Confirmed speakers

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• Maria Coello-Villalón, University of Castilla-La Mancha - SP

  

  Maria Coello-Villalón

  University of Castilla-La Mancha

  Address:  Faculty of Physiotherapy and Nursing, Av. Carlos III, s/n, Toledo , 45004 - Spain

   Email: maria.coello@uclm.es

  María Coello Villalón is a physiotherapist and predoctoral researcher at the University of Castilla-La Mancha. She hold a Master's degree in Neurological Physiotherapy and is a member of the ImproveLab research group. Her work focuses on pediatric neurorehabilitation, combining assistive technologies, artificial intelligence, and intensive therapies. She has experience in early detection of cerebral palsy and functional assessment in high-risk infants. María is a researcher in the European AINCP project and collaborates with the HemichildResearch-Unit. Her recent work explores early powered mobility in Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type I.

  Early Powered Mobility in Children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type I: Family Perspectives Through Photo-Voice Research

  Spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMA1) is a severe neuromuscular disorder causing progressive muscle weakness and significant motor limitations in young children. Early powered mobility interventions may enhance autonomy, participation, and quality of life. This study evaluates the impact of a family-centered early powered mobility program using a randomized controlled trial with 24 children (10 months to 5 years old) with SMA1. The intervention includes a 12-week structured training followed by free device use in natural environments. Primary outcomes assess participation, functional ability, and quality of life. Complementarily, a qualitative photovoice study explored families’ experiences over four weeks, revealing themes of enhanced emotional and social engagement, environmental accessibility barriers, and the importance of professional-family collaboration. Findings highlight that powered mobility improves independence and participation but also underline ongoing environmental challenges. Participatory methodologies like photovoice empower families to voice real-life needs, guiding future inclusive mobility interventions.

• Stacey Dusing, University of Southern California - USA

  

  Stacey Dusing

  University of Southern California

  Address:  1540 E Alcazar, Los Angeles CA - USA

   Email: Stacey.dusing@pt.usc.edu

  Dr. Stacey Dusing is the Sykes Family Chair of Pediatric Physical Therapy, Health and Development, a Professor and the Director of Pediatric Research in the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy at the University of Southern California, where she also leads the Motor Development Laboratory. She is a board-certified pediatric physical therapy specialist, has led multiple federally funded multi-site clinical trials of interventions for infants born preterm and with cerebral palsy. She has over 25 years of clinical, research, teaching and mentoring experience.  She has won multiple research and mentoring awards from professional associations, including the John HP Maley Lectureship and Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the APTA and the AACPDM Mentoring Award.  

  Key Ingredients for Early Sensory Motor Interventions for Infants born preterm or with early brain injury?

  Infants born full term are well matched to the environment they are born into.  In contrast, infants born very preterm are easily overwhelmed by the sensory-motor demands of the gravity-filled, loud, and bright world into which they arrived.   While interventions to improve the environment in the NICU have been common for decades, training caregivers to adjust their interactions and match each engagement to the infants’ current abilities is not a part of routine care.  Similarly, recognizing the small changes needed to provide each infant with the Just-Right Challenge, requires attention to specific details and modulation of one's own behaviour.  Providing parents with the training using guided participation to align the sensory motor stimulus provided with the infant's tolerance may allow for improved dyadic interactions that, in turn, support developmental outcomes.  In this talk, we will focus on the key ingredients for determining the timing, dose, and content of interventions that can be provided during the transition from the NICU to home.   Reflections from several small clinical trials and parent qualitative data will be used to prompt conversation about what is best practice in sensory motor intervention in the first moths following preterm birth.  

• Monica Hegde , Multimodal Brain Function Analysis Research Group (GRAMFC) / INSERM, University of Picardie - FR

  

  Monica Hegde

  Multimodal Brain Function Analysis Research Group (GRAMFC) / INSERM, University of Picardie

  Address:  CURS, CHU Sud, 30 Av. de la Croix Jourdain, 80000 Amiens - France

   Email: monica.hegde@u-picardie.fr

  Monica Hegde is a postdoctoral researcher at the Groupe de Recherches sur l’Analyse Multimodale de la Fonction Cérébrale (GRAMFC, Inserm UMR1105), Université de Picardie. Her research focuses on how the brain processes sounds in infancy. She earned her PhD under Laurianne Cabrera and Thierry Nazzi, studying how infants process speech sounds and develop phonological categories. In her postdoc with Sahar Moghimi, she investigates early sensorimotor processing, exploring the interaction between auditory and tactile rhythms in newborns using EEG and eye-tracking. Her work aims to uncover how multisensory rhythm processing contributes to early development. 

