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VP. Research & Innovation
Shepherd Center
Dr. Deborah Backus is a grant-funded researcher, physical therapist, and educator with 35+ years of experience in the neurorehabilitation field. She is the Vice President of Research and Innovation, Director of the Virginia C. Crawford Research Institute, and Director of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Research, at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia. At Shepherd Center and within the rehabilitation medicine field, she is known for her innovative approaches to facilitating clinician involvement in research activities, translation of meaningful evidence into practice, uptake of technology into clinical programs, and incorporation of standardized outcome assessment into routine clinical practice to better guide clinical care.
Dr. Backus’ research focuses on investigation of models of care and rehabilitation interventions to facilitate greater function, health and quality of life in people with MS, particularly those with severe disability. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute on Disability Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), and the National MS Society. She is currently co-principal investigator for one of the largest PCORI-funded exercise trials in MS evaluating the comparative effectiveness of an evidence-based exercise program delivered in a facility or in the home. Her mission is to empower patients, students, and colleagues to achieve their greatest potential, and to advance rehabilitation science and care for people with disability due neurological injury or disease.
Dr. Backus is immediate past president of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM) and serves as one of the founding editors for the Archives of Rehabilitation Research & Clinical Translation, both of which serve the rehabilitation community to empower people with disability to live full and healthy lives.