معرفی
Leora Cherney, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, with primary affiliation at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. She holds appointments in the Institute for Public Health and Medicine (IPHAM), Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS), and Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health.
Her educational background includes a PhD from Northwestern University (1990). Professional memberships span the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences (1990-present), American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (Fellow, 2003-present), and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (Fellow, 1980-present).
Dr. Cherney's research pioneers intensive aphasia rehabilitation, neurologic communication disorders, and stroke recovery mechanisms. Her work integrates discourse analysis, spatial neglect studies, and telemedicine applications to transform rehabilitation paradigms for stroke and traumatic brain injury survivors. Current investigations focus on neural network dynamics during language recovery and cross-cultural communication in aphasia assessment.
Recent publications (2016-2025) reveal consistent themes in aphasia program efficacy, long-COVID cognitive rehabilitation, and interpreter collaboration models. Her 2025 Stroke journal article demonstrates distinct language/attention network roles in recovery, while Long COVID research establishes evidence for cognitive rehabilitation interventions.
Major recognitions include:
- Sandra O. Glista Excellence in Mentoring Award (2023)
- ACRM Women in Rehabilitation Science Award (2021)
- ASHA Honors of the Association (2019)
- Illinois Clinical Achievement Award (2019)
As Editor of Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and lead investigator for NIH-funded trials, she mentors emerging scientists through structured programs recognized by Aphasia Access. Her active clinical trial on therapy scheduling intensity (STU00209618) compares concentrated versus distributed aphasia treatment protocols.
Based at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab's 25th-floor research facility, she directs interdisciplinary teams developing evidence-based rehabilitation frameworks with global implementation potential through the Institute for Global Health.
