The 22nd annual Rehabilitation Institute Research Day will be held on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026 at UPMC Mercy Pavilion. The event is co-sponsored by the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation School of Medicine, the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute.
We are excited to host the following distinguished keynote speakers:
Brenes Lecture — Dr. Walter Koroshetz (Immediate past Director, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health) presenting “Thoughts on new ways to improve function after injuries to the nervous system”
SHRS Lecture — Dr. Julius Fridriksson (Vice President for Research, SmartState, Endowed Chair of Memory and Brain Function, USC Health Sciences Distinguished Professor, University of South Carolina) presenting “Rethinking aphasia severity and treatment outcome through brain health”
Earn Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits while engaging with leading experts in the field! We are pleased to announce that attendees can earn two CME credits by attending Rehabilitation Institute Research Day this year. More information will be provided about claiming these credits.
The UPMC Rehabilitation Institute Research Day is supported by the valued contributions of Dr. Corina Bondi of the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Dr. Michael Walsh Dickey of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Communication Science & Disorders.
Abstracts will be accepted in the following categories:
• Staff
• Resident
• Post-doc
• Pre-doc/Master’s
• Medical Student
• Undergraduate
The abstract winner in each category will receive a $250 prize and will be selected for a 15-minute oral presentation. All other abstracts will be invited to compete as poster presentations for $50 awards for each trainee category. Case studies will be accepted as posters but will not be considered for awards.
- 2026 Agenda
8:15-8:30am Registration
BreakfastMercy Pavilion, 4th Floor Atrium 8:30-8:35am Welcome Mercy Pavilion, Room 4.221A&B 8:40-9:40am Brenes Lecture Mercy Pavilion, Room 4.221A&B 9:45-10:45am SHRS Lecture Mercy Pavilion, Room 4.221A&B 10:45-12:15pm Poster Session Mercy Pavilion, 4th Floor Atrium 12:15pm Lunch Mercy Pavilion, Room 4.221A&B 1:00-2:00pm
½ hour eachRI Pilot Awardees Presentation Mercy Pavilion, Room 4.221A&B
2:00-2:15pm
2:15-2:30pm
2:30-2:45pm
2:45-3:00pm
3:00-3:15pm
3:15-3:30pmBest Rehabilitation Research
Resident
Post-doc
Pre-doc/Master’s
Medical Student
Undergrad
StaffMercy Pavilion, Room 4.221A&B 3:30pm Poster awards
RI Pilot WinnerMercy Pavilion, Room 4.221A&B 3:45pm Conference adjournment Mercy Pavilion, Room 4.221A&B - CME
In support of improving patient care, the University of Pittsburgh is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medial Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Physician (CME): The University of Pittsburgh designates this live activity for a maximum of 2 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Other Healthcare Professionals: Other health care professionals will receive a certificate of attendance confirming the number of contact hours commensurate with the extent of participation in this activity.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: All individuals in a position to control the content of this education activity have disclosed all financial relationships with any companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. All of the relevant financial relationships for the individuals listed below have been mitigated.
No other members of the planning committee, speakers, presenters, authors, content reviewers and/or anyone else in a position to control the content of this education activity have relevant financial relationships with any companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
Disclaimer Statement: The information presented at this CME program represents the views and opinions of the individual presenters, and does not constitute the opinion or endorsement of, or promotion by, the UPMC Center for Continuing Education in the Health Sciences, UPMC / University of Pittsburgh Medical Center or Affiliates and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Reasonable efforts have been taken intending for educational subject matter to be presented in a balanced, unbiased fashion and in compliance with regulatory requirements. However, each program attendee must always use his/her own personal and professional judgment when considering further application of this information, particularly as it may relate to patient diagnostic or treatment decisions including, without limitation, FDA-approved uses and any off-label uses.
- 2025 Annual Research Day Awardees
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2025 Rehabilitation Institute Pilot Award Program and the 21st Annual Rehabilitation Institute Research Day best research and poster session winners!
Full list of awardees- 2024 Annual Research Day Awardees
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2024 Rehabilitation Institute Pilot Award Program and the 20th Annual Rehabilitation Institute Research Day best research and poster session winners!
2024-2025 RI Pilot Awardees:
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Recipient: Dr. Bailey Petersen, "Physical activity and BDNF in neurobehavioral recovery from pediatric TBI"
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Recipient: Dr. Samannaaz S. Khoja, "Improving primary care for LBP patients: Task-shifting management to specialty trained advanced practice providers"
The RI Day best research awardees were:
Non-Trainee/Staff: Randy Huzinec graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a BS in physical therapy. He served as a physical therapist at the Rehabilitation Institute of Pittsburgh and UPMC from 1988 until 2024. Randy currently serves as the associate director of clinical services for the Smart Tech for Paralysis program at the University of Pittsburgh's Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Resident: Christopher Como is an Orthopaedic Surgery Resident who hopes to match into a competitive sports medicine fellowship program and pursue an academic career. His research positions include work with the Pitt Biodynamics Lab, Ferguson Lab, and Orland Bethel Family Musculoskeletal Research Center.
Post-doctoral Fellow: I Made Agus Setiawan recently completed a doctorate in Rehabilitation Science, with a concentration in Health Informatics. Agus has joined the Department of Health Informatics as a Research Scientist, where he continues to utilize his expertise in utilizing technology to improve healthcare outcomes. Committed to bridging the gap between research and practical applications, Agus's career goal is to advance rehabilitation science through innovative informatics solutions.
Pre-doctoral/Master’s Student: Valerio Tonelli Enrico, PT, MSCE, is a Rehabilitation Scientist and Physical Therapist clinician specializing in systemic contributors to complex pain. Currently a PhD candidate, Valerio is involved in cutting-edge research that explores multi-omics contributions to chronic low back pain.
Medical Student: Mihaela Toader is pursuing a degree for Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) at LECOM Medical School and hopes to practice medicine as a PM&R and Sports physician.
Undergraduate: Vritika Patel is a recent spring graduate from Pitt with a BS in Psychology and Anthropology. She is an incoming research tech for Dr. Wagner's lab and a milieu therapist at WPIC, planning on pursuing a career in clinical psychology.
The RI Day poster session awardees were:
Non-Trainee/Staff: Brian Dekleva, "Using transient, modality-specific neural responses to enhance decoding for brain-machine interfaces"
Resident: Katy Stauffer, "3D Printing and Prosthetics: The Current State-of-the-Art and Future Directions"
Post-Doctoral Fellow: Mariana Pacheco Busquets, "Implementation of the Functional Mobility Assessment (FMA) outcomes registry within the Center for Assistive Technology (CAT)"
Pre-doctoral/Master’s Student: Evan Feigel, "Continuous Monitorization of Physiologic Mediators of Allostasis Indicate Overuse Injury Risk in Marine Officer Candidates
Medical Student: Lily Tang, "Motor Thalamus DBS for Immediate and Long-term Motor Function Improvement Post-TBI"
Undergraduate: Nicholas Genkinger, "Pharmacological and neurorehabilitation effects on cholinergic transmission and complex attention after controlled cortical impact injury in male and female rates"
Thank you to all who submitted proposals and abstracts, as well as to those who reviewed submissions!
A special thanks to our planning committee members: faculty – Drs. Brad Dicianno, Beth Skidmore, Corina Bondi, and Rachel Hibbs; and staff – Jessa Darwin, Selena Crawford, and Kelsey Shrader.