Dr. Gilad Sorek is a physiotherapist, specializing in neurologic rehabilitation with over 15 years of clinical and research expertise. He received his PhD from the Department of Physical Therapy at Tel Aviv University, Israel. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at McGill University, Canada. His clinical practice and research focus on pediatric and neurologic rehabilitation following brain injury, with particular emphasis on motor control during gait, balance function, vestibular rehabilitation, and the autonomic nervous system.

Kylie Southwell is a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney, under the supervision of Professor Leanne Togher and Dr Melissa Brunner. Her research focuses on developing co-designed cognitive communication interventions for adolescents following a moderate-severe brain injury. Kylie is also the project manager of the icare Brain Injury Psychiatry Program (iBIPP) at the Brain and Mind Centre (USYD), and a research assistant in the Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Communication lab in the Faculty of Medicine and Health (USYD). She holds a Master of Speech Pathology degree from the University of Queensland (QLD), a Graduate Diploma of Science from the University of Southern Queensland and La Trobe University (QLD/VIC), and a Bachelor of Music from the Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University (QLD). Ky is passionate about co-designing tailored, motivating, and inclusive cognitive communication treatment programs and research methodologies in collaboration with people with lived experience of a brain injury.

Deidre Sperry has practiced as a Speech Language Pathologist for over 30 years. She is licensed to practice in both the provinces of Ontario and in Newfoundland Canada. She owns and operates private practices in both locations. She has been a Part Time Assistant Clinical Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University for the last 8 years. Together with colleagues, Deidre has published assessment tools, treatment tools and information programs in an effort to have people appreciate and respect the importance of communication in the real world. Deidre’s interest in participation-driven rehabilitation brought her to CONNECT Communities, where she can contribute to the lives of people living with Traumatic Brain Injury and Stroke.

Dr. Ansley Stanfill, Associate Dean of Research for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing, received a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience from Vanderbilt University, her BSN from Saint Louis University, her PhD from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, and her postdoctoral training in genomics from the University of Pittsburgh. She holds a joint appointment in the College of Medicine, Department of Genetics, Genomics, and Informatics, and in the UTHSC Neuroscience Institute. She has been funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research, the National Institute of Aging, the Department of Defense, and several professional societies for her work on long-term outcomes in neurological injury and disease. Dr. Stanfill has been published many times in basic science and clinical research journals and regularly presents her work at local, regional, national, and international conferences.

Dr Joanne Steel, PhD, is a certified practising speech-language pathologist (CPSP) and lecturer in adult neurogenic communication disability at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Joanne’s research interest is the assessment and management of cognitive and social communication disorders after traumatic brain injury (TBI) particularly for people with severe injury. Her PhD investigated cognitive communication assessment and recovery during post-traumatic amnesia (PTA). This work contributed to knowledge on early communication recovery, with the aim of helping speech-language pathologists plan services and to inform patients and families about communication recovery. Joanne’s recent work has focused on improving narrative discourse, or storytelling (e.g. anecdotes, recounting events) for people with TBI. Impairment in this ability, which is common after TBI, can have a negative impact on the person's relationships and employment. Joanne's research has examined innovative assessments and interventions for post-TBI narratives, to help people with TBI in their everyday social interactions.

Dr. Jaclyn Stephens is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science and an affiliate faculty member of the Molecular Cellular Integrative Neuroscience program at Colorado State University. She is trained as an occupational therapist and a cognitive neuroscientist. She began researching sports-related concussion as a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine within the Brain Injury Clinical Research Center at Kennedy Krieger Institute. As an early career scientist, she acquired two career development awards from the National Institutes of Health. Her current research is funded by the Boettcher Foundation and the Brain Injury Association of America. Dr. Stephens’ research uses neuroimaging tools - functional magnetic resonance imaging, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, and electroencephalography – along with behavioral assessments of cognitive, motor, and dual task performance to study sports-related concussion, chronic and repetitive concussion, and more severe forms of traumatic and acquired brain injury.

I am a Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of Psychology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), working with the Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory (CNL), the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) group, and the Norwegian Centre for Headache Research (NorHead).

