2026 Stroke Rehabilitation Continuing Education Workshop

Join us for an engaging symposium featuring four esteemed speakers presenting their cutting-edge research in stroke recovery. Learn about the use of brain-computer interfaces and high-intensity interval training in stroke rehabilitation along with developments in our understanding of neural plasticity and motor learning post-stroke.

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Date: Saturday, November 7th, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: UCLA Franz Hall, Room 1178
The Workshop can also be attended via Zoom; link provided after RSVP
RSVP form:
Parking: No charge for those who RSVP by October 30th, 2026.
Cost: Complimentary. Refreshments will be provided.
Other Information: *Continuing Education credits have been arranged for OTs, PTs, and SLPs at no charge.

Agenda:

9:00 AM - 9:30 AM Diagnosis, treatment, and prediction of language recovery in aphasia: moving towards precision medicine
Swathi Kiran, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Boston University
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM Intersections of Balance Control, Energetic Cost, and Asymmetry in Post-Stroke Gait
James M. Finley, Ph.D.
University of Southern California
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Brain-Computer Interface Control with AI Copilots
Jonathan C. Kao, Ph.D
University of California, Los Angeles
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM Refreshments
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Lessons from the Queen Square Upper Limb Rehabilitation Programme
Nick Ward, M.D.
University College London
 

Speaker Biographies:

Swathi Kiran, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Boston University
Swathi Kiran is the James and Cecelia Ying Professor of Neurorehabilitation in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences and the Founding Director for the Center for Brain Recovery at Boston University. The mission of the Center for Brain Recovery is to study neurological disorders in the brain while focusing on real outcomes for the patient. She has over 190 peer-reviewed papers in these fields and has been funded by NIH and the ASH Foundation. She currently serves on the NIDCD Advisory Council. She is current Editor-in-Chief for Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research-Language. She is the past-Board Chair for the Academy of Aphasia, and Board Member for the National Aphasia Association, Board Trustee for the American Speech Language Hearing Foundation. She is the co-founder and scientific advisor for Constant Therapy Health, a software platform for rehabilitation tools after brain injury. Dr. Kiran is also the past Director for Strategic Planning Implementation at the Office of the Provost at Boston University.
 
James M. Finley, Ph.D.
University of Southern California
Dr. James Finley is an Associate Professor in the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the University of Southern California. Dr. Finley and his research team in the Locomotor Control Lab at USC use experimental studies and computational models to understand how mobility is controlled in healthy individuals and individuals with neuromotor impairments such as stroke and Parkinson's disease. This work relies on principles of engineering, neuroscience, game design, biomechanics, and exercise physiology to design more effective interventions to improve mobility.
 
Jonathan C. Kao, Ph.D.
University of California, Los Angeles
Jonathan is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Neurobiology at UCLA, where he directs the Neural Engineering and Computation Laboratory (NECL). His research spans brain-computer interfaces, robot learning, and neural computation. His team at NECL designs algorithms that help people control robots after paralysis and uses AI to ask how biological circuits implement decisions. He is the recipient of the NIH Director's Pioneer Award, the NIH Director's New Innovator Award, the NSF CAREER Award, the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Award, the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award, and the Northrop Grumman Excellence in Teaching Award.
 
Nick Ward, M.D.
University College London
Ward is a Professor of Clinical Neurology & Neurorehabilitation at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. He is lead of the first dedicated upper limb neurorehabilitation programme in the UK. His work seeks to understand the mechanisms of impairment and recovery of movement after stroke so that we might optimise both the dose and type of treatments to improve long-term recovery. He is Co-editor of the Oxford Textbook of Neurorehabilitation, Deputy Editor of the Journal for Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry and Associate Editor of Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair. He is Chair of the International Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery Alliance Scientific Committee.
 

Learning Objectives:

  • To appreciate emerging treatment approaches for neurorehabilitation following stroke.
  • To understand research approaches to developing novel neurorehabilitation treatment strategies.
  • To understand technology-based approaches to neurorehabilitation.
  • To evaluate the role that exercise has in recovery after CNS injury such as stroke.
  • To contextualize new developments in motor learning within rehabilitation therapeutic approaches.
  • To analyze post-stroke recovery across levels, from neuron to behavior.