Congress programme committee 2027
Judith DeutschCongress programme committee chair
Judith Deutsch
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Judith Deutsch is professor and director Rivers Lab at Rutgers University. Her scholarship in the area of digital health spans the development and implementation of virtual reality and serious games to address balance, mobility and fitness of older adults and persons with neurologic health conditions. Her work has also included research into complementary and integrative therapies, clinical decision making and evidence-based practice. She has served as editor in chief of Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy and on the editorial boards of rehabilitation and engineering journals. She is an engaged volunteer with World Physiotherapy task forces and is the immediate past president of the International Neurological Physiotherapy Association.
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Nihad AlmasriCongress programme committee member
Nihad Almasri
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Nihad A. Almasri is a physiotherapy professor at Qatar University with over 15 years of academic, clinical, and research experience in pediatric rehabilitation. She previously served as dean of the school of rehabilitation sciences, University of Jordan, and worked as a senior pediatric physiotherapist in Jordan and Qatar. She was recognised as one of the top-cited researchers at the University of Jordan in 2024. She has published 63 peer-reviewed papers in Scopus-indexed journals and led numerous funded research projects on cerebral palsy, rehabilitation registries, and inclusive health systems. She established the CPUP-Jordan registry and is the founding president of the Arabic Academy for Childhood Development and Disability. She is an active member of the American and European Academies for Childhood Disability and acts as a consultant for the World Physiotherapy. She serves on the editorial board of Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics.
Charles BatchoCongress programme committee member
Charles Batcho
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Charles Sebiyo Batcho is full professor at the School of rehabilitation sciences, Faculty of Medicine at Université Laval (Canada), and researcher at Centre for interdisciplinary research in rehabilitation and social integration (Canada). His main areas of research are development and assessment of cost-effective rehabilitation interventions, using wearable and immersive technology. He is also interested in the development and validation of outcome measures, as well as the development of interventions related to physical activity and the evaluation of their contribution towards functional autonomy, social participation, and quality of life of people with chronic health conditions.
Norma Elisa Galvez OlveraCongress programme committee member
Norma Elisa Galvez Olvera
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Elisa Gálvez is a physiotherapist based in Mexico City with over 36 years of clinical experience in private practice. She holds a master's in education, which has complemented her extensive academic career teaching at various universities.
She is the president and a founding member of the Mexican Association of Physiotherapy in Mental Health (AMEFISAM), and serves as the national representative for Mexico within International Organization of Physiotherapy in Mental Health (IOPTMH). In this capacity, she has chaired the education committee and led several international initiatives, including webinars and the summer school.
Elisa also coordinates the international diploma in physiotherapy in mental health, working in collaboration with educators and students from across Latin America. Her areas of professional interest include orthopedics, geriatrics, and mental health.
Thanh-Van LeCongress programme committee member
Thanh-Van Le
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Thanh-Van Le is managing deputy head of the department of rehabilitation, School of Nursing and Medical Technology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. She is completing a PhD in movement sciences at UCLouvain, Belgium, with research focused on postural control and fall risk in individuals with knee osteoarthritis.
Since qualifying as a physiotherapist in 2006, Van has led major national initiatives, including the development of Vietnam’s national competency standard and education framework for rehabilitation. Her academic interests lie in clinical biomechanics, applied physiotherapy research and evidence-based practice. She has played a key role in aligning physiotherapy education with international standards. She serves as vice president of Vietnam Physical Therapy Association, in charge of education and research. Van is also active in organising national and international conferences to strengthen the physiotherapy research community.
Mindy Levin Congress programme committee member
Mindy Levin
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Mindy Levin is a professor in the school of physical and occupational therapy, faculty of medicine and health sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. She was a research scholar of the Quebec Health Research Fund, 1992-2004, and held a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in motor recovery and rehabilitation, 2005-2019. She is a distinguished James McGill professor. She has over 200 peer-reviewed publications. Her research focuses on elucidating the mechanisms underlying sensorimotor deficits and their recovery in patients with central nervous system lesions. She has a strong background in motor control theory and the translation of motor control and motor learning principles into clinical rehabilitation applications to improve the lives of people with neurological lesions. Among her research methodologies are new technologies such as virtual reality and robotics.
She is a past-president of the International Society of Motor Control and a past-president of the International Society for Virtual Rehabilitation. She is also a board member of the International Neurological Physiotherapy Association (INPA) and a member of the scientific advisory committee of the International Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Alliance. She is a past editor-in-chief of the journal Motor Control.
Atwongyeire NightCongress programme committee member
Atwongyeire Night
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Atwongyeire Night is a senior physiotherapist and president of Uganda Association of Physiotherapy (UAP). With over a decade of clinical experience, health promotion, and advocacy, she has been advocating for advancement of rehabilitation services and physical activity promotion in Uganda.
