D Michele Basso, EdD
Professor
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Academic information
- Department: School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Leadership titles
- Associate Director, School of Health and Rehab Sciences
- Director of Research, School of Health and Rehab Science
Research interests
- Spinal Cord Injury
About
Biography
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition that results in permanent functional impairments. The goal of Dr. Basso’s research is to develop rehabilitative therapies that promote recovery of mobility. The unique experience is working on the brink of translation and interacting closely with the OSU NeuroRecovery Network (NRN) clinic for human SCI which she directs. This clinic uses treadmill training to promote recovery after chronic, incomplete SCI, and they examine the rate and extent of change in function and quality of life. Recovery of locomotion is complex because it depends on reducing cellular cascades that inhibit learning while at the same time promoting robust neural plasticity. In addition, neuropathic pain can develop after SCI and interfere with recovery.
It is her belief that the optimal therapeutic outcome will result from a treatment that is tailored to the severity of neuropathology, the time of intervention and the specificity of the training task. Cellular factors such as inflammation and matrix biology at the synapse may directly influence the receptivity to training. They combine behavioral, cellular and physiological assessments and take a systems approach to answer these questions. To accurately characterize the type and extent of restitution of function, they also develop new assessment tools which quantify motor and sensory recovery in animals and humans with SCI.
Credentials
Education
- EdD - Motor Learning
- Columbia University, Teacher's College, New York, NY, United States
- MA - Motor Learning
- Columbia University, Teacher's College, New York, NY, United States
Research
Research interests
- Spinal Cord Injury
Major Awards
- 2011: Helen J. Hislop Award for Outstanding Contributions to Professional Literature, American Physical Therapy Association
- 2005: National Research Award, Neurology Section, American Physical Therapy Association
- 2005: US Patent (Pending) Assessing Active Sensation after CNS Injury
- 2004, 2005: Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers
- 2001: Outstanding Faculty Research Award, School of Allied Medical Professions
- 1997: Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award, The Ohio State University
- 1998: Co-Director, Outreach Program for African-American Women, selected to fulfill the Alliances Objective for the OSU Medical Center: a National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health