Associate Professor
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dr. Rachel Cowan received her undergraduate degree in Physical Education from UNC Wilmington, followed by a Master's in Health and Exercise Science from Wake Forest University, and a PhD in Rehabilitation Science and Technology from the University of Pittsburgh. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Miami's Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and an Associate Scientist at both the Center for Clinical and Translational Science and the Center for Engagement in Disability Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.
Dr. Cowan's research focuses on developing, testing, and translating cost-effective fitness, mobility, and assistive technology interventions that improve independence and quality of life for people with mobility disabilities, with a particular focus on spinal cord injury. She has received funding from NIH, DoD and NIDILRR, is current Project Director of the UAB Spinal Cord Model System, is a member of the VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Scientific Merit Review Board on Rehabilitation Engineering & Prosthetics/Orthotics and has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles. Her work on environmental barrier encounters and avoidance in wheelchair users earned her the 2019 Apple Award from the American Spinal Injury Association for excellence in spinal cord injury rehabilitation literature. Dr. Cowan is also actively involved in mentoring students at all levels and served as co-author of the WHO Wheelchair Service Provision Guidelines.
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