Sharon Landesman Ramey, Ph.D.
C-PROGRESS Director
Dr. Sharon Landesman Ramey serves as the National Pediatric Rehabilitation Resource Center’s PI/Director. She works closely with team members to provide leadership for the planning, operating, and ongoing evaluation of this new national center. She brings high interest and extensive experience to this central role. She is currently the lead Multiple PI for three ongoing NIH multisite Randomized Controlled Trials (2 Phase II and 1 Phase III) in pediatric rehabilitation. As a developmental scientist and methodologist, she brings more than four decades of experience in developing and rigorously testing new treatments for children with disabilities and those with risk conditions (total RCTs I have led or co-led = 20; 11 have been multisite). She has also been engaged for the past 20 years in conducting research related to pediatric Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (P-CIMT), working especially closely with Stephanie DeLuca (a Co-I on this application). Together they wrote the first manualized P-CIMT protocol, known as ACQUIREc, informed by principles of learning theory and “active ingredients” of shaping by successive approximations, varied reinforcement schedules, learning in natural environments, and practice with timely feedback – treatment principles supported by major theories and emerging evidence from developmental neurobiology. Dr. Landesman Ramey has designed and directed multiple NIH interdisciplinary research centers (P50, P30) and Data Coordinating and Analysis Centers for many NIH multi-site studies. She is particularly interested in continuing to refine the methods available for designing clinical trials- including alternative, innovative, and adaptive designs – that are adequately powered, well-suited for multicenter clinical trials, and supported by strong coordinating centers to document fidelity of the treatments and standardization of assessment methods. She has also helped to develop and publish new statistical approaches for multivariate longitudinal datasets, detecting interaction terms, novel approaches to longitudinal analyses and growth curve analyses, and small sample sizes. Similarly, she has developed and validated many assessment tools for young children, including children with disabilities, and for parents.
Stephanie DeLuca, Ph.D.
C-PROGRESS Didactic Interactions Core Leader
Dr. Stephanie C. DeLuca is a developmental scientist who leads the Didactic Interactions Core of the National Pediatric Rehabilitation Resource Center. Dr. DeLuca has examined the impact of intensive neurorehabilitation treatments on children and adults with neuromotor impairments for nearly 30 years. She has helped develop and rigorously test multiple neurorehabilitation protocols and led and co-led numerous clinical trials. Dr. DeLuca’s interdisciplinary research efforts have included: engagement of families, international training, and innovative teaching to prepare the next generation of clinicians and scientists. In addition, she has served as a consultant for Humanity Inclusion funded by USAID and as a co-investigator on two global-health initiative grants funded by the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. DeLuca envisions “precision rehabilitation treatments” that can help all individuals with disabilities and their families become empowered members of their communities. Dr. DeLuca served on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy & Developmental Medicine and currently serves on the Advisory Board for the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research.
Amy Darragh, Ph.D., OTR, FAOTA
C-PROGRESS Pilot Studies Core Leader
Dr. Darragh leads the National Pediatric Rehabilitation Resource Center Pilot Studies Core. Dr. Darragh is an Associate Professor and Director of the Division of Occupational Therapy in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The Ohio State University. She is an occupational therapist and research scientist focused on optimizing rehabilitation outcomes while supporting caregiver and family health. The breadth of her work includes pediatric rehabilitation, parent and family health and well-being, musculoskeletal injury prevention, and the application of virtual technologies and patient handling technologies in healthcare. Through interprofessional, team-based science, Dr. Darragh is dedicated to the translation of high quality evidence to clinical practice to support optimal patient, family, and provider outcomes. Currently, she is co-investigator for 3 NIH-funded multisite comparative efficacy (RCT) trials in pediatric neurorehabilitation: CHAMP (R01HD068345), Baby CHAMP (R01HD074574), and the Phase III StrokeNet I-ACQUIRE (U01NS106655), for which she serves as co-director of the study Assessment Center and investigator liaison to the I-ACQUIRE Parent Council, and principal investigator for a study developing an app for health and safety support for healthcare workers (Ohio BWC). Dr. Darragh is committed to the development and testing of state-of-the-art interventions and methodologies to improve child and family outcomes and to the mentorship of the next generation of highly skilled, rigorous, and innovative scientists.
Craig Ramey, Ph.D.
C-PROGRESS Promoting Center Expertise Core Leader
Dr. Ramey leads the C-PROGRESS Promoting Center Expertise Core. This initiative is vital to achieve levels of high engagement with and productive use of the National Pediatric Rehabilitation Resource Center. We designed these activities to assist in advancing pediatric medical rehabilitation research through attracting a wide array of experts – including investigators, clinicians, and stakeholders – to participate in the activities as well as to use the expertise and research resources of C-PROGRESS. These promotive activities will affirm the overarching objective of this new center – namely, to enhance the field of clinical pediatric rehabilitation research and the impact of its findings to benefit the lives of children and families affected by childhood-onset neuromotor and related disabilities.
Jill Heathcock, MPT, Ph.D.
C-PROGRESS Techniques Development Core Leader
Jill Heathcock leads the Techniques Development Core and is an Associate Professor at The Ohio State University, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and Director of the Pediatric and Rehabilitation Laboratory (PEARL Lab). She studies: 1) Typical and atypical features of upper and lower extremity movements in children; 2) Neurodevelopmental impairments in infant populations at high-risk for motor delay, and 3) Neurorehabilitation for pediatric populations with an emphasis on dosing. Her research focuses on development of targeted assessment and interventions for pediatric populations with cognitive and motor disability. Dr. Heathcock is also part of the Center for Perinatal Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Dr. Heathcock has several currently funded projects including: The National Institutes of Health to determine the optimal does of physical therapy for infants with severe motor delay and cerebral palsy; and Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to understand the effectiveness of usual weekly and high intense periodic therapy regimens for children with cerebral palsy. She is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology (AACPDM) and the International Congress for Infant Studies (ICIS).
Warren Lo, M.D.
C-PROGRESS Mentored Collaborative Opportunities Core Leader
Dr. Lo leads the Mentored Collaborative Opportunities core. Dr. Lo is a clinical professor in pediatrics and neurology at the Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He works in the area of pediatric stroke, particularly in stroke outcomes and improving outcomes in children. He serves as a multiple PI with Dr. Landesman Ramey on the I-ACQUIRE trial of high intensity motor rehabilitation in infants who have suffered stroke. In his role in the Center for Progress Dr. Lo will identify teams that are close to initiating high-impact and novel trials in pediatric medical rehabilitation research, and work to develop mentored collaborations to strengthen the knowledge and research skills of these teams. Dr. Lo will reach out to investigators, in particular pediatric physiatrists, pediatric neurologists, developmental pediatricians, and neonatologists. He will identify individuals who are likely to benefit from intensive mentoring to increase their research competencies and the competitive quality of their applications in pediatric rehabilitation research. Dr. Lo serves on multiple committees and working groups that are directed toward stroke rehabilitation and stroke care standards within the NINDS-supported StrokeNet, the American Academy of Neurology, and the International Pediatric Stroke Organization. In these roles, he is positioned to identify research-oriented residents, fellows, and junior faculty who represent the future of pediatric medical rehabilitation research.