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Manipal-McGill Rehabilitation Collaboration Symposium No. 3

Another successful virtual symposium bringing together rehabilitation science researchers and students from India and Canada

The following is a summary of the symposium written by Natasha Hassija, Master's Rehabilitation Science student.

In the same week as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the third Manipal-McGill Rehabilitation Collaboration Symposium was successfully held on the 30th of听November, 2022, while it was morning in Montreal and evening in Manipal (India). Over three hours, there were extensive exchanges about ongoing rehabilitation and disability-focused research activities undertaken by teams spanning the Manipal College of Health Professions (MCHP) and McGill鈥檚 School of Physical and Occupational Therapy (SPOT). As well as highlighting existing collaborations, an overarching theme for the symposium was the consideration of opportunities and challenges when engaging in international research collaborations.听

Screenshot taken during the MMRC Symposium, Nov 2022

The event commenced with SPOT Director, Laurie Snider, OT, PhD, who reflected on her visit to Manipal Academy of Higher Education in February 2020 to sign the Annex of a Memorandum of Understanding which formalized the Manipal-McGill Rehabilitation Collaboration, and where she saw enormous potential for important research collaboration. Attendees then dived into the deep history that connects MCHP and SPOT. Tracing the collaborations back to 2010, Dean of MCHP, Arun Maiya PT, PhD, highlighted key activities and noted the evolution of the collaboration over the years and how it first started with stroke rehabilitation and encompasses an increasingly widespread of rehabilitation and disability-related research today.

The keynote address was delivered by Philippe Archambault OT, PhD in which he discussed his work as the co-scientific director of the Inclusive Society, an intersectoral research initiative that aims to improve the social inclusion of people with disabilities through participatory research (). Barriers to the social participation of people with disabilities are well documented both in practice and research. Yet, appropriate services and innovations are still lacking, and many research projects are poorly aligned with the expressed needs of the partners. He concluded by emphasizing the importance of creating and maintaining a community of experts, supporting participatory research, and engaging stakeholders, including decision-makers, and giving examples of current projects.

Six teams of McGill and Manipal researchers and students then showcased their collaborative research projects:

1. Inclusion of persons with disabilities in climate change adaptation and disaster risk management by Mathew Simard (PhD Candidate, McGill)
2. A cross-country collaborative scoping review on family-centred occupational therapy interventions for dementia by Meena Ramachandran (PhD Candidate, McGill)
3. A systematic review and meta-analysis of research on exercise the dose-response relationship with heart rate variability in individuals with overweight and obesity听by Dr. Mukesh Kumar Sinha (Associate Professor, Manipal)听
4. An evidence synthesis on Digital Health technology use and potential for people living with chronic diseases in low- and middle-income countries听by Mohamed Alkhaldi PhD (post-doctoral fellow, McGill) and Amar Nishad (OT, Manipal)
5. A scoping review on Motor learning principles reported in stroke trials on upper limb task-oriented training听by Subramanium Durairaj (PhD Candidate, Manipal)听
6. A scoping review on Community-Based Rehabilitation in Settings of Armed Conflict, Natural Disaster, or Mass Displacement听by Amina Mohamed and Janeki Roux (PT graduates, McGill)

The final session of the symposium was a panel discussion about insights and key learning experiences related to international research collaborations. Led by Matthew Hunt (McGill) and Arun Maiya (Manipal), it began with Professor Hunt quoting a proverb that reflects the value of the collaboration so far, 鈥淚f you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together鈥�, he reflected upon how teams from both institutes have come together on building a rich network with a goal of conducting meaningful and impactful research. During the discussion, Dr Maiya reflected on the expansion of the collaboration in terms of research fields, expressed his appreciation for the seed funding opportunities, and emphasized that most of the research projects were student driven. The exposure during the symposium not only helped students broaden their networks but also understand different cultures and regional challenges. Several participants further added that although there were cultural differences and regional barriers with respect to the implementation of research, they were able to find common ground and envision their research moving to a greater scale. It was well appreciated that despite the restrictions due to the pandemic, the collaboration went on in full swing and hence most of the studies presented were literature reviews and syntheses. John Solomon (PT, PhD, MCHP) shared his experience as one of the pioneers of this collaboration and its impact on his research program, particularly his work with Mindy Levin (PT, PhD, McGill), as it helped him broaden his network in the field of stroke research.

Professor Mindy Levin wrapped up the symposium by expressing her vision for how collaboration allows for the sharing and growing of expertise and allows researchers to move into new circles and opportunities. She also mentioned that the topics presented during the symposium are of timely importance for global health and rehabilitation internationally. In sum, this was another successful shared virtual event highlighting ongoing collaborations, and especially the many contributions of students to these shared endeavors. We look forward to the shared event, perhaps even in person!

Natasha Hassija is a first-year McGill Master鈥檚 in Rehabilitation Science student under the supervision of Nancy Mayo, PhD. Born and raised in Mumbai, Natasha earned a bachelor鈥檚 in physiotherapy at CMC, Vellore, India, and was practicing as a Physical Therapist in India when the COVID-19 pandemic started. Motivated by the overburdened healthcare system and the desire to help in the field of neurorehabilitation, she connected with Dr. John Solomon鈥檚 group at the MCHP. Their discussion led her to apply to McGill鈥檚 School of Physical and Occupational Therapy Graduate Program where her thesis focuses on video-assessment of gait in Parkinson鈥檚 affected individuals.

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