معرفی
Jaynie Yang, PhD, is a full Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta, where she has served since January 1990. She additionally holds adjunct appointments in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and is an active member of the Neuroscience & Mental Health Institute and the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute. She has previously acted as Graduate Coordinator for the thesis-based MSc and PhD programs and as Acting Chair of the Department of Physical Therapy.
Education
- Post-doctoral Fellowship, Neuroscience, University of Alberta (1987–1989)
- PhD, Kinesiology, University of Waterloo (1987)
- BSc, Physical Therapy, Queen’s University (1978)
Research Interests
Dr. Yang’s research centres on how the nervous system controls human walking and how this control is altered following injury to the central nervous system. She investigates three inter-related themes: (1) neural mechanisms underlying gait control in healthy humans and how these are disrupted by spinal cord injury or perinatal brain injury; (2) optimization of task-specific training paradigms—such as intensive early therapy in infants with perinatal stroke or powered exoskeleton training in adults with spinal cord injury—to drive neuroplasticity and improve walking; and (3) developmental aspects of motor learning, comparing how children and adults acquire and retain novel walking patterns on split-belt treadmills.
Recent Publication Trends
Over the past decade her team has produced a high-impact portfolio that blends mechanistic studies of neural plasticity with pragmatic clinical trials. Common keywords across recent papers include “perinatal stroke,” “cerebral palsy,” “spinal cord injury,” “powered exoskeleton,” “functional electrical stimulation,” and “neuroplasticity.” The work spans bench-to-bedside translation, from rodent studies of critical periods through multi-centre randomized controlled trials evaluating early intensive rehabilitation protocols in infants and gait-retraining paradigms in adults.
Current Studies & Funding
- Multi-centre RCT (Edmonton & Calgary) examining early, intensive leg training in children <2 years with perinatal stroke.
- Cohort studies investigating cortical and spinal neuroplasticity induced by powered exoskeleton (ReWalk, Ekso) training in adults with chronic SCI.
- Split-belt treadmill studies comparing motor learning retention across children, young adults, and older adults.
Laboratory & Team
Dr. Yang leads an interdisciplinary group that integrates neurophysiology, biomechanics, and clinical rehabilitation. The lab is embedded within the University of Alberta’s Neuroscience & Mental Health Institute and has active collaborations with the Glenrose Hospital, Alberta Children’s Hospital, and Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. At present she mentors one graduate student and is not accepting additional trainees for the upcoming cycle.
Teaching
She is the instructor for PTHER 500 – Movement Analysis, a core course in the MScPT curriculum covering mechanical and analytical concepts essential for physical therapy practice (scheduled for Fall Term 2025).
