*Annulé* – Neurophysiology Guiding Rehabilitation after Spinal Cord Injury

Monica Perez, PhD, Scientific Chair of the Arms + Hands Lab at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University, and a Research Scientist at the Edward Jr. Hines VA Hospital

She has studied neural mechanisms contributing to the control of voluntary movement in healthy humans and in people with spinal cord injury for over 15 years. Her research aims to understanding how the brain and spinal cord contribute to the control of movement with the ultimate goal of using this mechanistic information to develop more effective rehabilitation therapies for people with spinal cord injury. This theme is mainly investigated from a neurophysiological point of view, using a combination of transcranial magnetic stimulation, magnetic resonance imaging, and electrical stimulation techniques. Dr. Perez has been continuously funded by NINDS for the last 15 years. She is a full member of the NIH Motor Function, Speech, and Rehabilitation Study Section (MFSR) at NIH, Associate Editor for the Journal of Neurophysiology; Neurorehabilitation & Neural Repair; Motor Control. She received the Outstanding Neurorehabilitation Clinician Scientist (ONCS) Award by the American Society of Neurorehabilitation in 2017. She has mentored over 15 postdoctoral fellows and many of them have transitioned to independent faculty positions.