Current RMSTP Fellows

Stacy Suskauer, MD

Dr. Suskauer obtained her M.D. from Duke University and subsequently completed a combined Pediatrics and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati.  Her training continued with a Rehabilitation Research Fellowship at Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she is currently an Instructor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation within the Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation.  With the mentorship of a team lead by Dr. Martha Bridge Denckla, Dr. Suskauer is learning to use anatomic imaging techniques and behavioral paradigms to better understand behavioral and cognitive deficits commonly observed following pediatric traumatic brain injury.

Ellen Casey, MD

Dr. Ellen Casey graduated from University of Virginia School of Medicine
in 2005. She completed her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago/Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in 2009 where she served as Chief Resident from 2008-2009. She then completed a fellowship in Sports and Interventional Spine at the RIC in 2010. She is currently a faculty member at the RIC's Sports and Spine Rehabilitation Center. Her research interests include understanding sex-disparity in musculoskeletal injury and injury prevention in female athletes. Under the mentorship of Drs. Yasin Dhaher and W. Zev Rymer, Dr. Casey's RMSTP project is to investigate the influence of sex hormones on neuromuscular control of
the lower limb.

Eric Y. Chang, MD

Dr. Eric Y Chang completed his B.A. in East Asian Studies at Yale University, New Haven, CT in 1999 after studying abroad in Fudan University, Shanghai, China in 1997-1998. He completed his medical degree from Albert Enstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY in 2006 with a Distinction in Musculoskeletal Disorders.  He spent 2 years during that period working in Dr. Paul E. DiCesare’s musculoskeletal laboratory at New York University – Hospital for Joint Disease, New York, NY supported by the NIH Einstein Research Grant. Subsequently, he completed his residency at UCLA/ Greater Los Angeles Veteran Affairs Residency Program in Los Angeles.  He then completed an ACGME Pain Medicine Fellowship at University of California, Irvine to pursue his research interest in neuropathic pain and spasticity in the Spinal Cord Injured population.  His primary mentor, Dr. Z. David Luo, is a well established investigator in the mechanisms of neuropathic pain. His co-mentor, Director Dr. Oswald Steward of the Reeves-Irvine Research Center, is renowned in the field of Spinal Cord Injury and also a seasoned mentor of previous clinical fellows. Dr. Gwen Sowa, from the University of Pittsburgh, adds her expertise to his mentoring team as a Spinal Cord Injury physician-scientist and as a researcher on degenerative mechanisms of the spine. Dr. Di Chen, from the University of Rochester Department of Orthopaedics, rounds off his team by providing musculoskeletal research expertise. Dr. Chang will provide clinical service at the UCI Multi-disciplinary Pain Clinic, which serves as a model system for an integrated MSK, pain management, and electromyography clinic in Orange County.

Nanette Joyce, DO

Dr. Joyce earned her D.O. from Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine as valedictorian in 2004.  She completed her residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Michigan State University where she was chief resident from 2007-2008. After completing a year fellowship in neuromuscular disease at the University of California Davis in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation department, Dr. Joyce was awarded a stem cell training grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to develop a cellular therapy for treatment of motor neuron disease.  Her mentoring team is led by Dr. Jan Nolta, a leader in the stem cell field and director of the UC Davis stem cell program and Institute for Regenerative Cures.  While continuing her research using mesenchymal stem cells, Dr. Joyce will treat patients with neuromuscular diseases as faculty in the UC Davis healthcare system.

James Eckner, MD

Dr. James (J.T.) Eckner graduated from Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine in 2003 and completed his residency training in PM&R at the University of Michigan in 2007. Since that time he has held a faculty position in the UM Department of PM&R. As a junior faculty member, he also earned a Master of Science degree in 2009 from the University of Michigan in Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis through the UM On Job-On Campus Master of Science Program. His area of research interest is mild traumatic brain injury, with a particular emphasis on mTBI, or concussion, in athletes. He has conducted work under the mentorship of Drs James K. Richardson in the Department of PM&R and James A. Ashton-Miller in the Department of Mechanical Engineering aimed at developing better sideline tests for diagnosing and managing sport-related concussions, specifically through the assessment of reaction time. Dr. Eckner’s RMSTP project investigates the role of neck strength and head movement capacity measures in concussion susceptibility through the use of biomechanical modeling techniques. The ultimate goal of this work is to reduce athletes’ susceptibility to concussion by developing more effective pre-participation neck strengthing and conditioning programs.

