Our Team
We are an interdisciplinary team of engineers, physicians, physical therapists, neuroscientists, and physiologists that share a common vision: to create meaningful technologies that promote recovery in persons with catastrophic injury to their brain or spinal cord.
Randy Trumbower, PT, PhD
Lab Director
Randy is the Director of the INSPIRE Laboratory. He has an MS in Physical Therapy from Duke University, MS and PhD degrees in Biomedical Engineering from University of Connecticut, and postdoc training with Drs. Rymer and Perreault at RIC/Northwestern University. Randy is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and an Adj Associate Professor at MGH-Institute for Health Professions.
Christopher Tuthill, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Chris is a postdoctoral fellow within the INSPIRE Lab at Harvard Medical School and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. He completed his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology/Emory University in 2019. Dr. Tuthill is interested in developing technologies to improve the treatment and measurement of neurological injuries.
Chloe Slocum, MD, MPH
Physician Scientist
Dr. Slocum is a Physician Scientist and Director of Health Policy at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Shecompleted her Spinal Cord Injury Medicine fellowship training at Harvard Medical School Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and VA Boston Healthcare System. Clinically, she specializes in neurological rehabilitation and management of complications that arise from spinal cord injury and neurological disorders. She is especially interested in urological health and health promotion for people with spinal cord injury and neurological conditions.
Julia Wall, PhD
Research Physical Therapist
Julia is a Research Physical Therapist at the INSPIRE lab at Spaulding Hospital Cambridge. Julia completed her PhD in Physiotherapy at Trinity College Dublin. She has presented her research internationally including at the British Association of Sports and Exercise Medicine conference and the International Olympic Committee conference. Her current research interests include pain management and neurorehabilitation approaches.
Angela Link, PT, DPT, NCS
Physical Therapist
Angela is a Physical Therapist who works jointly treating patients at the Spaulding Charlestown acute rehabilitation setting and progressing research as part of Inspire Lab. Angela has her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Drexel University and is a board certified specialist in neurology upon completing a residency program with Brooks Rehabilitation. Angela is involved locally in the Boston area with PT student mentoring as well as involved nationally with wheelchair rugby sport.
Gail Monaghan, PT, ScD, AAOMPT, OCS
Physical Therapist
Gail is an advanced clinical specialist at Spaulding Cambridge Outpatient Center specializing in the physical therapy treatment of orthopedic patients. In the last year she has been working at the Inspire Lab as a clinical researcher and with motion capture. Interests in the clinic have been in spine, foot, and ankle dysfunction. In the last 2-3 years, Achilles tendon rehabilitation been a strong interest of hers. Gail has acquired some tools to help with the rehabilitation of persons with an Achilles dysfunction as a leader of the Foot and Ankle Special Interest Group. She has led courses in physical therapy departments at MGH IHP, Boston University, and Northeastern University. She was a clinical researcher at the Wyss Institute in developing and testing the soft exosuit in the elderly population. She has worked in motion laboratories collecting kinematic and kinetic data investigating the effect of foot structure on gait kinematics, utilizing the software to process and analyze data resulting in four published papers. She is also a reviewer for Gait & Posture, Journal of Biomechanics, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, and Journal of Sports Sciences.
Noah Piazza
Clinical Coordinator
Noah is a clinical research coordinator at the INSPIRE Lab. He graduated from Umass Boston with a BS in Exercise Kinesiology and Health Sciences, while also gathering a strong background in psychology. His research interests include behavior change and neurorehabilitation.
Will Muter, BS
Research Coordinator
Will is a research coordinator and phlebotomist at the INSPIRE Lab at Harvard Medical School and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. He received his BS degree in Movement Science and Design Engineering from The University of Michigan. His research interests include electrophysiology and neurorehabilitation.
Sachin Patel, BS
Research Assistant
Sachin is a research assistant at the Inspire Lab. He graduated from Middlebury College in 2024 with a B.S. in Neuroscience. His research interests include spinal cord injuries and rehabilitation.
