Keynote Speaker

Stephanie DeLuca, PhD

Stephanie DeLuca, PhD has a passion for serving children with disabilities. She has served as PI or lead investigator on numerous randomized controlled trials all of which have had a goal of using science to investigated complex bio-behavioral interventions aimed at helping children maximize their development. She directs the Neuromotor Research Clinic at Virginia Tech Carlion’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. Here she and colleagues work to develop novel therapeutics for children with a wide array of diagnoses. She has worked in the field of rehabilitation for over 30 years. Training others in the field is a highly important topic for Dr. DeLuca. She has served as guest editor for Frontiers in Social Pediatrics (Special Edition - Advances in Pediatric Rehabilitation Clinical Trials: Design, Methods, and Analysis in 2025); and Behavioral Sciences (Special Editions - Shifting the Therapeutic Paradigm for Children with Neuromotor Disabilities to Maximizing Development in 2023; and Improvement in the Adaptation and Wellbeing of Children with Neuromotor Disabilities – currently accepting articles). Additionally, she serves on the Membership Committee for the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM), previously served as a board member for AACPDM. Dr. DeLuca has lived disability experience, herself, and envisions “precision rehabilitation treatments” that can empower individuals with disabilities and their families.

From Science to Clinical Progress: Harnessing Precision Rehabilitation through Lessons Learned and Lived Experience

Friday, November 13, 8:45 AM – 10:15 AM

The term precision and personalized rehabilitation is topic widely discussed. In the field of pediatric rehabilitation, precision or personalized approaches should have a goal of optimizing each child’s personal prognostic trajectory. However, pediatric rehabilitation, whether being clinically or scientifically delivered faces complexities that create both opportunities and barriers. Using both her science on intensive therapies and own disability lived experience; Dr. DeLuca will discuss, how she has watched the rehabilitation community imagine novel concepts (e.g., the density and distribution of therapy, neuroplasticity, and new technologies) and face challenges (e.g. heterogeneity of diagnoses/severity, measurement obstacles, and interdisciplinary collaborations). Finally, she will lead a dialogue about what these could mean for the future of pediatric rehabilitation.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to demonstrate knowledge about precision rehabilitation frameworks and understand how they must be dynamic, especially in pediatrics.
Participants will understand how evidence-based intensive rehabilitation therapies pushed the field towards precision rehabilitation.
Participants will be able to discuss how precision rehabilitation must merge science and lived experiences to dictate best practices and future scientific efforts in pediatric rehabilitation.