Meet Your Speaker
Dr. Karen Nolan, PhD
Senior Research Scientist in Mobility and Rehabilitation Engineering @ Kessler Foundation
Dr. Karen Nolan, is a Senior Research Scientist in Mobility and Rehabilitation Engineering Research at Kessler Foundation. Dr. Nolan has extensive experience in leading the design and implementation of biomechanical research with expertise in balance, gait, movement analysis, neuromuscular physiology, rehabilitation robotics, and peripheral motor control.
Research by Dr. Nolan has focused on large multi-site randomized clinical trials (RCT) in brain injury populations through the Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Disability Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research, and industry-sponsored funding. Currently, Dr. Nolan is PI of an RCT (funded by NIDILRR RERC) in investigating the efficacy of robotic exoskeleton gait training for acute stroke and Co-PI of double blind RCT (funded by Department of Defense) investigating the efficacy of virtual reality balance intervention for military, veteran, and civilian populations with TBI.
Dr. Nolan’s work has allowed her to gain significant experience in conducting large-scale, multi-site RCTs utilizing objective measure of functional ambulation and balance in TBI and stroke. She is recognized as a leader in the field of biomechanics and motor rehabilitation and has been invited to give presentations of these topics at national and international conferences. Dr. Nolan serves as a grand viewer for National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Disability Independent Living and Rehabilitation research, VA, and is a member of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, International Society of Biomechanics, and Gait, Clinical Movement Analysis Society and Wearable Robotics Association.