Aaron is a Physiotherapy Resident who possesses an enthusiastic interest in neuro-restorative therapy and a dedication to fostering innovation in the field. Aaron earned his Bachelor of Kinesiology with Honours from Brock University in 2021 as a distinguished member of the graduating class. During his tenure at Brock, Aaron played a pivotal role as a lead volunteer at the Power Cord exercise program—an inclusive exercise program catering to individuals with Spinal Cord Injury, Multiple Sclerosis, and Lower Leg Amputations. This experience exposed Aaron to the intricacies of exercise programming and adaptation for those with neurological conditions, igniting his passion for specialized care.
Following the successful completion of his undergraduate studies, Aaron pursued a Master's in Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto, graduating with the Class of 2023. This advanced degree allowed Aaron to conduct research pertaining to neuro-rehabilitation and further honed his skills and expertise in the realm of physical therapy.
In the community, Aaron leads a workshop educating members of the Spinal Cord Injury Ontario Community about the importance of physical activity post-spinal cord injury. Additionally, Aaron is a founder of a virtual barrier-reduced physiotherapy program tailored for individuals living with spinal cord injuries and those who've experienced a stroke.
Within the dynamic KITE Clinics team, Aaron holds a multifaceted role as a clinician, research therapist, and contributes to the development and implementation of new innovative projects and initiatives.
Parvin is an Occupational Therapist by training and holds the position of Affiliate Scientist at the KITE Research Institute and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. With a career spanning since 2001, Parvin specializes in neuro-rehabilitation, focusing on conditions such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and acquired brain injury. Her expertise lies in the application of advanced, evidence-based interventions aimed at treating and managing spasticity, with a primary goal of restoring function and improving the overall quality of life for her patients.
In addition to her clinical practice, Parvin's current research endeavours align with a patient and family goal-based intervention approach, utilizing the ICF model. Her research interests extend to neuromodulation techniques such as sEMG and NMES/FES, integrated with traditional rehabilitation modalities like exercise, and splinting/serial casting. Her focus is particularly on individuals with upper limb paralysis or nerve transplant following a stroke or spinal cord injury.
Parvin actively contributes to the peripheral nerve transplant team and serves as a research therapist in the Upper Extremity Neuro Restorative and Innovations Lab at Lyndhurst Centre. Her multifaceted role reflects her dedication to bridging the gap between research and clinical practice, ultimately contributing to advancements in neuro-rehabilitation and improving outcomes for individuals facing these complex conditions.
Alysha is an Occupational Therapist driven by a passion for both psychological research and therapeutic intervention. She is a graduate from the University of Alberta, where she earned her Bachelor of Science, specializing in Psychology. Following her undergrad, Alysha pursued a Master's degree in Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto, graduating in 2021.
Alysha's professional journey started as an Occupational Therapist at Toronto Rehab in the Inpatient Brain Injury Rehab Program, where she specialized in stroke, neurocognitive, and neuro physical services. Her work extends to the Inpatient Musculoskeletal and Multisystem Rehab Program, where she addresses the unique needs of patients dealing with transplants, oncology, orthopedic injuries, and geriatrics.
In her addition to her work at KITE Clinics, Alysha serves as an Occupational Therapist in the Community Rehabilitation & Psychological Trauma Program at CBI Health. Here, she continues to apply her expertise in helping individuals overcome psychological trauma and promoting rehabilitation in the community setting.
Jaclyn is an Occupational Therapist with extensive clinical experience working in neuro-rehabilitation. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 2002 with a BSc in Occupational Therapy, after which she worked in several community and clinic-based settings, providing OT services to both children and adults with a range of developmental, neurological, and physical issues.
As of 2015, Jaclyn embarked on more research-based endeavours, as she began investigating the use of outcome measures and treatment interventions (e.g Functional Electrical Stimulation) for children affected by early strokes and cerebral palsy, as part of her Master’s study, and clinical research coordination work under Dr. Kristin Musselman, PT, at Toronto Rehab and the University of Toronto.
Since that time, Jaclyn’s clinical work has encompassed the assessment and treatment of adult individuals with neurological issues such as stroke, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury, with the application of various neuro-modulation techniques – and continues to be informed by current evidence-based research on these interventions. Her current work at KITE clinics allows Jaclyn to also contribute to ongoing clinical research for these populations, as a treating therapist on many KITE scientist-led studies investigating novel forms of neuro-rehabilitation.
Jaclyn is also active in OT education pursuits, and has previously been a Teaching Assistant for over 5 years in the Dept of OT at U of T. Currently, she holds a Status Appointment in the Faculty of OS & OT, and she contributes to ongoing education of OT students as a lab facilitator and preceptor. She is also passionate about engaging in OT-related education and the facilitation of rehabilitation outcomes for patients outside of UHN and U of T, as a contributing member of NepalAbility – an organization through which she has begun to provide education and resource support to clinicians at rehabilitation hospitals working in developing areas of Nepal over the past year.
