Advancing Rehabilitation Research to Change Lives

The integration of research and clinical practice at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation is taking shape to elevate patient care and advance the field of rehabilitation for neurological and orthopedic issues.

Leading the way is newly named Director of Research Pawan Sharma, PT, PhD, who is tasked with developing a robust and distinguished research division.

With more than a decade of research experience, Dr. Sharma’s career has focused on studying technologies that help people with neurological conditions, such as spinal cord injuries and stroke, to walk, grasp, move and live more independently. He earned a PhD in Health and Rehabilitation Services from Stony Brook University in New York and has more than a dozen published peer-reviewed research articles. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Tim and Caroline Center for Spinal Stimulation, Kessler Foundation and the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at the University of Louisville.

As a physical therapist and neuroscientist with an extensive research background and experience working with clinicians, Dr. Sharma is a natural fit to advance research at Good Shepherd, where clinical excellence and person-centered care guide every decision.

Interconnection of Research and Clinical Care

Dr. Sharma recognizes research and clinical care are interconnected. Clinicians’ discoveries and ideas initiate research. In turn, research brings improved therapies, technologies and solutions to the clinical setting.

“One of Dr. Sharma’s strengths is being able to see both the clinical and research worlds and translate between them,” said Emily Lyter, administrative director of Good Shepherd Learns, Creates & Research, who oversees Dr. Sharma and the Good Shepherd’s Research function. “That’s a very unique skill that will serve our team well.”

To advance both tracks of research at Good Shepherd, Dr. Sharma is developing a program that empowers clinicians, forges meaningful academic partnerships, attracts outside funding and ultimately shapes the future of rehabilitation.

One of his priorities is ensuring Good Shepherd’s clinicians feel ownership for their research opportunities, as they often make early discoveries. For example, a novel treatment approach recently implemented by occupational therapists helped a visually impaired patient return to driving — an outcome never seen before at Good Shepherd. Successes like this spark important questions: Could this help others? Why did it work? How do we study it? Dr. Sharma is responsible for helping clinicians turn these moments into knowledge that can be tested, validated, published and shared.

Lehigh University Partnership

Dr. Sharma is a key member of the leadership time overseeing Good Shepherd’s 10-year research partnership with Lehigh University to advance rehabilitation tools, technology and research. This collaboration brings together Lehigh’s engineering, health care and academic expertise with Good Shepherd’s hands-on clinical knowledge.

Current collaborative projects include:

• Studies of wearable technology to improve patient movement
• Re-engineering a recreational therapy gaming table
• Identifying barriers to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices for students transitioning from high school
• A community health needs assessment for autistic and neurodivergent individuals

In his role, Dr. Sharma works closely with two joint appointments who serve as faculty at Lehigh and research scientists at Good Shepherd: Dr. Juan Carlos Aceros, who focuses on technology development, and Dr. Shirin Madarshahian, who studies movement and coordination in people with neurological conditions, such as spinal cord injury, stroke and Parkinson’s disease.

Through Lehigh’s Center for Community-Driven Assistive Technology (CDAT) and in coordination with Lyter, faculty and students from engineering, education, and other disciplines are working directly with Good Shepherd clinicians to develop new technologies and tools. For example, they are currently working on a wayfinding system that helps people with visual impairments navigate indoor environments.

The Future

As Dr. Sharma oversees the collaborative search with Lehigh, he also leads Good Shepherd’s research collaborations with start-up companies. Plus, he conducts his own research while pursuing state and federal funding for key Good Shepherd projects. His goal is to publish findings and give Good Shepherd greater visibility in the field while laying the groundwork for larger grants and additional partners.

It’s a rapidly developing program of discovery at Good Shepherd, but one theme remains constant: Research exists to improve care. Research elevates the way Good Shepherd clinicians help patients restore function, navigate challenges and reclaim independence.

Or, as Dr. Sharma puts it:

“Research should make people’s lives easier and our work will help advance the future of rehabilitation.”