As UAP president, Night has successfully engaged with key stakeholders, including the ministry of health, to shape policy reforms and advocate for increased investment in rehabilitation and physical activity as critical components of inclusive healthcare.
Night holds a BSc in physiotherapy, and is completing a master’s in international public health. She is also a researcher, currently involved in research projects in neurosurgery rehabilitation, and physical activity policy.
Passionate about capacity building, Night is committed to building resilient health systems that are responsive to the needs of communities. Her work bridges clinical expertise and policy leadership to drive sustainable health improvements in Uganda and beyond.
Sonia Roa-Alcaino Congress programme committee member
Sonia Roa-Alcaino
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Sonia Roa-Alcaino is a physiotherapist and academic with over 25 years of experience in clinical practice, teaching, and research in women’s health. She holds a master’s in public health and postgraduate training in university education, lifestyle medicine, and compassion-focused approaches. Her academic work integrates clinical expertise in pelvic floor health, perinatal care, and behavioural change, with a focus on women’s health across the lifespan. She serves as deputy director of the Postgraduate Physiotherapy & Health and Lifestyle Medicine Academic Center at Universidad del Desarrollo in Chile, where she leads postgraduate education and interdisciplinary initiatives. Sonia has presented at numerous international congresses, and she served on the congress programme committee for World Physiotherapy Congress 2025. Her current research interests include women's health, physical activity, and the integration of lifestyle-based interventions in physiotherapy education and practice.
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Megan RossCongress programme committee member
Megan Ross
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Megan Ross is a titled research physiotherapist, postdoctoral research fellow and inaugural chair of the Australian Physiotherapy Association's LGBTQIA+ advisory committee. She leads a programme of research exploring LGBTQIA+ experiences of, and access to, healthcare focussing on physiotherapy and primary care. Megan has secured >$2M in research funding and has delivered >40 national and international conference presentations and 40 invited presentations to diverse audiences across the university, hospital, and industry sectors.
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Oka SaneriviCongress programme committee member
Oka Sanerivi
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Oka is a Samoan, Tongan physiotherapy clinician, manager, educator, emerging researcher and governor. He is a senior research fellow with the Va’a o Tautai: Centre for Pacific Health, University of Otago, and the Mātai Medical Research Institute in Tairāwhiti. Oka was awarded a Pacific Clinical Research Training Fellowship from the Health Research Council of New Zealand to conduct his doctoral research exploring cultural safety in physiotherapy for Samoan and Pacific families. In completing this, Oka became the first Pacific person to be awarded a PhD in physiotherapy. He has been involved in organising and participating in numerous Pacific and Indigenous health conferences and seminars. Oka brings a breadth of policy insights through his current and recent roles with the Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand (as deputy chair), the executive committee of Physiotherapy New Zealand, and the executive committees of the Environmental Physiotherapy Association and the Pasifika Physiotherapists Association.
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Nikolaos StrimpakosCongress programme committee member
Nikolaos Strimpakos
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Nikolaos Strimpakos is a professor in the department of physiotherapy, University of Thessaly, Greece. With an MSc and PhD in rehabilitation, University of Manchester, and dual BSc degrees in physiotherapy and sports science, he has held key leadership roles, including vice rector of academic and financial affairs at TEI of Sterea Ellada and head of physiotherapy department. He serves as director of the research institute of rehabilitation and wellbeing and the health assessment and quality of life lab, University of Thessaly. He has authored over 80 peer-reviewed articles (3,500+ citations, h-index 29) and participated in projects worth over €2 million, specialising in musculoskeletal rehabilitation, outcome measures, and exercise for chronic diseases. Additionally, he has served on award committees for the World Physiotherapy Congress 2023 and World Physiotherapy Europe region in 2024.
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Georg SuppCongress programme committee member
Georg Supp
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Georg has been a physiotherapist since 1992 and is co-owner of the rehabilitation centre PULZ in Freiburg, Germany. He is an international instructor with the McKenzie Institute International and a member of its education council. He teaches physiotherapists worldwide. Since 2023 he has taught the seminar, Talk it easy. The focus of his clinical work is on patients with chronic musculoskeletal problems and sports injuries. Georg has published book chapters, articles, comments and letters in several peer-reviewed journals. In 2018 he received the Stone of the Wise award from Physio Deutschland, in recognition of his dedication to the profession. He served as a member of the congress programme committee for World Physiotherapy Congress 2025 in Tokyo. Georg is currently conducting research on patient reported outcomes and patients’ perspectives.
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