Research & Teaching

Research Experience

The through-line is vagus nerve stimulation: from pairing it with skilled reaching in rats as an undergraduate, to measuring its functional impact on limb recovery in people with chronic stroke.

  • 2021–Present

    Vagus Nerve Stimulation Interdisciplinary Team Leader

    TIRR Memorial Hermann The Woodlands · The Woodlands, TX

    Leads the interdisciplinary team delivering paired vagus nerve stimulation, and first author on the resulting outcomes work in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

  • 2017

    Research Assistant, Diabetes and Exercise Physiology Lab

    Dr. Floyd Huang, PT, PhD · Angelo State University · San Angelo, TX

  • 2009–2013

    Research Assistant, Cortical Plasticity Laboratory

    Dr. Michael Kilgard, PhD · The University of Texas at Dallas · Richardson, TX

    Vagus nerve stimulation paired with movement and its effect on primary motor cortex reorganization, published in Cerebral Cortex and presented at the Society for Neuroscience.

Grant Activity

  • 2025–Present

    AI-Gait Interface

    Researcher · with S. Mohapatra and S. Faruqui · pre-submission

  • 2025–Present

    BURT NIH T34 Grant

    Undergraduate Student Faculty Mentor · pre-submission

  • 2025

    Research and Innovative Practice Grant

    Texas Society for Allied Health Professionals · Principal Investigator · submitted, $3,000

  • 2025

    Aging Research Center Grant

    Sam Houston State University · Graduate Student Faculty Mentor · funded, $2,000

Clinical Roles

  • 2021–Present

    Neurologic Outpatient Physical Therapist III

    TIRR Memorial Hermann · The Woodlands, TX

    Brain injury, stroke, spinal cord injury, and vestibular teams. Alongside the caseload:

    • Founder and Chair, Clinical Excellence and Patient Safety Interdisciplinary Quality Council
    • Vagus Nerve Stimulation Interdisciplinary Team Leader
    • Core group member, Spasticity and Associated Syndromes of Movement (SPASM), and Dystonia Project Leader
    • Knowledge Network mentor for brain injury, spasticity management, and functional neurologic disorder
    • Epic EMR outcome measures project collaborator · Research Committee member
  • 2020–2022

    Medical / COVID ICU Physical Therapist (PRN)

    Memorial Hermann Hospital · Humble, TX

  • 2019–2021

    Lead Neurologic ICU / IMU Physical Therapist

    HCA Houston Healthcare · Kingwood, TX

  • 2018–2019

    Neurologic Physical Therapy Resident

    Pinecrest Rehabilitation Hospital, Delray Medical Center, and Nova Southeastern University · Delray Beach, FL

Teaching Experience

  • 2025–2026

    Clinical Assistant Professor & Founding Core Faculty Member

    Sam Houston State University · Department of Physical Therapy · Conroe, TX

    Lead syllabus writer and reviewer for ten courses in a new DPT program, including the neuroscience and neuromuscular sequence (DPTH 7316, 7315, 7423, 7330), differential diagnosis, therapeutic exercise and interventions, cardiopulmonary, and professional issues, and lead of the Curriculum and Academic Standards Committee.

  • 2021–2024

    Instructor

    TIRR Memorial Hermann Education Academy · Houston, TX

    Clinician and student modules in brain injury, spasticity, cervical dystonia, dysautonomia, goal writing, clinical outcomes, and professionalism.

  • 2018–2019

    Clinical Laboratory Assistant

    Nova Southeastern University · Fort Lauderdale, FL

    PHT 6830 Neuromuscular I and PHT 6914 Neuromuscular II.

  • 2016–2018

    Graduate Teaching Assistant

    Angelo State University · San Angelo, TX

    Didactic and laboratory coursework mentor across DPT years I, II, and III.

  • 2014–2015

    Instructor (MCAT, GRE, SAT, ACT)

    Kaplan Test Preparation, Inc. · Dallas, TX

  • 2010–2013

    Peer-Led Team Learning Instructor & Teaching Assistant

    The University of Texas at Dallas · Richardson, TX

    PHYS 1301 Physics I, PHYS 1302 Physics II, and NSC 3361 Behavioral Neuroscience.

Service & Mentorship

  • 2023–2026

    Student Mentorship

    Sam Houston State University

    Five undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and graduate students mentored, including a funded Aging Research Center grant project.

  • 2024–2025

    TWSTRS Enterprise-Wide Implementation

    TIRR Memorial Hermann Health System · network-wide

    Feasibility study, clinical practice training, superuser recruitment, resource creation, and migration of the Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale into the Epic EMR.

  • 2019–Present

    Journal Reviewer, Physiotherapy Theory and Practice

  • 2018–Present

    Volunteer Physical Therapist, Rehabilitation Services Volunteer Project