PT Faculty Member Joanne Wagner Recieves Pilot Grant

Joanne Wagner, Ph.D., was featured in Newslink this morning for receiving a $43,686 grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to study the relationships between spinal cord injury and mobility problems. Read the article from Newslink below:

Joanne Wagner, Ph.D., assistant professor of physical therapy, has received a $43,686 pilot grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society. The goal of the project, titled "Neuropathogenesis of Impairments in Bilateral Coordination of Gait in Persons with MS," is to quantify walking asymmetry and coordination and examine the relationships between spinal cord injury, sensorimotor impairment, symmetry and coordination of walking, and mobility problems in persons with MS.       Wagner will lead a multi-disciplinary team of researchers, including Robert Naismth, M.D., Washington University School of Medicine and Meir Plotnik, Ph.D., Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel (motor control, novel gait analyses). This pilot project has direct implications in the development of clinical tools for the early detection of spinal cord injury-mediated walking problems and devising targeted therapies aimed at improving walking in persons with MS.                                                                                                                       About Doisy College of Health Sciences
Long a leader in educating health professionals, Saint Louis University offered its first degree in an allied health profession in 1929. Today the Doisy College of Health Sciences houses 17 diverse programs and offers health care education at the baccalaureate, master's, doctoral, and professional levels. The college supports the growth of research opportunities for students and faculty, and is committed to improving health care through research.