   Exploring the impact of tactile stimulation on rhythm perception in newborns 

  Rhythm perception is fundamental for early development. In adults, sensorimotor mechanisms aid rhythm perception and beat-based predictions. Caregivers naturally pat infants to music, but it remains unclear whether newborns integrate sensorimotor input into rhythm perception. This study investigates whether tactile stimulation modulates neural tracking of auditory rhythms in lullabies.

  We will recruit 40 full-term newborns (38-40 weeks GA) and measure EEG in two conditions:
  (1) Auditory-tactile, where lullabies at 2 Hz (120 BPM) are paired with patting at 1 Hz, alternating 4 beats of auditory-tactile (AT) stimulation with 4 beats of auditory-only (A);
  and (2) Auditory-only, where infants hear the lullabies without tactile input.

  Our initial analyses will compare neural responses to auditory and tactile stimuli separately. Our primary analyses will test whether alternating AT and A stimulation enhances neural tracking of lullaby rhythms and synchronization to the beat. We will assess coherence between EEG signals and the envelope and spectral flux of the lullabies.

  This study will clarify how neonates process multimodal rhythms, highlighting patting as a natural modulator of rhythm perception and early auditory-sensorimotor integration.

• Dana McCarty, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - USA

  

  Dana McCarty

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill & UNC Children’s Hospital

  Address:  3024 Bondurant Hall, CB# 7135 , Chapel Hill, NC 27599 - USA

   Email: dana_mccarty@med.unc.edu

  Dana McCarty is a board-certified pediatric clinical specialist in physical therapy (PT). She received clinical specialty training at the Duke University Pediatric PT Residency Program and has over 15 years of experience in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). Dana is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) where she teaches in the PT program and conducts research in the NICU. Her research has been funded by the NIH and the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research and examines PT interventions designed to support infant and parent outcomes. Dana holds a PhD in Maternal and Child Health from UNC-CH. Dana directs the UNC Pediatric PT Residency Program and is a faculty member for the UNC Neonatal PT Fellowship program. 

  Feasibility of Using a Force Plate to Measure Very Preterm Infant Posture and Movement at Term Equivalent Age

  Very preterm infants (<32 weeks gestation) are at elevated risk for motor impairment. Force plate-derived center of pressure (COP) measures may detect early posture and movement differences, potentially improving access to early therapies. Objectives: 1) Assess feasibility of force plate-derived COP data collection in a Level IV NICU at term age; 2) Describe posture and movement characteristics in this population. Twenty-one infants were placed supine on a Bertec force plate wearing a diaper and one clothing layer. COP metrics (Total Distance X/Y, Displacement X/Y, Path Length, Ellipse Area) were recorded over 3 minutes. Birth gestational age (BGA), postmenstrual age (PMA), Intraventricular Hemorrhage, Bronchopulmonary Pulmonary Dysplasia, and cranial flattening were documented. Feasibility benchmarks were met: 81% tolerated 3 minutes in states 3–5 (Goal ≥70%); 86% assessments followed protocol (Goal ≥80%); 70% parental consent (Goal ≥70%). Infants moved more in the Y than X direction. BPD was associated with reduced movement (Total Distance X/Y, Path Length, Y Displacement). Cranial flattening correlated with slightly increased movement metrics. Each additional BGA week increased Path Length by 12 m (p=0.04); each PMA week (37–40) decreased it by 22 m (p=0.05). Force plate use was feasible in very preterm infants at term age. COP measures may differentiate posture and movement by age and comorbidity. Larger studies are needed to explore these associations.

