Dr. Gwendolyn Sowa, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Clinical Outcomes and Quality Care in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Co-Director of the Ferguson Laboratory for Orthopaedic and Spine Research at the University of Pittsburgh, where she also holds joint appointments in the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Bioengineering. She completed her MD/PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, followed by residency training at Norwestern University, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

Using her background in biochemistry, Dr. Sowa currently performs molecular laboratory based, translational, and clinical research, investigating the effect of motion on inflammatory pathways and the beneficial effects of exercise. She is Co-Director of the Ferguson Laboratory for Orthopaedic and Spine Research, a 3000 square foot laboratory fully equipped to perform molecular assays including gene expression analysis, protein analysis, cell and organ culture, histology, and cellular and spinal biomechanical testing.

She also has an active research program investigating the role of serum biomarkers in guiding individualized treatment in intervertebral disc degeneration and back pain.  She is actively involved in training future clinician scientists as an Assistant Dean for Medical Student Research.

In addition, she is a board certified physiatrist, and active member of the Association of Academic Physiatrists, the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the North American Spine Society, and the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine. In addition to her research activities, she currently spends approximately 25% of her time treating outpatients with musculoskeletal and spinal disorders in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.