STEPHANIE DELUCA, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
Associate Professor, The School of Neuroscience at Virginia Tech
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Director, Neuromotor Research Clinic
Dr. DeLuca is a developmental scientist who Directs the Neuromotor Research Clinic at the VTC Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and is an Associate Professor in Pediatrics (VTC School of Medicine) and in the School of Neuroscience (Virginia Tech). Dr. DeLuca has examined the impact of intensive neurorehabilitation treatments on children and adults with neuromotor impairments for more than 25 years. She has helped develop and rigorously test multiple neurorehabilitation therapy protocols and led numerous clinical research trials. Dr. DeLuca’s interdisciplinary research efforts have included; engagement of families, international training, and innovative teaching to prepare the next generation of clinicians and scientists. Dr. DeLuca has served as Co-PI on two NIH-funded multisite comparative effectiveness trials, and currently serves as a co-investigator and site- PI on the largest pediatric neurorehabilitation trial ever funded by the National Institutes of Health in the United States. In addition, she has served as a consultant for Humanity Inclusion funded by USAID and as a co-investigator on two global-health initiative grants funded by the Medical University of South Carolina.
Dr. DeLuca envisions “precision rehabilitation treatments” that can help all individuals impacted by neuromotor impairments by combining knowledge from diverse disciplines & communities to develop new evidenced-based rehabilitation techniques world-wide. Dr. DeLuca believes that research should serve to empower the individuals, families, and communities impacted by disability and seeks to use research to complete this goal. Dr. DeLuca has also served as a national leader by serving as a Director at Large on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy & Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) and previously chaired the Advocacy Committee for this organization and on the Treatment Outcomes Committee. Currently, she serves on the Care Pathways Committee for AACPDM. Dr. DeLuca also, previously, was a faculty member in the department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she worked to train the next generation of therapists to be both clinicians and scientists.