Erik Hoyer, MD

Brad Kurowski, MD

Dr. Kurowski completed his BS and MS in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2000.  He completed his medical school training at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 2004.  Subsequently, he completed his residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in 2008 and fellowship training in pediatric rehabilitation medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 2010.  During his RMSTP training, he will be studying the relationship of genes and environment to recovery from pediatric traumatic brain injury under the guidance of his primary mentor, Dr. Shari Wade.  He will be starting a faculty position at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and will hold an academic appointment in the department of PM&R at the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine.

Amy Houtrow, MD

Dr. Houtrow obtained her MD from Michigan State University and subsequently completed residency training in a combined Pediatrics and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati. During her residencies, she also completed an MPH in Health Policy and Management at the University of Michigan. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University of California at San Francisco. She also is the Medical Director of the Pediatric Rehabilitation Program and the Spina Bifida Program. Her research focuses on understanding the family impacts of raising children with disabilities. Her mentoring team
is lead by Dr. Paul Newacheck, a leader in health services research for children with special health care needs. 

Jennifer M. Zumsteg, MD

Dr. Zumsteg obtained her medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine after completing undergraduate studies in Biology and Psychology at Sonoma State University. She trained in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Washington where she also served as chief resident.  During her RMSTP fellowship, Dr. Zumsteg will analyze issues of environmental performance and sustainability in PM&R practice. Under the mentorship of a team lead by Dr. Joyce Cooper in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington, Dr. Zumsteg will investigate PM&R physician attitudes and behaviors regarding environmental stewardship, applications of environmental performance evaluations and guidelines in the rehabilitation setting, and the use of life cycle assessment in health care. She continues clinical and educational work in physiatry in the University of Washington health care system with a focus on traumatic brain injury.

Qing Mei Wang, MD

Dr. Qing Mei Wang obtained her PhD and MD from University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and subsequently completed residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Program at Mount Sinai Medical Center at NY. She currently holds an academic appointment in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. She is a staff physiatrist at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusett General Hospital. Her research is focused on investigating the mechanisms of neuroplasticity for stroke recovery in both animal model and stroke patients and developing pharmacological treatment to promote functional recovery. Her mentor team is lead by Dr. Moskowitz at Stroke and Neurovascular Regulation Laboratory at Harvard Medical School and by Dr. Zafonte at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.

Pradeep Suri, MD

Dr. Suri obtained his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School and completed his residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Washington. After attending in Spine and EMG clinics in the Puget Sound VA system, he decided to pursue subspecialty training, going on to complete a Spine and Musculoskeletal Fellowship at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston, MA. As an RMSTP fellow, Dr. Suri is conducting research on the epidemiology of degenerative lumbar spinal disorders under the mentorship of Dr. Jeffrey N. Katz. His work involves the identification of traditional and novel risk factors associated with pathoanatomic spinal degeneration, symptomatic disease, and functional limitations in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring and Gen 3 cohorts. He currently holds an academic appointment in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. He is a staff physiatrist at The Spine Center of New England Baptist Hospital.

David C. Morgenroth, MD

Dr. Morgenroth's interest in human locomotion began at the age of 11 months when he successfully navigated the challenging crawl-to-walk transition.  He further developed his interest in the biomechanics of gait as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, studying human hopping and running in Professor Claire Farley's biomechanics lab.  After attending medical school in his hometown New York City, Dr. Morgenroth rambled back out west where he completed his Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency training at the University of Washington, receiving the outstanding resident award for 2006-7.  PM&R provided the ideal forum to combine his intellectual interest in biomechanics with his clinical interest treating gait disorders, especially in the amputee population.  During his RMSTP fellowship and under the mentorship of Dr. Joseph Czerniecki, Dr. Morgenroth has begun to study the biomechanics of transfemoral amputee gait in order to elucidate the forces responsible for the high prevalence of knee osteoarthritis in this population.  He is currently a staff physician at the University of Washington and Seattle VA Medical Center.