• Nadège Roche-Labarbe, University of Caen Normandy - FR

  

  Nadège Roche-Labarbe

  Mobility: Aging, Pathology, Health (COMETE) / INSERM, University of Caen Normandy

  Address:  PFRS, 2 rue des Rochambelles, F-14032 CAEN cedex 5 - France

   Email: nadege.roche@unicaen.fr

  Nadège Roche-Labarbe completed her Doctoral work in Amiens, France, studying the neurovascular response using simultaneous fNIRS and EEG in preterm neonates, in epileptic children, and in animal models. Her postdoctoral training at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging (Boston MA, USA) focused on optical imaging for clinical and cognitive applications in premature and hospitalized neonates. As junior faculty at the University of Caen, France, she started focusing on finding neonatal endophenotypes of neurodevelopmental disorders. She is now an Associate Professor at the University of Caen, and her team investigates the development of predictive coding in preterm neonates and how this relates to their neurodevelopmental outcome, using longitudinal protocols and multimodal neuroimaging.

  Somatosensory prediction in newborns: effect of prematurity and relationship with neurodevelopment at age 2

  Sensory prediction (SP)—the brain’s capacity to anticipate incoming stimuli based on prior experience—is a fundamental component of cognitive and motor development, as well as postural adaptation. It enables experience-based and context-dependent modulation of sensory processing. Alterations in SP have been hypothesized to contribute to motor and cognitive symptoms observed in neurodevelopmental disorders (ND), though empirical evidence remains limited. In this study, we assessed SP in 84 preterm infants born between 24 and 34 weeks of gestational age (GA), using EEG event-related potentials during a tactile oddball-omission paradigm conducted at 35 weeks equivalent GA. Our findings demonstrate that SP is already functional in preterm neonates, particularly those with longer exposure to extrauterine sensory environments, suggesting that the preterm brain actively regulates sensory input, potentially as an adaptive response to the stressors of neonatal intensive care. However, such adaptations may have downstream consequences for neurodevelopment. We are currently conducting follow-up assessments at 2 years of age, including psychomotor and sleep quality evaluations, to investigate associations between neonatal SP and later neurodevelopmental outcomes. Preliminary findings indicate a potential link between early SP measures and sleep patterns, highlighting the promise of SP as an early biomarker for identifying infants at risk and informing timely intervention strategies.

• Kimberley Scott, Creighton University - USA

  

  Kimberley Scott

  Creighton University

  Address:  Criss III, Room 119A, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, Nebraska -  USA

   Email: kimscott1@creighton.edu

  Kimberley Scott is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. She completed her Doctorate in Physical Therapy at Duke University (2007). She is a pediatric residency graduate (The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 2011) and a board-certified pediatric clinical specialist (2013). She completed her PhD in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The Ohio State University in 2022. Her clinical research focuses on intervention fidelity, the interaction between family systems and pediatric rehabilitation, and precision neurorehabilitation for people with movement disorders, including cerebral palsy, across the lifespan.

  Exploring Accurate, Feasible Measures of Upper Limb Motor Activity in Infants to Identify Intervention Dose-Response Relationships

  Precision rehabilitation means providing the right intervention at the right dose to the right person at the right time. The “right dose” means optimal dosing based on established dose-response relationships. In infants diagnosed early with cerebral palsy (CP), promising interventions to improve upper extremity function, such as constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) and bimanual therapy (BIM), are rooted in motor learning principles – repeated practice of task-specific skills shaped by feedback. Little is known about the optimal dosing of these two treatments in infancy in part because changes in diagnostic trends are relatively recent and individual intervention outcomes are highly variable. Differences in treatment outcomes may occur when performance (or “enactment”) of intervention dosing parameters (frequency, intensity, time, and type) is variable. Commonly used enactment measures (e.g., self-report diaries) are inaccurate and, at best, capture frequency and time of intervention performance. Objective, direct measures of enactment across all dosing parameters are essential to accurately evaluate intervention outcomes. The focus of this session will be methodologies for directly measuring enactment. Audience engagement will focus on benefits and challenges of various methods and idea-sharing for future directions to advance precision neurorehabilitation for infants with movement disorders.