My research focuses on developing and testing innovative mHealth solutions for people with persistent post-concussion symptoms. We aim to create accessible, personalized, evidence-based tools that help individuals with persistent post-concussion symptoms and their healthcare providers to better understand, manage, and treat this complex condition.

Tori Stranges is a PhD Candidate and Sessional Instructor in the faculty of Health and Social Development at the University of British Columbia. Tori’s research interests include health research funding trends, health care access, brain injury, and intimate partner violence in the 2S/LGBTQ+ community. Tori has a particular interest in how survivors access health and community care and health funding trends. Tori is an Institute of Community Engaged Research Scholar. She sits on the Scientific Advisory Panel for The GenWell Project and the Community- University Engagement Fund, is an affiliated researcher with the Institute for Social Connection, and a researcher with The Roundtable- BC’s LGBTQ2S Mental Health and Substance Use Networking Space. Tori is a Brock University alumni graduating from the inaugural year of the Masters of Professional Kinesiology program. Tori recently moved to the unceded, traditional territory of the Silyx Okanagan Nation where she continues to play an active role in her community advocating for social justice, and change.

Since 2001 she has been working at the IRCCS E. Medea – La Nostra Famiglia (Bosisio Parini, Italy). She is involved in the care and clinical management and rehabilitation of children and young adults who suffered head injury, brain tumor, postanoxic, vascular, and post-infectious events. As a specialist in rehabilitation, she follows the course from the subacute phase up to family, school or social re-entry. At IRCCS E. Medea, rehabilitation is provided on a need basis, according to the severity and complexity of the clinical picture, and is aimed at helping the patients achieving the highest possible level of recovery, independently of specific interventions. To this end, an early and integrated approach is taken.

Molly Sullan earned her doctorate degree in clinical psychology, with a specialization in neuropsychology, from the University of Florida. She completed her pre-doctoral internship and her two-year neuropsychology fellowship at the VA San Diego Healthcare System/University of California, San Diego. She is currently a clinical research neuropsychologist at the VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System. She is a co-investigator on multiple grants focusing on health-related outcomes following traumatic brain injury and military-related blast and environmental/toxic exposures. Clinically, she has experience in the assessment of a broad spectrum of neurological disorders as well as cognitive rehabilitation.

Dr. Grace Suttle is a New Jersey native who received her undergraduate education at Rutgers University. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Applied Kinesiology from the Rutgers University New Brunswick campus. Her academic pursuits continued at Rutgers, where she earned her medical degree from the New Jersey Medical School. Following medical school, Dr. Suttle completed her internship in Internal Medicine at the Morristown Medical Center. She then returned to Rutgers for residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at the Rutgers NJMS/Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation program.

Dr. Suttle's post-residency training includes a fellowship in Brain Injury Medicine at the Rutgers Health/Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation PM&R program. This highly specialized training enables her to provide comprehensive and full-spectrum care for individuals with brain injuries, helping them achieve optimal recovery and independence. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Suttle is committed to addressing disparities in care for individuals with brain injuries.

Manh-Tien Nguyen, a kinesiologist graduate from Université de Montréal in 2007, has been working since then in physical rehabilitation with different persons with stroke, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries and chronic pain. Since 2017, he has been working in an interdisciplinary program at the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et services sociaux du Centre-Sud de l’Île-de-Montréal offering specialized interventions for adults with traumatic brain injury. A fervent believer in rehabilitation interventions for improving social participation, he has played a key role in the development of a physical activity intervention to these individuals regain their autonomy. Since he joined the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal (CRIR) in 2019 as a clinician, he has been working with researchers to improve and document group based physical activity interventions he co-created to promote the social participation through physical activity as an effective and efficient strategy in TBI rehabilitation.

Dr. Tarwater is Professor and Department Head of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Texas A&M University. His research interests include traumatic brain injury and sleep, infectious disease epidemiology, biostatistical methods in comparative pathobiology, and environmental influences on child health outcomes. He has widely published in peer reviewed journals and has been an invited professor and lecturer both nationally and internationally.

