College

Kathleen went to Rice University in Houston, TX. She had wonderful experiences in college, such as living with good friends at Will Rice College, being involved in the Catholic Student Center, diving deep into her biology major, and realizing she loved  research. At Rice, she wasn't judged for being a nerd - everyone was a nerd, supporting each other's academic passions. They also had a lot of fun. They went to cheer their poor-record football team, saw Elton John and Billy Joel in that same stadium, and had four years of great memories.

Kathleen decided that she wanted to stay in Houston for her Ph.D. She enrolled at the U. of Texas Health Science Center, across the street from Rice. Students spent the first year in classes, plus did research rotations in three different labs, then picked one to study in. Kathleen was mesmerized by Randy Nudo's work that showed, for the first time, that adult brains are malleable, and can recover after stroke. Soon after Kathleen chose Randy's lab, Randy announced that he was moving the lab to Kansas City.

After Randy told his lab the plan, they ran back and looked up,"Where's Kansas??" on the one computer in the lab office. A year later, they moved to KC. Kathleen loved KC. She spent most of her time in the lab, but she also made good friends through church. She quickly grew to love KC, with its streets and terraces, its hills and parks. Her dissertation was about how the brain controls sensation and movement, and how it is affected by stroke and rehabilitative training. She's happy that the quality of pro sports in KC has improved!

In October 2001, Kathleen was encouraged to apply for a postdoctoral position in Jack Martin's lab at Columbia in upper Manhattan. The news feeds showing a smoldering WTC discouraged her at first, but once she met Jack and read his work, she was hooked. In Jack's lab, she learned that like the brain, the spinal cord adapts to brain injury and can be restored to near-normal function by rehabilitative training. In Jack's lab, she studied rehab in a model of cerebral palsy.

Kathleen always loved working with people. She wondered whether the discoveries she was making in the lab would ever be applicable to humans. Then she met Andy Gordon, who has a lab at Columbia's Teachers College. Andy was doing the same intervention in kids with CP that she'd been studying in animals with Jack and Randy! But how would she ever be able to study inside the brains of kids? Cue Holly Lisanby! Holly is a master of transcranial magnetic stimulation - a way to measure brain function non-invasively in people!

Equipped with a strong foundation in basic science research, Kathleen steered into a career in clinical research. Using TMS in Holly's lab, she was able to figure out some exciting things in the brains of kids with CP. Brains are remarkably adaptable. Kathleen got a masters in patient oriented research from Columbia. This equipped her with more skills. A former labmate from Jack's lab introduced Kathleen to the CEO of the Burke Neurological Institute. As they say, the rest is history!