• Angelina Vernetti, Yale Child Study Center - USA

  

  Angelina Vernetti

  Yale Child Study Center

  Address:  300 George St, New Haven 06511, CT - USA

   Email: angelina.vernetti@yale.edu

  Angelina Vernetti holds a B.Sc. in Cell Biology from the University of Angers, an M.Sc. in Neurosciences from the University of Toulouse, and a Ph.D. in Developmental Neuropsychology from Birkbeck, University of London. She is a Research Scientist in the Social and Affective Neuroscience of Autism program at Yale School of Medicine’s Child Study Center, led by Prof. Chawarska. Her work focuses on understanding the early social and cognitive challenges faced by young children with autism, using screen based and live eye-tracking, physiological recording, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy to study social attention, reinforcement learning, emotional regulation, and language processing—ultimately aiming to support more effective interventions.

  Real-World Social Cues and Altered Temporal Brain Dynamics: fNIRS Assessment of Speech–Gaze Integration in Toddlers with Autism

  Background. In autism, diminished attention to child-directed speech and direct gaze suggest altered processing of ostensive cues for social engagement. Yet few studies have examined their combined effects on activation of brain areas involved in processing multimodal social stimuli in early development. Methods. Toddlers with autism (n=19) and typically developing (TD) peers (n=34) underwent fNIRS (NIRx-NIRSport2) while viewing videos of a female actor delivering child-directed speech alone (DG-SP+), direct gaze only (DG+SP-), both speech and gaze (DG+SP+), or neither cue (DG-SP-). Cortical hemodynamics in bilateral STG were analyzed alongside autism severity scores and language measures. Results. Across all conditions, toddlers with autism showed atypical STG lateralization with heightened right STG activation, particularly when speech was present compared to their TD peers. The largest hemispheric difference emerged when speech and gaze were combined, mirroring the complexity of real-world social interactions. In the combined sample, left STG activation correlated positively with receptive language only in DG+SP+, while higher right STG activation was linked to lower language scores and increased autism symptoms across conditions. Conclusion. These findings underscore the need to study combinations of dynamic social cues—as they occur in everyday interactions—using methodologies like fNIRS to advance our understanding of early neurodevelopmental differences in autism.

• Jennifer Bosserman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - USA

  

  Jennifer Bosserman

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill &  Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital

  Address:  101 Manning Dr, Chapel Hill, NC - USA

   Email: Jennifer.bosserman@unch.unc.edu

  Jennifer Bosserman is a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT). She received clinical specialty training at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and George Washington University PT Residency Program. Jennifer is currently completing her neonatal PT fellowship in the University of North Carolina’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Jennifer began her research during her DPT program, with the help of her mentor Dana McCarty, and has continued working on these projects throughout her residency and fellowship programs. She has one published systematic review examining examines different tools to assess premature infants’ movement patterns and is currently working on a feasibility project. The current scope of her research is to determine if a force plate can predict future motor impairment in the preterm infant. 

  Feasibility of Using a Force Plate to Measure Very Preterm Infant Posture and Movement at Term Equivalent Age

  Very preterm infants (<32 weeks gestation) are at elevated risk for motor impairment. Force plate-derived center of pressure (COP) measures may detect early posture and movement differences, potentially improving access to early therapies. Objectives: 1) Assess feasibility of force plate-derived COP data collection in a Level IV NICU at term age; 2) Describe posture and movement characteristics in this population. Twenty-one infants were placed supine on a Bertec force plate wearing a diaper and one clothing layer. COP metrics (Total Distance X/Y, Displacement X/Y, Path Length, Ellipse Area) were recorded over 3 minutes. Birth gestational age (BGA), postmenstrual age (PMA), Intraventricular Hemorrhage, Bronchopulmonary Pulmonary Dysplasia, and cranial flattening were documented. Feasibility benchmarks were met: 81% tolerated 3 minutes in states 3–5 (Goal ≥70%); 86% assessments followed protocol (Goal ≥80%); 70% parental consent (Goal ≥70%). Infants moved more in the Y than X direction. BPD was associated with reduced movement (Total Distance X/Y, Path Length, Y Displacement). Cranial flattening correlated with slightly increased movement metrics. Each additional BGA week increased Path Length by 12 m (p=0.04); each PMA week (37–40) decreased it by 22 m (p=0.05). Force plate use was feasible in very preterm infants at term age. COP measures may differentiate posture and movement by age and comorbidity. Larger studies are needed to explore these associations.

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