Candace Tefertiller is the Executive Director of Research and Evaluation at Craig Hospital and the Helen Phillips Levin Endowed Chair of Research. Dr. Tefertiller is currently the Co-Project Director for the Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems and Co-Project Director for the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems at Craig. She is also an Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Colorado, Denver. Dr. Tefertiller has worked in the field of neurological rehabilitation since 2000 as both a clinician and a clinician scientist providing care to individuals with SCI and TBI while also engaged in research to investigate the interventions that maximize recovery after neurologic injury and disease. Dr. Tefertiller has focused much of her career on interventions, program development, and research promoting recovery after neurologic injury. Dr. Tefertiller is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and the Neurologic Section of APTA. She is Vice-Chair of the Education Committee of ASIA.

Candace Tefertiller is the Executive Director of Research and Evaluation at Craig Hospital and the Helen Phillips Levin Endowed Chair of Research. Dr. Tefertiller is currently the Co-Project Director for the Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems and Co-Project Director for the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems at Craig. She is also an Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Colorado, Denver. Dr. Tefertiller has worked in the field of neurological rehabilitation since 2000 as both a clinician and a clinician scientist providing care to individuals with SCI and TBI while also engaged in research to investigate the interventions that maximize recovery after neurologic injury and disease. Dr. Tefertiller has focused much of her career on interventions, program development, and research promoting recovery after neurologic injury. Dr. Tefertiller is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and the Neurologic Section of APTA. She is Vice-Chair of the Education Committee of ASIA.

Dr. Kristen Keech, OTD, OTR/L, CBIS is an occupational therapist working in the acute care setting. She assesses, treats, and advocates for individuals hospitalized with various medical and traumatic related injuries, alongside the interprofessional team, beginning in the intensive care unit.
Her area of expertise and passion is moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation with special interest in disorders of consciousness (DOC). Her scholarly concentration includes evidence-based practice, knowledge translation, implementation science, interprofessional collaboration, and process and quality improvement. Through her work, she developed a first of its kind, innovative, evidence-based care model to improve interprofessional care for individuals with DOC in the hospital setting. Her work has been published and shared at various national and international conferences. Beyond her primary role as an acute care OT, she is the sole occupational therapist on her state's Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Board and serves as adjunct instructor for the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program at Hawaii Pacific University. She remains active in research initiatives around disorders of consciousness through her participation in multiple professional associations.

Gabrielle Tétreault is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in neuropsychology at the Université du Québec à Montréal under the supervision of Dr. Marie-Julie Potvin, neuropsychologist. Gabrielle's research centers on concussion symptom disclosure, specifically examining the factors that may predict reporting behaviors to enhance concussion care and prevention. After initially focusing on university student-athletes, she is now expanding her work to an adolescent population practicing individual sports.

Jacqueline Theis, OD is Founder of Virginia Neuro-Optometry, a tertiary care subspecialty practice located at the Concussion Care Centre of Virginia that treats patients with vision problems from brain injury. She is residency trained in neuro-optometry, and has extensive clinical and research experience in oculomotor dysfunction. Dr Theis is a previous Assistant Clinical Professor at the UC Berkeley School of Optometry, and founding Chief of the UC Berkeley Sports Vision and Concussion Clinic. In addition to clinical practice, Dr Theis performs research in association with the New Jersey Institute of Technology and serves as a consultant to the US Department of Defense Vision Center of Excellence in regards to vision problems in brain injury. She is an international speaker and published author in the topics of visual dysfunction, photophobia, and double vision.

Dr. Jacqueline Theis OD, FAAO, FNAP is a practicing optometrist, clinical researcher, international lecturer and author. Residency-trained in binocular vision and neuro-optometry, she practices at Virginia Neuro-Optometry, a subspecialty practice located at the multi-disciplinary Concussion Care Centre of Virginia. She is a previous Assistant Clinical Professor and the Founder and Chief of the UC Berkeley Sports Vision and Concussion Clinic and currently serves as an Assistant Professor for the Uniformed Services University, School of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She has extensive clinical experience in post-traumatic brain injury and neurologic visual dysfunctions including neuropathic eye pain, neurologic dry eye, cranial nerve palsies, oculomotor dysfunction, photophobia, visual processing, and visuo-vestibular symptoms as well as neurologic dry eye. She serves as a member of the Intrepid Eye Society, the American Optometric Association Evidence Based Optometry and Vision Rehabilitation Committees and is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and the National Academies of Practice. She has been awarded the Young Optometrist of the Year award in both California in 2019 and Virginia in 2022, and UC Berkeley’s 40 under 40 in 2023.

