After more than three decades of dedicated service to the University of Colorado Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (CU PM&R), Dr. Michael Blei, Associate Professor, will officially retire on July 1, 2025. His career has been defined by clinical excellence, visionary leadership, and a deep commitment to patient care, education, and mentorship.
The CU Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation celebrated it's 38th Annual Gersten Day Rehabilitation Scientific Symposium. Attendees heard presentations from our outgoing residents, fellows, and current Rehabilitation Science PhD student, and our keynote speakers Pamela Wilson, MD and Michael Blei, MD.
Derek Stokes, MD, Assistant Professor and Sports Medicine Physician in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and Alice Barnes, PT, DPT, SCS, Associated Faculty member in the Physical Therapy Program, were featured in this CU Anschutz Today article on the rising use of steroids and the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs.
Six percent of the population are still feeling the effects of COVID-19 long after infection. William Niehaus, MD, Associate Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, was featured in this CU Medicine article on how PM&R can help manage long COVID symptoms and support recovery.
Wendy Pierce, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Practice in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, was featured in this Fox21 story on the Angelman Syndrome Clinic at Children's Hospital Colorado.
Kristin Uhler, PhD, Associate Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, is researching how an infant’s ability to hear the differences between two speech sounds impacts language outcomes. Her work shines light on how language develops and may inform future interventions to address the challenges children with hearing differences face.
Amy McDevitt, PT, DPT, PhD, OCS, FAAOMPT, Associate Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, was featured in Episode 64 of the The Tactile Traveler podcast on NPR, where she discussed proper standing techniques particularly for blind and low-vision people.
Dr. Cory Christiansen, Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and team, were featured in this CU Anschutz article for the SPARX3 randomized clinical trial which seeks to lessen the hold of Parkinson's Disease for patients.
William "Bill" Niehaus, MD wanted to become a doctor after experiencing his own health challenges in high school. Always interested in science, puzzles and helping people, Dr. Niehaus knew medicine would be in his future. As a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor, Dr. Niehaus enjoys helping patients regain pieces of their life they may have lost due to injury or illness.
Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley, PT, PhD, FAPTA, Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, was featured in this CU Anschutz Today article about knee replacement surgery and recovery.
Drs. Jason Friedrich and Kristina Barber discuss their recent SpineLine article, "Cervicogenic Headache: Bad Referral or Appropriate For Your Spine Clinic?' with moderator Jayesh Vallabh of the North American Spine Society podcast.
Last Friday, March 28, 2025, marked the official launch of the HOPE (Holistic Oncology Pain Evaluation) Clinic, a multidisciplinary complex cancer pain clinic. This initiative, spearheaded by Dr. Franchesca König, Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and team, has been in development for the past 1.5 years and is now ready to provide much-needed support to patients struggling with cancer-related pain.
CU PM&R spotlights our incoming Chief Resident Dr. David Gallacher. Learn more about his journey to Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, time within our residency program, and goals as Chief Resident.
Dr. Robin Peterson, Associate Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, was featured in the Educational Diagnosticians podcast. She is one of the authors of "Diagnosing Learning Disorders: From Science to Practice." This group of researchers proposed a Multi-Deficit Model of learning disabilities, and their research influenced the way we think about Dyslexia.
CU PM&R spotlights our incoming Chief Resident Dr. Emma Drenth. Learn more about her journey to Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, time within our residency program, and goals as Chief Resident.
Dr. Cristina Sarmiento, Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, was featured in the Complex Care Journal Club Podcast, where she discusses a qualitative study exploring experiences of young adults with cerebral palsy and their caregivers with transition to adult care. She describes the major barriers and facilitators to transition, challenges and opportunities related to conducting the study, implications for practice, and next steps from this work.
CU PM&R spotlights our incoming Chief Resident Dr. Samantha Koerber. Learn more about her journey to Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, time within our residency program, and goals as Chief Resident.
Dr. Michael Harris-Love is the 2024 winner of the Northern Arizona University College of Health and Human Services President’s Alumni Award. Get to know him, his pathway to becoming a physical therapist, and what it means to him to be recognized with this award.