Community Spotlight #4: Aliison Miller

September 7th, 2023

Allison is a rehabilitation clinician-researcher. She received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Connecticut, Neurologic Clinical Specialist certification through completing the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation Residency in Neurologic Physical Therapy, and her PhD in Biomechanics and Movement Sciences from the University of Delaware. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Washington University in St. Louis working with Drs. Keith Lohse and Catherine Lang. Her research investigates the application of digital health tools, in particular wearable sensor technology, to improve measurement, clinical decision-making, and patient outcomes in rehabilitation care.

Tell us about your background.

I decided to pursue a career in physical therapy (PT) after sustaining a running injury and having a really positive experience (and outcome!) from PT intervention. I became particularly interested in neurologic rehabilitation during my DPT training and went onto to pursue residency training in neurologic rehabilitation shortly after achieving my DPT. During my time as a resident, I became involved in the development of a clinical practice guideline that aimed to synthesize the evidence for improving walking capacity in individuals with chronic stroke, traumatic brain injury, and incomplete spinal cord injury. The result of this work was a set of recommendations for how physical therapists can improve their patient's capacity to walk, measured by standardized tests rendered in the clinic. I wondered, however, how these interventions impact a person's daily walking activity outside the clinic or lab. This experience fueled my desire to pursue a career in rehabilitation research investigating the use of digital health tools, such as wearable sensors, to better understand the impact of PT interventions on the daily lives of patients who seek these services. In my postdoctoral work, I am leveraging my data science, clinical and research training skillsets to explore how wearable sensor technology can be integrated into routine rehabilitation clinical practice.

What sparked your interest in learning data science?

My interest in data science stems from the vast amounts of data generated by wearable sensors. This enormous amount of data can be manipulated to compute a laundry list of variables that reflect different aspects of movement. During my PhD training, I was really interested in exploring which sensor-derived variables might be most important/meaningful in people with chronic stroke in the context of walking. Almost all of the variables I was interested in investigating were variables not readily computed by the sensor I was using. The initially daunting task of figuring out how to manage and wrangle all of this data to compute the variables I was interested in ultimately led me to really enjoy data science and appreciate the value of having good science skills.

What are you most excited about ReproRehab?

I am most excited about my transition from being a ReproRehab Learner to a ReproRehab TA and being able to give back to the program the skills I've learned to help others develop their own data science skills. Participating in ReproRehab has - and continues to be - a great networking experience. I have gained a lot of great insights for my own work from learning about how others are using data science to answer important questions in their areas of research.

What advice would you give to those who wish to follow a similar path?

I think my best advice would be to stick with it. Any of the PhD students who sat near my cubicle while I was trying to figure out how to code will vouch for me when I say that I had a a really hard time acclimating to coding (I actually attempted to sneak out of a coding class my first day as a PhD student, to no avail). I'm so glad I stuck with it. Having data science and coding skills are so valuable both within and beyond the research realm. Learning these skills in the context of questions/topics you are passionate about also makes it easier. Having confidence in yourself that you can do this is also key (and easier said than done at times)!

Anything you are passionate about outside of ReproRehab?

I love all animals, especially dogs and horses, and volunteering at animal rescues, hiking, and spending time with my husband, Tucker and Olivia (my two pups), and my family.

Anything else you would to share? (website/github/podcast)

I'm always in the market for new connections on LinkedIn!