Dr. Aurore Thibaut holds a master in physical therapy (2010) and a PhD in Medical Sciences (2015). She is currently the co-director of the Coma Science Group, GIGA-Consciousness, University of Liege. As a physical therapist her work focuses on neurorehabilitation for patients with brain injury. Dr Thibaut research mainly focus on non-invasive brain stimulation in patients who had suffered from a severe brain injury with the aim to improve brain plasticity and facilitate their recovery. She published more than 100 papers and is leading several clinical trials. She is also working with neuroimaging and electrophysiology to objectify brain plasticity linked to these novel therapeutic approaches. She recently started to study concussion and motor learning and currently coordinates several studies on this topic.

Jessica Timog holds a B.A. in Speech and Hearing Science from The Ohio State University. She is a 2nd year MA-SLP/PhD student at The Ohio State University in Speech and Hearing Science. Her research interests include effects, outcomes, and support for traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in children from minority and underrepresented populations as well as caregiver relationships for children with TBIs.

I am a PhD student at Northestern University in the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health since September of 2021. I have received my Master of Science degree as of March 2023, advancing to doctoral candidacy with an expected finish in Summer 2026. As a PhD candidate, my current research focuses on the bidirectional relationship between lifestyle factors, including sleep and exercise, and brain health in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and aging. My involvement in neuroscience research since 2019 has been instrumental in shaping my expertise in this domain. The focus of my doctoral thesis is to understand how lifestyle behaviors are affected in those affected by a TBI, and I have secured a one year fellowship to fund my research project. I have taken a leadership role in my lab serving as the lead graduate student in a clinical trial of exercise as an intervention in TBI, facilitating internal and external collaborations at both research and clinical sites, securing open access datasets to use within the lab, and serving as a graduate student mentor for numerous projects involving undergraduate and other graduate students.

Dr. Vincy Chan is an Assistant Scientist at the KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network. She is also an Assistant Professor (Status) at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto. She received her PhD in Rehabilitation Science and MPH in Epidemiology, both from the University of Toronto. The overall goal of her research program is to optimize long-term health, health service use, and health outcomes of individuals with traumatic brain injury using a lifespan perspective. Dr. Chan was the recipient of an Early Career Award from the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and a National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research Early Career Research Award from the United States National Institutes of Health.

Danielle Toccalino (she/her) completed her PhD at the Institute of Health, Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto exploring the intersections of intimate partner violence, brain injury, and mental health as it relates to access to and use of and experiences with healthcare and community services. Danielle is now a post-doctoral CIHR-IHSPR Health Systems Impact Fellow at Women’s College Hospital where she explores service access for trans and gender diverse survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault.

Professor Leanne Togher is a full Professor and recipient of their 4th NHMRC Fellowship (currently Investigator Grant Fellow Level 3) based at The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Professor Togher holds a PhD in the area of speech pathology, and is internationally recognised with more than 120 papers, 4 books and over 20 book chapters. She has attracted over AUD$38 million in external grant funding and was awarded the 2018 NHMRC Elizabeth Blackburn - Clinical Research Fellowship prize as the highest ranked female research fellow applicant in the field of Clinical Science and Medicine in the NHMRC Fellowships scheme.
Professor Togher’s communication treatments for people with brain injury and their families, carers, service providers and community agencies include TBI Express, TBI ConneCT and the Social Brain Toolkit. Professor Togher’s current research focuses on developing digital health solutions and technology, including virtual reality and online treatments to facilitate the treatment of cognitive communication disorders following acquired brain injury. She is Director of the Acquired Brain Injury Communication Lab at The University of Sydney. She is Director of the free online repository of speech pathology treatment literature, called speechBITE.
Professor Togher is Vice Chair of the International Brain Injury Association and Chair of Brain Injury Australia. They are the Director of the SOCCA SIG for IBIA. Professor Togher is Honorary Professor at City University, London, UK, Visiting Professor, Education University of Hong Kong, International Board Member, Journals Board of ASHA (USA), and Chair, Editorial Board for Brain Impairment.

