News & Media

The CU Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation celebrated its 37^th Annual Gersten Day Rehabilitation Scientific Symposium on Friday, June 14, 2024. The presentations provided valuable research, much of which has been submitted for peer-review, and other content to the attendees.

The morning started with presentations by the outgoing residents. Deanna Claus, MD, presented on the “Needs of Uninsured Patients with Rehabilitation Diagnoses During the Early COVID Pandemic.” Zachary Abbott, DO, presented on “Insomnia and Chronic Pain Mediate the Relationship Between TBI and PAP Adherence Among Veterans.” Lindsay Burke, MD, presented on “Pocket Pain Following Spinal Cord Stimulator Implantation: A Narrative Review.” Amanda Appel, MD, presented on “Etiology of Cerebral Palsy is Associated with Functional Outcomes at 6 Years of Age.” Ashton Fitzgerald, MD, presented on “Medical Conditions that Confer Elevated Suicide Risk in VHA Rehabilitation Patients.” Crystal Graff, MD, presented on “Mental Health Pathology as a Risk Factor for Bone Stress Injury in Collegiate Athletes.” Finally, Colton Malesovas, MD, presented on “Exploring Payer Denials in an Academic Procedure Clinic.” The residents will celebrate their graduation on Friday, June 21^st at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Following the residents were the presentations by the outgoing department's fellows. Jeremy Roberts, MD, presented on “Variables Associated with Days of School Missed Following Concussions: Results from The Sport Concussion Outcomes in Pediatrics (SCOPE) Study.” Danesh Ratnasingam, MD, and Amanda Appel, MD, co-presented on “Effect of Tendon Lengthening Procedures on Long Term Foot Positioning in Individuals with Dystrophinopathy.” Finally, Christina Draganich, DO, presented on “Predictive Modeling of Ambulatory Outcomes after Spinal Cord Injury using Machine Learning.”

Following the fellowship presentations was the presentations by the Rehabilitation Science PhD student. Katherine Smulligan, PT, DPT, PhD(c) presented on “Subsequent Injury Risk After Concussion: The Role of The Cervical Spine and Vestibular Oculomotor Systems.”

After the Rehabilitation Science PhD student presented her research, the department announced the recipients of the third annual PM&R Professionalism Awards during the networking lunch. CU PM&R was honored to bestow Drs. Dana Judd and William Niehaus with this recognition. These phenomenal faculty members were nominated by their colleagues for this honor. Additionally, Drs. Vera Staley and Scott Laker received the Golden Goniometer Faculty Teaching Award and Residency Program Director Service Award, respectively.

Finally, the department welcomed our keynote speaker Wendy Kohrt, PhD. Dr. Kohrt joined Gersten Day in-person, and is the Nancy Anschutz Chair in Women’s Health Research, Associate Director for the Center for Women’s Health Research, Director of Research for Geriatric Medicine, and Associate Director of Research for the VA Geriatric, Research, Education, and Clinical Center. Dr. Kohrt presented on “Catabolic (yes, catabolic…) Response of Bone to Exercise: Time to Reconsider Exercise Recommendations for Bone Health.”

The CU Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is grateful to Dr. Kohrt for taking the time to present her insights and expertise to our colleagues. The department is also grateful to all our residents, fellows, students, and faculty for the incredible research happening at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus that help advance the value of rehabilitation sciences.