - Clinician

Allison’s interest in neuroscience first led her to complete a Masters of Neuroscience and work as a Research Assistant in the PT department at the University of Alberta.  She completed her PT degree at the University of Alberta and has been working as a PT since January 2022. She began her PT career working on an acute care medicine unit and then switched to working with neurological populations in outpatient neuro, inpatient stroke, and inpatient spinal cord injury and general neurology at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital. One thing she finds interesting about neuro rehab is the complexity of assessing gait - it’s like solving a puzzle to understand how the nervous system is working.