Professor Leanne Togher is a full Professor and recipient of their 4th NHMRC Fellowship (currently Investigator Grant Fellow Level 3) based at The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Professor Togher holds a PhD in the area of speech pathology, and is internationally recognised with more than 120 papers, 4 books and over 20 book chapters. She has attracted over AUD$38 million in external grant funding and was awarded the 2018 NHMRC Elizabeth Blackburn - Clinical Research Fellowship prize as the highest ranked female research fellow applicant in the field of Clinical Science and Medicine in the NHMRC Fellowships scheme.
Professor Togher’s communication treatments for people with brain injury and their families, carers, service providers and community agencies include TBI Express, TBI ConneCT and the Social Brain Toolkit. Professor Togher’s current research focuses on developing digital health solutions and technology, including virtual reality and online treatments to facilitate the treatment of cognitive communication disorders following acquired brain injury. She is Director of the Acquired Brain Injury Communication Lab at The University of Sydney. She is Director of the free online repository of speech pathology treatment literature, called speechBITE.
Professor Togher is Vice Chair of the International Brain Injury Association and Chair of Brain Injury Australia. They are the Director of the SOCCA SIG for IBIA. Professor Togher is Honorary Professor at City University, London, UK, Visiting Professor, Education University of Hong Kong, International Board Member, Journals Board of ASHA (USA), and Chair, Editorial Board for Brain Impairment

Allie Tracey is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the Department of Kinesiology at Michigan State University, working under the mentorship of Tracey Covassin, PhD, ATC, FNATA, FNAK. She has several years of experience exploring variables that impact concussion recovery in high school and college-aged athlete populations. Her research focuses on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), particularly the psychological domains, both acutely post-concussion and throughout the recovery process. Allie has a special interest in high school and collegiate athletes and is dedicated to improving concussion management within these groups. She is also actively exploring the use of mobile technologies to remotely monitor post-concussion symptoms and HRQoL outcomes. In addition to her work at Michigan State, Allie serves as a research assistant with the Injury Prevention Center at the University of Michigan.

Laurence Trepanier obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Neuroscience, with a specialization in neuropsychology, in 2023 from the University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Psychology—Research and Intervention (Ph.D. R/I), with a specialization in Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Montreal, under the supervision of Dr. Elaine de Guise, a neuropsychologist. She is also a student member of the Centre of Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal (CRIR). Her research primarily focuses on traumatic brain injury, a subject she is further exploring in her doctoral thesis, thereby deepening her knowledge in the clinical application of neuropsychology. She has co-authored articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals such as Brain Injury and Frontiers in Psychiatry, and has presented her research at several congresses.

Dr. Rebecca Trossman is a postdoctoral fellow at KITE/Toronto Rehabilitation Institute supervised by Dr. Robin Green. Her research investigates neurocognitive outcomes following traumatic brain injury. She completed her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Waterloo.

Alyssa recently completed her BSc with a double major in Biology and Psychology at UBC. She is currently the research coordinator for the CEDAR Brain Injury Lab located in the GF Strong Rehabilitation Program. Under the supervision of Dr. Julia Schmidt, Alyssa’s research focuses on understanding and improving the life experiences of people with traumatic brain injuries. Her other areas of interest include understanding the intersection of traumatic brain injury, mental health, and substance use disorders.

Lyn Turkstra is a Professor and Assistant Dean for Speech-Language Pathology in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University, a member of the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, and a subject matter expert for the U.S. Department of Defense and Veterans Health Administration.

Dr. Turkstra is Professor of Rehabilitation Science and Assistant Dean for Speech-Language Pathology in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University. Her research and clinical focus are in cognitive-communication disorders after acquired brain injury. For the past 15 years, Dr. Turkstra has been a core member of the team that developed the RTSS; is co-author of a series of articles on the RTSS in research and clinical practice and also a cognitive rehabilitation text in which all treatments were specified using the RTSS; served as an RTSS expert on international guidelines for non-pharmacological interventions in dementia; and led three clinical trials designed using the RTSS.

