CHS Welcomes New Faculty – Meet Dr. Shashwati Geed
Published October 10, 2023
By Darlene Muguiro
UTEP College of Health Sciences
This fall, the College of Health Sciences (CHS) is welcoming new faculty members across several departments.
We are pleased to present the seventh profile featuring Dr. Shashwati Geed, assistant professor of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences. Dr. Geed comes to UTEP from Washington, D.C., where she held an appointment as research assistant professor at Georgetown University. She obtained her Bachelor of Physical Therapy degree at Devi Ahilya University in India and her PhD in Kinesiology, with a focus on Motor Control and Neuroscience, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also completed a series of NIH-funded postdoctoral fellowships in rehabilitation. Her research focuses on neurorehabilitation, specifically looking at the mechanisms of neuroplasticity in the brain after a neural injury, such as a stroke.
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Like many first-time visitors to El Paso, Dr. Shashwati Geed recalls being “awestruck” by the majesty and beauty of the Franklin Mountains. Her first impression of UTEP was equally positive, due mainly to the experiences she had with Physical Therapy (PT) students during her campus visit.
“I had a chance to spend a few hours with them, and I have to say that they were the most engaged, inquisitive students I’ve come across” she said. “We started chatting about neurorehabilitation, and what happens to patients after they experience a stroke. The students had so many questions for me about stroke and about neuroplasticity, I was just blown away.”
In addition to teaching the PT program’s Neurorehabilitation and Neuroscience courses, Geed aims to continue her research in neurorehabilitation at UTEP. Her postdoctoral lab discovered that patients with stroke experience heightened neuroplasticity for a brief period of time. Called a “critical period” of neuroplasticity, they showed that intensive motor training during this early critical period led to clinically meaningful recovery of hand function compared to standard rehabilitation.
“My work now is focused on discovering what is so special about this brain state, this critical period of neuroplasticity early after stroke,” she said. “The big picture question that is so exciting is, can we figure out what makes the brain highly plastic early after a neural injury? If yes, we could (potentially) recreate those conditions at a later point in time, introducing more plasticity in the brain. It offers hope of recovery even for patients who experienced a stroke several years ago. We can help people move and be independent again, adding life back to their years.”
Geed’s goals for the first year at UTEP are grand, including opening her lab, recruiting students, and recruiting patients with stroke for her clinical studies. She would also like to start a support group for motor function rehabilitation in the PT Clinic at the Rehabilitation Sciences Complex. She also hopes her students will come to know her admiration for their natural curiosity.
“I’m really excited to work with them, and share how exciting neurorehabilitation is and how exciting this research can be,” she said. “I also want to encourage them to remain curious and keep up the good work they are doing.”
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Go Miners!
For more information about the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, please visit: https://www.utep.edu/chs/pt.