Visiting Professors

As part of the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency Program, approximately three to five times per year visiting professors are brought in for a series of resident lectures followed by a noon time MEC. This exposes our resident staff to nationally known experts for both educational and networking purposes. Among the visiting professors who have lectured at Carolinas Medical Center over the past years are:

2023 Visiting Professor

Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, MD
Professor and Distinguished Chair of the Dept. of PM&R - Long School of Medicine, University of Texas Health
Medical Director of Critical Illness Recovery and Neuro Rehabilitation - Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospitals
Chief of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service Line - University Health Hospital System
San Antonio, Texas

2022 Visiting Professor

John Chae, MD
Professor, PM&R and Biomedical Engineering - Case Western Reserve University
Chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation - Case Western Reserve University and Metro Health Systems
Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs - Metro Health System
Cleveland Ohio

Karen Kowalske, MD
Professor, PM&R - UT Southwestern Medical Center
Medical Director, Rehabilitation and Lead Physician - Burn Clinic, Parkland Health and Hospital System
Dallas, Texas

2021 Visiting Professor

Flora Hammond, MD, FACRM, FAAPMR
Professor and Chair of PM&R - Indiana University School of Medicine
Chief of Medical Affairs - Rehabilitation Hospital Indiana
Executive Chair - National Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems
Project Director - Indiana Traumatic Brain Injury Model System
Indianapolis, Indiana

Ignatios Papas, MD
Physiatrist and Non Surgical Orthopedics Physician
Regenexx Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay, Florida

2020 Virtual Visiting Professor

Zachary Bailowitz, MD
Physiatrist and Primary Care Sports Medicine Physician
Department of Orthopedics, Kaiser Permanente
Oakland, California

Cheri Blauwet, MD
Assistant Professor in PM&R Rehabilitation
Harvard Medical School
Physiatrist - Brigham and Women's Hospital and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
Director of Adaptive Sports Research Institute
Boston, Massachusetts

2019 Visiting Professors

Karen Kowalske, MD
Professor, PM&R - UT Southwestern Medical Center
Medical Director, Rehabilitation - Parkland Health and Hospital System

Attending Staff

• PM&R- Life Care Hospital
• Rehabilitation - Parkland Health and Hospital System
• PM&R - UT Southwestern Medical Center

Dallas, Texas

Daniel Dumitru, MD
Professor, PM&R - University of Texas Health Science Center
Physiatrist and Electomyographer - University Health System
San Antonio, Texas

Patricia C. Heyn, PhD, FGSA, FACRM
Associate Professor | Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Deputy Director | Cochrane US University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine
Associate Senior Scientist, Center for Gait and Movement Analysis (CGMA)

• The Children’s Hospital Colorado
• University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus Aurora, Colorado
• Review Articles Editor | The Gerontologist

Aurora, Colorado

Visiting Scholars

Michael J. DePalma, MD
Founder and President, Virginia iSpine Physicians
Chairman and Director of Research, Virginia Spine Research Institute
Medical Director, VCU Athletic Training Program
Richmond, Virginia

2018 Visiting Professors

Steven C. Kirshblum, MD
Chair of PM&R, Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation
Medical Director of Spinal Cord Injury
Associate Residency Training Program
Program Director for SCI Medicine Fellowship
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Rutgers, New Jersey

Michael L. Boninger, MD
Endowed Vice Chair for Research, Dept. of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Senior Executive Medical Director, Human Engineering Research Laboratories
Professor with Tenure, Dept. of PM&R
Vice President for Medical Affairs, UPMC Community Provider Services
Senior Medical Director for Post-Acute Care, UPMC Health Services Division, University of Pittsburgh
Senior Executive Medical Director, Center of Excellence in Wheelchairs and Associated Rehabilitation Engineering
Physician Researcher, VA Pittsburgh Health Care
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

David W. Pruitt, MD
Medical Director, Inpatient Pediatric Rehabilitation Unit
Director, Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine Fellowship
Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
UC Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio

Visiting Scholars

Kathleen D. Francis, MD
Lymphedema Physician Services, PC
Medical Director, St. Barnabas Lymphedema Treatment Center
Livingston, NJ

Todd Irwin, MD
Assistant Professor, University of Michigan Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery
Charlotte, NC

2017 Visiting Professors

Lawrence W. Frank, MD
Medical Director, Spine and Sports Physiatrists
Dept. of Neurological Surgery and PM&R
Rush University School of Medicine
Chicago, IL

Lawrence R. Robinson, MD
Chief of Rehabilitation Science and Senior Scientist
Sunny Brook Health Sciences Center
Professor and Division Director of PM&R
University of Toronto
Ontario, Canada

Amy K. Wagner, MD
Associate Professor, Vice Chair Faculty Development and Endowed Chair Translational Research
Dept. of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Associate Director Rehabilitation Research, Safar Center for Resuscitation Research
Training Faculty, Center for Neuroscience
University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

2016 Visiting Professors

Christopher Visco, MD
Sports Medicine Fellowship Director
New York Presbyterian Hospital
Columbia University Medical Center
New York, NY

Dennis Matthews, MD
Professor, Dept. of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
University of Colorado School of Medicine
Children’s Hospital Colorado,
Aurora, CO

Visiting Scholars

James Hill III, MD, MPH
Residency Program Director
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC

Bryan Loeffler, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon
OrthoCarolinas
Charlotte, NC

Paul Cohen, Psy.D.
Clinical Psychologist, Neuropsychology Fellow
UPMC Sports Concussion Program
Dept. of Orthopedic Surgery
Pittsburgh, PA

2015 Visiting Professors

Adam Stein, MD
Chairman of the Dept. of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System
Long Island, NY

Julie Silver, MD
Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School –Dept. of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Medical Staff, MA Gen., Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston, MA
Co-founder, Oncology Rehab Partner
Boston, MA

Patrick M. Foye, M.D.
Professor, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation,
Interim Chair, Department of PM&R
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Newark, NJ

Alberto Esquenazi, MD
John Otto Haas Chair of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Albert Einstein Medical Center
Philadelphia, PA

2014 Visiting Professors

Jonathan T. Finnoff, DO
Director of Sports Medicine, Barton Healthcare
Tahoe Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
South Lake Tahoe, CA

William Walker, MD
Ernst & Helga Prosser Professor
Dept. of PM&R, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Richmond, VA

2013 Visiting Professors

Karen Kowalske, MD
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Professor and Chair, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at UT Southwestern Medical Center

Brian J Krabak, MD, MBA
University of Washington, Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine
Clinical Associate Professor, Departments of Rehabilitation and Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, UW

2012 Visiting Professors

Michael O’Dell, MD
Medical Director, Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit Department of Rehabilitation Medicine
New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center

Gary Clark, MD
Residency Program Director, Professor and Chair
Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Associate Chief Medical Officer for Education, MetroHealth Medical Center
Medical Director, MetroHealth Rehabilitation Institute of Ohio

Gerard Malanga, MD
Director, Pain Management
Overlook Pain Center