Human bodies are complex, difficult to understand biological machines. I have been forever fascinated by the mechanics and processes that make us tick. In my previous career as a biomedical engineer, I sought to study and then design processes that could help make machines work. I was always overjoyed when an engineering team could bring together multiple different and seemingly unrelated parts to create a machine that accomplished something wonderous. And there is no greater machine, in my eyes, than the human body.

Dr. Smith is currently leading multiple translational research projects in a wide variety of neuromuscular conditions at The Ottawa Hospital’s NeuroMuscular Centre to facilitate rare disease diagnosis, develop more effective monitoring of neuromuscular disease progression and treatment response.

Dr. Gordon Jewett is a clinician and researcher focused on development of novel disease biomarkers in ALS, based on wearable sensors and machine learning.

“Occupational therapy is where science, creativity, and compassion collide”. This is a quote from Jessica Kensky, a survivor of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and keynote speaker at the 2016 American Occupational Therapy Association welcome ceremony. To me, this quote represents exactly what I love about my profession. Pursuing a PhD allows me to develop these three elements even further…

During my pediatric neurology residency training, I was able to dive into different subspecialties of neurology in great detail. I was drawn to the neuromuscular specialty by the significant ongoing advances in understanding the genetics of the neuromuscular disorders and the growing number of novel therapeutic options in the field…

I came to the neuromuscular disease field completely by chance in 2007 after seeing an advertisement for a research support job in the TREAT-NMD network coordination centre in Newcastle…

I was amazed by the idea that populations of tissue-resident cells maintain and repair the body throughout life, and how drastic the consequences of impaired stem cell-mediated regeneration can be to an individual. It made me consider that understanding stem cell biology could help towards the development of new therapies for incurable conditions, such as many neuromuscular disorders…