Lab Director
Swati Manoharrao Surkar, PT, PhD
Assistant Professor
Director, Pediatric Assessment and Rehabilitation Laboratory (PeARL)
Department of Physical Therapy
College of Allied Health Sciences
East Carolina University
Office: 2405G | Mail Stop: 668
Phone: 252-744-6244
Email: surkars19@ecu.edu
Faculty Profile
ResearchGate Profile
NIH Reporter
Education
- 2019: Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Neurorehabilitation Research, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- 2016: PhD, Rehabilitation Science, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
- 2008: MS, Physical Therapy (Neurology), University of Mumbai, Mumbai, India
- 2005: BS, Physical Therapy, Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik, India
Primary Professional Areas of Interest
Cerebral palsy, motor control, motor learning, intensive intervention, brain plasticity, neuroimaging
Research Focus
The primary focus of Pediatric Assessment and Rehabilitation Laboratory (PeARL) is to investigate brain structure and function relationship and the effects of different interventions to improve functional outcomes in children with cerebral palsy (CP). I am an early-stage investigator and authored numerous publications that have focused on rehabilitation outcomes of children with CP. My skill sets are clinical trials; intensive behavioral interventions; behavioral, biomechanical, and neuroimaging techniques.
Service
Dr. Surkar is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association, American Association of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, and Pediatric Stroke Task Force of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM).
Awards and Scholarships
- 2021 – Outstanding Faculty Award
- 2019, 2020, 2021 – Author Recognition Award, East Carolina University
- 2019 – Jeanne Hughes Award for best manuscript published in Pediatric Physical Therapy Journal
- 2016 – Graduate Student of Distinction, University of Nebraska Medical Center
- 2016 – American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM), Student Scholarship
- 2015 – American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM), Student Scholarship
- 2014 – American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM), Student Scholarship
- 2014 – American Association of University Women International Fellowship (AAUW)
- 2014 – Margaret McNemara Memorial Education Fund (MMMF)- World Bank Scholarship
- 2014 – North American Society of Psychology of Sports and Physical Activity (NASPSPA)
- 2014 – Nebraska SAS association student scholarship
- 2011 – International Travel Grant, Indian Association of Physiotherapists
- 2011 – Best Podium Presentation Award
- 2008 – 1st rank in Master of Physical Therapy Program, University of Mumbai
- 2005 – 1st rank in Bachelor of Physical Therapy Program at the institute level
Selected Publications
- Surkar, S. M., Hoffman, R. M., Harbourne, R., & Kurz, M. J. (2021). Cognitive-Motor Interference Heightens the Prefrontal Cortical Activation and Deteriorates the Task Performance in Children with Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. PMID: 32976843. DOI: 10.1016/j.apmr.2020.08.014
- Surkar, S. M., Bland, M. D., Mattlage, A. E., Gidday, J., Chen, L., Hershey, T., Lee, J., Lang, C. E. (2020). Effects of Remote Limb Ischemic Conditioning on Motor Learning and Muscle Strength in Healthy Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial. PLOS One, 15(2):e0227263. PMID:32017777. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227263
- Surkar, S. M., Hoffman, R. M., Harbourne, R., & Kurz, M. J. (2018). Neural activation within the prefrontal cortices during the goal-directed motor actions of children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. Neurophotonics, 5(1), 011021. PMID:011021. DOI: 10.1117/1.NPh.5.1.011021
- Surkar, S. M., Hoffman, R. M., Willett, S., Flegle, J., Harbourne, R., & Kurz, M. J. (2018). Hand Arm Bimanual Intensive Therapy Improves Prefrontal Cortex Activation in Children With Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy. Pediatric Physical Therapy, 30(2), 93-100.* PMID:29578992. DOI: 10.1097/PEP.0000000000000486*
*This paper is selected as a featured article for April 2018 Pediatric Physical Therapy journal. - Surkar, S. M., Hoffman, R. M., Davies, B., Harbourne, R., & Kurz, M. J. (2018). Impaired Anticipatory Vision and Visuomotor Coordination Affects Action Planning and Execution in Children With Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 80, 64-73. PMID:29940386. DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2018.06.009