Philemon (Phil) Tsang is a Clinician-Scientist committed to elevating patient care through evidence-informed practice. Currently, Philemon is a part-time postdoctoral researcher at the KITE’s NET Team, focusing on cutting-edge spinal cord rehabilitation research. Alongside this, he serves as an Orthopedic Advanced Practice Physiotherapist, leveraging his expertise to provide high-level orthopedic care. His diverse experiences, from working with individuals experiencing homelessness to teaching and collaborating as a course instructor, clinical associate and clinical instructor, showcase his dedication to bridging the gap between research, clinical education and practice in physiotherapy.
Wenky is a Physiotherapist at KITE Innovations and Rehabilitation Clinics at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. In this role, she works with people living with neurological conditions and is involved in rehabilitation research for people following stroke and people following spinal cord injury. Wenky is dedicated to helping people explore their potential and improve their health and wellbeing. She is especially interested in the application of discoveries in research to clinical practice.
She has worked in the areas of stroke rehabilitation, spinal cord injury rehabilitation, sports and orthopaedic physiotherapy, amputee rehabilitation, and pelvic health physiotherapy. Wenky received her Master of Science in Physiotherapy at Dalhousie University and her Bachelor of Science Honours Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo.
Dr. Sukhvinder Kalsi-Ryan is a Clinician Scientist in the field of neurological rehabilitation with a special interest in upper limb assessment, recovery, neuro-restoration and spine pathology at KITE Research Institute-UHN, and is also Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, Department of Physical Therapy. Her research is oriented to establishing methods to quantify neurological change after injury and studying neuro-restorative methods to enhance and optimize function for those with neurological impairment. She is an extramurally funded mid-career scientist with a passion to contribute to the transformation of rehabilitation.
From a young age, Elina has been fascinated by the human body’s ability to adapt and react, and was intrigued by the concept of exercise as medicine. This led her to complete her Master of Science in Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto, following the successful completion of her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology at McMaster University, determined to pursue a career in physiotherapy. Elina’s passion for physiotherapy lies in watching her clients transform into more independent and confident versions of themselves. Elina’s treatment style is straightforward and honest. She uses humour and empathy to guide her clients to achieve their and their families’ therapeutic goals. Showcasing her commitment to life-long learning, Elina is currently a doctoral student in Rehabilitation Sciences at KITE-Toronto Rehab-University Health Network, with a collaborative specialization in Neurosciences, at the University of Toronto. Her research involves studying balance and mobility in young adults with non-neurodegenerative conditions, such as cerebral palsy.
Dr. Nicholas (Nick) Moser is a skilled Chiropractor with expertise in rehabilitative services tailored for individuals experiencing persistent concussion symptoms. Dr. Moser's approach to care is centred on providing a thorough assessment to provide the most accurate diagnosis and guide treatment of neuromuscular issues, with an emphasis on progressive individualized exercise. His goal is to reduce pain and enhance overall functionality, empowering patients to take an active role in their health. Through education on exercise and ergonomic practices, Nicholas encourages patients to adopt responsible habits for maintaining their well-being. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Moser is completing his PhD investigating the efficacy of non-pharmacological rehabilitative treatments for somatic persistent concussion symptoms, showcasing his commitment to advancing patient care through evidence-based practices.
Megha is a quality-focused internationally trained Physical Therapist with over 10 years of experience. Presently she is working as a Physiotherapy Assistant and Clinical Research Analyst at KITE Clinics.
She started her professional journey as a Physical Therapist in India in a multidisciplinary setup comprising different patient populations. Progressing forward she followed her pursuit of a combination of clinical research and rehabilitation in the premier CROs and academic research organizations (AIIMS-Delhi & IIT-Delhi) of India, before moving to Canada in 2022.
As a Clinical Research Scientist and Research therapist, she coordinated & managed multiple phase trials, proposal development strategy, documentation and reporting of research results, implementation of the technologies, and failure analysis. In this role, she has acquired extensive experience in clinical research and rehabilitation and has implemented cutting-edge technologies such as Robotics, Virtual Reality, Neuromodulation (tDCS, TMS, theta burst), and fMRI for patient treatments and related research.
Additionally, during her tenure, she took the role of Clinical and Teaching Assistant to undergrad/grad students. Her broad areas of interest encompass but are not limited to neuroregenerative and neurorestorative intervention (motor rehabilitation and biomedical devices) after stroke, SCI, translational research, Non-invasive brain stimulation, Cognitive-motor therapies, Neurodegenerative disorders, Telerehabilitation, Neuro-image processing, and aging disorders. Driven towards areas of health promotion, technology-facilitated, and/or community health research.
Her role in dynamic KITE Clinics incorporates both her clinical and research-driven acumen for various patient populations including SCI, Stroke, Cervical Myelopathy, Transverse Myelitis, etc. Her role extends to delivering conventional rehabilitation along with technology-facilitated protocols (Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation, Electrical stimulation, etc.) to the patients in line with the research and development team's vision within all safety parameters and considerations.
Liza is a full-time Administrative Assistant at KITE Clinics and aims to bring the utmost care and support to the team and its patients. Liza has over a decade experience supporting front-line health care workers, clinicians, patients, and colleagues, in a mental health and addiction treatment environment, where she has taken on multiple administrative roles and has contributed to the integral daily operational needs of the community. Liza earned her Office Administration-Medical Diploma with honours at Seneca College in 2009 and aims to bring not only the knowledge and experience but aspires to provide a more efficient and seamless approach to the team as well as the patients.
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