Sarah Turner is an experienced health and social care professional with over 25 years of expertise spanning mental health, physical disabilities, learning disabilities, and marginalised communities. As the founder of Phoenix Training and Consultancy, Sarah has developed and delivered cutting-edge training and consultancy services, specialising in trauma-informed practice, acquired brain injury, domestic abuse, and mental health. Her career includes roles in social work, project management, and clinical support, where she has made significant contributions to policy development and service improvement, including implementing the Safe Wards model in psychiatric intensive care units and contributing to domestic abuse protection orders that consider acquired brain injury.
Sarah holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Health and Social Care Practice. She is passionate about advocacy, equality, diversity, and inclusion, with a focus on driving policy change and improving service delivery across various sectors. Sarah has also published on the intersection of brain injury and domestic abuse, contributing to the growing body of research that informs national policy discussions. Her work continues to influence both grassroots initiatives and high-level strategic reforms aimed at improving outcomes for vulnerable individuals.

Dr. Uswatte’s training is in clinical psychology with specialization in the rehabilitation of neurological disorders. He is Professor of Psychology and Physical Therapy at UAB and Director of the CI Therapy Research Group there. Uswatte, along with Edward Taub, PhD, and Karlene Ball, PhD, directed the development and testing of Constraint-Induced Cognitive Therapy (CICT), which will be the subject of his presentation. Uswatte earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in economics from Princeton University and a doctorate in psychology from UAB. He has developed objective methods for remotely monitoring the effect of rehabilitation treatments on how much patients actually use their impaired extremities at home. In collaboration with Taub, he developed an expanded form of CI Therapy for individuals with plegic hands and a method for delivering CI Therapy on a telerehabilitation basis. Also with Taub, Uswatte discovered that efficacious physical rehabilitation in adults with chronic, post-stroke, upper-extremity hemiparesis results in remodeling of CNS structures that control movement of the more-affected arm. Uswatte’s contributions have been recognized by the Division of Rehabilitation Psychology of the American Psychological Association with the Mitchell Rosenthal Early Career Research Award in 2008, selection to Fellow status in 2011, election to President in 2013, and the Roger Barker Distinguished Research Contribution Award in 2020.

Lars-Johan V. Valaas is a Phd-fellow at Oslo University Hospital and Oslo University. He has his been working within clinical physiotherapy, rehabilitation manager and clinical studies the past 12 years.

Dr. Valera is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and a Research Scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital. As a pioneer in the field, Dr. Valera’s research is groundbreaking with her studies being among the first to look at the prevalence of brain injury, and its association with cognitive and psychiatric difficulties in women who had experienced intimate partner violence. She was also the first to use neuroimaging to investigate the effects of partner inflicted brain injury on neural connectivity and cognitive function in these women. She was awarded the prestigious Robert D. Voogt Founders Award from the North American Brain Injury Society as well as the inaugural Women Making History Award from Safe Living Spaces. In addition to her many publications and speaking engagements to the academic world nationally and internationally, Dr. Valera has translated her research on the effects of these often-overlooked brain injuries into education and training for police officers, judges, ER clinicians, domestic violence advocates, and others who work with women in the aftermath of violence. She is truly passionate about making change in this area, and raising awareness about this global public health crisis.

Dr. Valera is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and a Research Scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital. As a pioneer in the field, Dr. Valera’s research is groundbreaking with her studies being among the first to look at the prevalence of brain injury, and its association with cognitive and psychiatric difficulties in women who had experienced intimate partner violence. She was also the first to use neuroimaging to investigate the effects of partner inflicted brain injury on neural connectivity and cognitive function in these women. She was awarded the prestigious Robert D. Voogt Founders Award from the North American Brain Injury Society as well as the inaugural Women Making History Award from Safe Living Spaces. In addition to her many publications and speaking engagements to the academic world nationally and internationally, Dr. Valera has translated her research on the effects of these often-overlooked brain injuries into education and training for police officers, judges, ER clinicians, domestic violence advocates, and others who work with women in the aftermath of violence. She is truly passionate about making change in this area, and raising awareness about this global public health crisis.

