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Final Program


AT-A-GLANCE PDF

Sherri LaVela, PhD, MPH, MBA

Research Health Scientist & Research Professor
Department of Veterans Affairs & Northwestern University

Sherri L. LaVela, PhD, MPH, MBA is a Research Health Scientist in the Department of Veterans Affairs and Research Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Northwestern University. She has 27 years of health services and rehabilitation research focused on populations with neurological conditions. Dr. LaVela has a continuous record as Principal Investigator on federal and private foundation grants, including Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Much of her work has focused on prevention and management of chronic disease, such as obesity and cardiometabolic diseases and SCI-secondary conditions (e.g., pressure injuries, pain) among individuals living with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D). Dr. LaVela’s work has also focused on improving psychosocial outcomes such as injury-related grief, loneliness, and perceived social isolation in persons with SCI/D as well as optimizing the patient experience and delivery of patient-centered care. Her research has included quantitative and qualitative studies, randomized clinical trials, quality improvement studies, and implementation science.

Dr. LaVela has published 135+ articles in peer-reviewed journals and has given over 200 presentations at clinical or scientific conferences. She has held leadership positions on multiple advisory boards and executive committees, for example the Paralyzed Veterans of America Board of Directors and is a longstanding Advisory Board member of the Midwest Regional Spinal Cord Injury Care System. She has received multiple rehabilitation-related awards, including the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals Outstanding Mentor Award, American Psychological Association, Rehabilitation Psychology Harold Yuker Award for Research Excellence and the 2023 American Paraplegia Society Excellence Award.

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