Bladder Rehabilitation Research Training Center

Dr. Groah is the Project Director for the RRTC and National Capital Spinal Cord Injury Model System

Principal Investigator for research project 1 and research project 4

Co-Principal Investigator for research project 2 and research project 3

Dr. Groah the Director of the Spinal Cord Injury and Disease Rehabilitation and Recovery Program (inpatient, outpatient, and day program) and the Director of Spinal Cord Injury Research at MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital, as well as Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Georgetown University. Currently, Dr. Groah is the Principal Investigator of several investigator-initiated projects on urinary symptoms in individuals with SCI, multiple sclerosis, and spina bifida.

Dr. Aguirre is an early career physician and Research Fellow at MedStar NRH. She is coordinating the SCI model systems database, and modular activities.

Dr. Aguirre has clinical and research experience in the field of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), particularly in the development of upper extremity and gait training rehabilitation programs. Currently focusing on strategies and standards to reinforce prevention, diagnosis, and early treatment of complications to improve quality of life of people living with SCI.

Ms. Bile is clinical research coordinator working with research project 1, and research project 5

With past experience working in the field of healthcare, Elizabeth-Sarah was always passionate about patient care and the improvement of quality life for all. Her passion for spinal cord research emerged as she was working on a research centered around axon regeneration after SCI in zebrafish. At MedStar NRH, she hopes to gain invaluable experience with clinical study coordination and to contribute to the prevention and early treatment research to improve the wellbeing and comfort of people living with SCI.

Dr. Bregman is the Co-Project Director of the RRTC and Director of Training.

Dr. Bregman is Director of Education and Training for the MedStar NRH Research Division, and Professor of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Medicine at Georgetown University (GU). She is currently Co-Program Director of the NIH K12 Neurorehabilitation and Restorative Neuroscience Training Network, which targets the development of junior faculty in neurorehabilitation. As Chair of the Department of Neuroscience at Georgetown University, faculty development and mentorship were key components of her activities.

Dr. Denny is an early career physician scientist and a Co-Principal Investigator for research project 2.

Dr. Denny has a research interests in systems of care delivery and secondary stroke prevention. Dr. Denny has participated in several stroke clinical trials. With the support of a MHRI New Investigator grant, Dr. Denny is now recruiting hypertensive stroke survivors into a home blood pressure self-management study that she designed with the critical appraisal of the MedStar Research Scholars Program. She was awarded an NIH StrokeNet fellowship as a Georgetown junior faculty member for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Ms. DiMeglio is a clinical research coordinator coordinating industry clinical trials, and assisting with spinal cord injury model systems.

Sarah has an educational background in health sciences, and a history of diverse patient care experiences across various healthcare settings. Within MedStar NRH, she focuses on clinical trials aimed at enhancing outcomes of those who have experienced spinal cord injury or disease, embodying a commitment to transformative research in the field.

Dr. Forster is an early career physician scientist and Site-PI at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh for research project 1.

Dr. Forster is a pediatric hospitalist at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at University of Pittsburgh. Her research focuses on identifying improved ways to diagnose urinary tract infections in people with NLUTD. She has expertise in the analysis and interpretation of urine biomarkers, including neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), one of the proteins that will be measured in this study. For this project, Dr. Forster will be responsible for processing and analyzing the urine samples provided by participants in one of the research studies.

Ms. Giannetti is the study coordinator for research project 1.

Margot has a long history as a Clinical Research Coordinator at MedStar NRH. Through her experience in coordinating multiple stroke, cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury studies, she has gained invaluable experience in study coordination and also working with people with multiple types of physical disability.

Dr. Geed is the Biostatistician on research project 1 and research project 3.

Dr. Geed is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the Georgetown University. Her research focuses on both rehabilitation outcomes and the neurophysiology of motor function recovery after stroke. Dr. Geed has particular expertise in longitudinal models to measure recovery, clinical trial design in the context of neurorehab, and refining assessments that measure neurorehabilitation outcomes.

Ms. Hughes is clinical research coordinator working with research project 1, and research project 2

Madison has an educational background in biomedical engineering and experience in stroke rehabilitation research. At MedStar NRH, she strives to improve the health outcomes and quality of life in the patients she serves through clinical research. 

Dr. Leonard is an early career scientist, Co-Investigator for research project 3, and Clinical Research Coordinator for research project 2, and research project 5.

Dr. Leonard’s research background was centered around the improvement of motor function and social-psychological outcomes within a neurological population. As an early Rehabilitation Scientist and Clinical Research Coordinator at MedStar NRH, she focuses on the implementation of clinical research projects to improve patient outcomes and overall quality of life in patients with neurological injury or disease.

Ms. Ljungberg is the Research Program Manager

Inger is a research program manager at MedStar NRH where she has a long history of both coordinating research studies and serving as the project manager on Dr. Groah’s ongoing research projects. Through her work she has gained invaluable experience in the ability to monitor timely progression of multiple concurrent studies, facilitate cross team communication and supervision of budget expenditures.

Dr. Stampas is an early career physician researcher and Site-Principal Investigator at TIRR for research project 2.

As a physician researcher, I want to advance the field of rehabilitation using electric stimulation to prevent problems commonly found in spinal cord injury (SCI), including neurogenic bladder and bowel, autonomic dysreflexia, neuropathic pain, and spasticity. In my position as the SCI Medicine Research Director, I can pursue research interests with the support of TIRR Memorial Hermann, UT Health Science Center at Houston, and their research infrastructure to support high-level clinical research. I am involved in the care of hundreds of SCI patients annually, and the institution serves one of the largest SCI populations in the country.