Recognizing Achievements from the UPMC Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
June 8, 2026
With a team of award-winning physicians, researchers, and faculty, the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) treats patients at UPMC Rehabilitation Institute inpatient units, as well as on an outpatient basis. The Department's reputation for the science and practice of rehabilitation attracts top doctors and investigators who continue to make advances in both clinical and research environments.
Read about recent achievements, including clinical excellence and research breakthroughs.
- Eleven physiatrists were named as 2026 Top Doctors, a list compiled by Castle Connelly [JC1.1]
- Alan Chu, MD, Gary Galang, MD, Amanda Harrington, MD, Eric Helm, MD, John Horton, MD, Amy Houtrow, MD, PhD, Michael Munin, MD, Dina Patterson, MD, Jennifer Shen, MD, Gwendolyn Sowa, MD, PhD, and Christopher Standaert, MD.
- Angela Garcia, MD, was named the inaugural Pediatric Rehabilitation Academic Medicine (PRAM) board chair.
- Lynn Worobey, PhD, accomplished notable achievements:
- She was accepted to the Workshop in Implementation Science and Health Services Research (WISH).
- She conducted the Pa. Department of Health Spinal Cord Injury funded study “Peer Coaching to Improve Wheelchair Skills After SCI: A Scalable Care Model.”
- Robert Gaunt, PhD, conducted the brain computer interface (BCI) funded research study “Restoring upper limb function through a brain computer interface.”
- Elvira Pirondini, PhD, was awarded the title of Distinguished Early Career Researcher by the Journal of Neuroscience, and published her paper titled “Low-Frequency Motor Thalmus Deep Brain Stimulation Improves—Not Impairs—Speech and Swallowing After Traumatic Brain Injury” in principle in Nature Communications.
- Kerry DeLuca, MD, represented the UPMC at the 2026 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) Health Policy and Legislation Committee Hill Day on April 27.
- Ryan Nussbaum, DO, facilitated an American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) Fellow Online Lecture Series talk on ”Biomechanics in the Throwing Athlete."
- Michael Munin, MD, published a paper titled "Observational Evaluation of Muscle Echointensity and EMG Insertional Activity in Poststroke Spasticity."
