معرفی
William Zev Rymer, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Physiology, and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. As founding scientist and Director of Research Planning at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, he leads the Sensory Motor Performance Program (SMPP) laboratories. He holds additional appointments at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital.
Education:
- M.D. - Melbourne University (1967-1972)
- Ph.D. in Neurophysiology - Monash University (1972-1976)
- NIH Fellowship in Neuroscience (1971-1974)
Dr. Rymer's research focuses on neurophysiological mechanisms of motor control in neurological disorders. His lab records electrical activity from motor units and muscles during voluntary/reflex contractions, with applications in spinal cord injury, stroke rehabilitation, and movement disorders. Key interests include pathophysiological modeling of motor dysfunction and developing translational rehabilitation technologies.
Recent publications (2018-2019) demonstrate concentrated focus on stroke rehabilitation mechanisms, including spasticity pathophysiology, neuromodulation techniques, and assistive technology efficacy. Research consistently integrates neurophysiological principles with clinical rehabilitation applications.
Major Grants:
- NIH/NICHD: Origins of Motoneuron Excitability in Stroke ($1.5M, 2016-2021)
- DoD: Intermittent Hypoxia + Training for SCI ($3M, 2017-2021)
- NIDILRR: Multi-site Hypoxia Trial in SCI ($4.5M, 2017-2022)
- American Heart Association: Intermittent Hypoxia in Stroke (2018-2020)
Leads the Sensory Motor Performance Program (SMPP) at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, collaborating with postdoctoral researchers including Hongkai Wang and Jenny Bartloff. Current work explores hypoxia-based interventions and motor unit plasticity in neurological recovery.