Willemijn van Erp (MD, PhD) has specialized both as a clinician and a scientist in the most serious outcomes of acquired brain injury. She completed her medical specialization in 2018 and obtained her PhD at the universities of Nijmegen, the Netherlands (prof.dr. Koopmans) and Liège, Belgium (prof.dr. Laureys) in 2020. Van Erp coordinates the nationally operative mobile team of experts that provide on-site diagnostic and therapeutic advice for patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness, doing 50% of consultations herself, from ICU to home and in hospice care. She has set up and leads one of the 3 specialized wards for prolonged intensive neurorehabilitation in the Netherlands. In October 2024, she was appointed associate professor at the Radboud University Medical Center.

Drs. Kluiving is a physician-researcher specializing in elderly care medicine at the Vrije Universiteit Medical Center in Amsterdam and Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Drs. Kluiving started her career as a student-athlete at the University of Oregon, United States. She completed two majors, Human Physiology and General Science with a focus in neuroscience. Medical school was attended at Utrecht University, which placed a significant emphasis on research. After conducting research on tuberous sclerosis complex, Drs. Kluiving has now shifted her focus to patients with acquired brain injury. In her PhD, titled "Life Goes On," she will examine the well-being of patients with acquired brain injury and how this relates to neuropsychiatric symptoms. Additionally, she will investigate their needs for intimacy and attachment. The goal of her research, which takes place at Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, is to improve the care for individuals with acquired brain injury.

Tarandeep Singh Mandahar is a Biomedical Engineer with a Master's in Cognitive Systems and Interactive Media and a strong background in Computational Neuroscience. My current research studies brain dynamics in Disorders of Consciousness. EXPERIENCE: PhD / Computational Neuroscience (Donders Center for Neuroscience, Nijmegen, Netherlands) (2023-2027). This research aims to study the extent to which different states of unconsciousness recruit common neural pathways. Main methodology: whole-brain modeling, specifically Neural Mass Models, to study the perturbations in excitatory-inhibitory balance, caused by different etiologies leading to DoC (disorders of consciousness) and also anesthetics leading to a behaviorally transient unresponsive state. Present work includes the collection of electrophysiological data from patients suffering from DoC and the implementation of a thalamocortical Neural
Mass Model. Master’s Thesis / Artificial Intelligence (UPF, Barcelona, Spain). (January-September, 2022)
Evaluation of the performance of the state-of-the-art autoencoders (e.g., Convolutional Variational) in 3D Image
data compression, through an Animal-Ai environment and a Sequential Episodic Reinforcement Learning Agent.
Statistical Analysis, Python (TensorFlow and PyTorch).
 Bachelor’s Thesis / Stroke Rehabilitation (g.tec, Barcelona, Spain) (May-July, 2021) Study of the effect of valence and arousal, through music, on the performance of a BCI (brain-computer interface) for rehabilitation of stroke patients. Motor Imagery, Event-Related Potentials (e.g., P300), Statistical Analysis, OpenBCI, recoveriX-PRO, MATLAB. EDUCATION
 Master in CSIM / UPF (Barcelona, Spain) (2021-2022)
Cognitive Systems, Neuroscience, Autonomous Systems, and Reinforcement Learning.
 Biomedical Engineering / UVic (Vic, Spain) (2017-2021

Dr. Kate Bartley is a registered Psychologist with the College of Psychologists of Ontario, with specializations in the practice of Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology with adults and older adults. She completed her Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology, with professional focus in Neuropsychology and Behavioral Health, at the Florida Institute of Technology. Dr. Bartley subsequently completed her residency in Clinical Neuropsychology at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), where she continues to be employed as part of HHS' Acquired Brain Injury Program (ABIP). Specifically, Dr. Bartley is the Clinical Neuropsychologist of the ABIP's Neurobehavioral Inpatient Unit, where her role includes completing neuropsychological assessments that guide treatment and discharge planning for individuals with acquired brain injuries (ABIs), as well as providing group and individual psychological interventions that aid patients in reclaiming function and enhancing their quality of life. Dr. Bartley has an ongoing commitment to research and, specifically, is involved in researching the effectiveness of interventions and programs aimed at improving the cognitive, physical, and/or emotional functioning of individuals with ABIs. Outside of her professional commitments, Dr. Bartley is an advocate for an active and adventurous lifestyle and has a deep appreciation for the outdoors. She finds joy and rejuvenation in activities such as hiking mountains, running, biking, and backcountry camping (much to her partner's dismay). She is also a huge proponent of laughter, recognizing its significance in promoting mental health and well-being.

