Brooks Researchers Featured in Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy Podcast

Jul 6, 2021

Medical Reviewers: Emily Fox, PT, DPT, PhD; Kate Cavka, PT, DPT, NCS

Last Updated: January 13, 2023

Drs. Emily Fox, PT, DPT, PhD and Kate Cavka, PT, DPT, NCS were recently featured on the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy’s Discussions in Spinal Cord Injury (DiSCIs) podcast. Dr. Emily Fox is the Director of Neuromuscular Research at the Brooks Clinical Research Center, a Research Scientist of the Brooks/UF-PHHP Research Collaboration, and a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at University of Florida; and Dr. Kate Cavka is a Clinician-Scientist at the Brooks Clinical Research Center. The work presented by Drs. Fox and Cavka represents the Brooks/UF-PHHP Research Collaboration and the impact of clinical-academic partnership.

The podcast, which is a production of the Spinal Cord Injury Special Interest Group (SCI SIG) of the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy (a component of the American Physical Therapy Association), presents listeners with compelling interviews with researchers and clinical leaders in spinal cord injury rehabilitation.

In this episode, Drs. Fox and Cavka discussed their manuscript, ‘Diaphragm Pacing and a Model for Respiratory Rehabilitation after Spinal Cord Injury’, which was co-authored by Dr. Geneva Tonuzi, SCI Medical Program Director at Brooks, and University of Florida Professor, Dr. David Fuller. Their work, featured in the Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy, focuses on the importance of respiratory rehabilitation for individuals with SCI, and particularly individuals who use diaphragm stimulation (also known as pacing) to support their breathing. Respiratory impairment is a leading cause of illness after spinal cord injury and the Model of Respiratory Rehabilitation and Recovery, put forth by Drs. Fox and Cavka, emphasizes the need for rehabilitation to focus on life-long respiratory health and use of strategies, such as diaphragm stimulation, to promote respiratory recovery.

Listen to the full podcast here: https://www.neuropt.org/special-interest-groups/spinal-cord-injury/podcasts

Medical Reviewers

Emily Fox, PT, DPT, PhD

Clinical Research Scientist

Emily Fox, PT, DPT, PhD is a Clinical Research Scientist and Director of Neuromuscular Research at Brooks. She also is the Director of the Brooks Motion Analysis Center and a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Florida. She is a leading member of the Brooks-UF PHHP Research Collaboration. Dr. Fox is a physical therapist with expertise in motor control and neurologic rehabilitation. Her research program focuses on walking and breathing function, and development of innovative approaches to advance rehabilitation and recovery. She serves on the Steering Committee for the UF Breathing Research and Therapeutics Center and the Editorial Board for the Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy, a leading publication of the American Physical Therapy Association. Her research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Veteran’s Administration, and the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation.

Kate Cavka, PT, DPT, NCS

Clinician-Scientist

Dr. Kate Cavka is a clinician scientist with the Brooks Rehabilitation Clinical Research Center (BRCRC). She received her B.S. in Exercise Science at Florida State University in 2009 and her Doctor of Physical Therapy at the University of North Florida in 2012. She further pursued her interest in neurological physical therapy by completing a Neurological PT Residency with Brooks Rehabilitation in 2014 and became a board certified specialist in neurological physical therapy. As a clinician scientist, she assists with the development and implementation of studies within the neurological research program of the BRCRC. Her primary research involvement focuses on studies regarding respiratory function and locomotor recovery following spinal cord injury.