Rachel Brody
Physical Therapist, PT, DPT, NCS
Rachel is an advanced clinician physical therapist working with participants both as a gait trainer and assessor. Previously she has worked at Spaulding Hospital Cambridge on the brain injury and complex medical care units, and Rehab Hospital of the Pacific in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. Currently she is working part time at the Inspire lab, per diem at Spaulding Charlestown, and as a lab and clinical instructor at MGH IHP. She graduated from MGH Institute of Health Professions with her Doctor of Physical Therapy and from University of Connecticut with her Bachelor's of Science. She became a certified brain injury specialist in 2022.
Katie Schramm, PT, DPT, NCS
Physical Therapist
Katie is a Clinical Specialist Physical Therapist who works jointly treating patients at the Spaulding Charlestown Outpatient Department and as an assessor in the research at the Inspire Lab in Cambridge. Katie has her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from MGH Institute of Health Professions and is a board-certified specialist in neurology. She specializes in individuals with spinal cord injury, brain injury, vestibular dysfunction, and gait and balance impairments. Katie is actively involved in both MGH IHP and Boston University’s DPT programs.
Alexandra Leifer, PT, DPT
Physical Therapist
Allie is one of the physical therapists working with participants to assess their impairments, gait mechanics, and conduct outcome measures to track individual progress. She received her Doctorate degree in Physical Therapy from Ithaca College and works full-time as an inpatient physical therapist at Spaulding Hospital in Cambridge. Her interests include brain injury and spinal cord injury neurorehabilitation.
Stella Barth, BA
Medical Student
Stella is a medical student at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine in the Population-based Urban and Rural Community Health (PURCH) track. She received her BA degree in Neurobiology from Harvard College and has experience as a secondary school science educator. Her clinical research interests include neurorehabilitation and neuroplasticity.
Alumni
Alumni
Where They Started
Where They Are Now
Linda Mansson, RPT, PhD
Postdoctoral fellow
Physical Therapist
- Alumni
- Linda Mansson, RPT, PhD
- Where They Started
- Postdoctoral fellow
- Where They Are Now
- Physical Therapist
Camille Frayssinhes, BS
Masters Student
PhD Student at EPFL in Switzerland
- Alumni
- Camille Frayssinhes, BS
- Where They Started
- Masters Student
- Where They Are Now
- PhD Student at EPFL in Switzerland
Molly Bradach, BS
Research Assistant
Graduate Student, University of California, Berkeley
- Alumni
- Molly Bradach, BS
- Where They Started
- Research Assistant
- Where They Are Now
- Graduate Student, University of California, Berkeley
Collin Johnston, MS
Research Assistant
Graduate Student, Northeastern University
- Alumni
- Collin Johnston, MS
- Where They Started
- Research Assistant
- Where They Are Now
- Graduate Student, Northeastern University
Emily Evans, PT, PhD
Research Associate
Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, Boston University
- Alumni
- Emily Evans, PT, PhD
- Where They Started
- Research Associate
- Where They Are Now
- Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, Boston University
Sarah Foushee Schwab, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Clinical Trials Project Officer, Curtin University
- Alumni
- Sarah Foushee Schwab, OTR/L
- Where They Started
- Occupational Therapist
- Where They Are Now
- Clinical Trials Project Officer, Curtin University
Briana Gyr, OTR/L, CBIS
Clinical Researcher
Occupational Therapist, CPTE
- Alumni
- Briana Gyr, OTR/L, CBIS
- Where They Started
- Clinical Researcher
- Where They Are Now
- Occupational Therapist, CPTE
Sarah Adamo, MS
Research Assistant
DPT Student, Duke University
- Alumni
- Sarah Adamo, MS
- Where They Started
- Research Assistant
- Where They Are Now
- DPT Student, Duke University
Andrew Tan, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Assistant Professor of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado Boulder
- Alumni
- Andrew Tan, PhD
- Where They Started
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Where They Are Now
- Assistant Professor of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado Boulder
Julia Gangemi, BS
Research Assistant
PhD Student, Brown University, Providence, RI
- Alumni
- Julia Gangemi, BS
- Where They Started
- Research Assistant
- Where They Are Now
- PhD Student, Brown University, Providence, RI