Ms. Veilleux, holder of a bachelor’s degree in psychology, is currently pursuing her first year of a master’s degree in Rehabilitation Sciences at Laval University. Her research interests primarily focus on the social integration of individuals with disabilities, the aging population, neurocognitive disorders, and intergenerational relationships. After working with various mental health clientele ranging from early childhood to elderly populations, she is currently involved with a population living with traumatic brain injuries in the research laboratory of Professor Samuel Turcotte, Ph.D., and Professor Marie-Christine Ouellet, Ph.D.

After finishing her medical school in 2016, Carmen Verhoeks started working as a psychiatry resident. As part of her training program, she worked at the Excellence Center for Brain Injury and Neuropsychiatry as a clincian, which sparked her interest in the neuropsychiatric consequences of brain injury. In addition to her clinical activites, she started her PhD-trajectory in January 2020. As a clinician-scientist, a significant portion of her focus is dedicated to exploring and improving diagnostic and treatment options for neuropsychiatric consequences of brain injury.

Marie Vitello is a Clinical Neuropsychologist and PhD candidate at the Coma Science Group in Liège, Belgium, currently in the final stages of her doctoral research. Her work is dedicated to advancing treatment options for patients with severe brain injuries, particularly those with disorders of consciousness following a coma. Marie’s research focuses on investigating the clinical efficacy and neurophysiological mechanisms of innovative, non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, including Transauricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (taVNS) and repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS). To support her research, she employs behavioral assessments, high-density electroencephalography (hd-EEG), and TMS-EEG (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation coupled with EEG).

Olivia Vruwink, MS CCC-SLP, is a PhD student in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include the role of care partners in traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation, myths and misconceptions about TBI, and teaching and learning in the field of communication sciences and disorders.

William C. Walker, MD, is the Ernst and Helga Prosser Professor and Executive Vice Chairperson in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, Virginia. Dr Walker is board-certified in PM&R with over 35 years of experience performing clinical care and clinical research in persons with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and other neurologic disorders. His research interests include TBI outcomes, concussion assessment, post-traumatic headaches, pain, and other comorbidities.
Dr. Walker has published well over 140 peer reviewed original research manuscripts, garnered multiple researcher awards, and won multiple federal research grants. His research leadership positions include Study Chairman for the Long-Term Impact of Military-Relevant Brain Injury Consortium (LIMBIC) multicenter prospective longitudinal study (PLS) of U.S. military personnel and Veterans with combat exposure and long-standing VCU site Medical Director and Investigator on the NIDILRR funded TBI-Model Systems of Care.
Dr. Walker also remains active as a clinician and strives to provide a holistic, patient-centered care for persons with brain injuries at the VCU Health System outpatient clinics and collaborating inpatient rehabilitation facility (Sheltering Arms Institute, A collaboration with VCU Health).

Tracey Wallace, MS, CCC-SLP, FACRM is a Speech-Language Pathologist and Clinical Research Scientist with over 20 years experience helping people with brain injury maximize participation at home, work, school, and in their community. Tracey currently serves as Therapy Manager and Projects Coordinator for the Complex Concussion Clinic and SHARE Military Initiative programs at Shepherd Center, where she oversees therapy operations, program development efforts, and research initiatives. As Associate Director for the Mild TBI Brain Health & Recovery Lab her research interests are centered around optimizing rehabilitation outcomes with focus on cognitive-communication and community integration, enhancing person-centered practices in rehabilitation, and development of accessible and efficacious rehabilitation interventions and technologies for people with traumatic brain injury.

Dr. Walter is a Research Associate in the Department of Neurology at University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

Rachel Watson is a current first year combined PhD/MPT student at the University of Western Ontario where she also completed her Bachelor of Science with an honours specialization in Kinesiology in May 2024.

Elizabeth Waye is a second-year master's candidate at the University of Toronto Institute of Medical Science. Her research is focused on neuroimaging of sports-related concussions. More specifically, the functional correlates of emotional distress-related symptoms that arise following concussion.