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Photo of Dr. Akuthota
Venu Akuthota, MD

Professor, Chair, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
CU Medicine Endowed Chair


University of Âé¶¹´«Ã½¸ßÇå

Welcome

We have discovered the next miracle in medicine -- and it is you. The fields of Rehabilitation believe in using your whole body to improve your human performance. The department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Âé¶¹´«Ã½¸ßÇå (which we affectionately call "CU PM&R") is at the forefront of using team science, regenerative medicine, and exercise treatments. It is uniquely situated in the state-of-the-art CU Anschutz Medical Campus, the first campus in the nation to be built from the ground up to bring research, education, and patient care into one visionary collaboration. Like the Rocky Mountains that provide a backdrop of our institutions, CU PM&R is on the rise! We combine the disciplines of rehabilitation medicine, physical therapy, psychology, speech/language therapy, and rehabilitation sciences into a singular department. The following video stories reinforce the mission of the department: "Growing the Value of Rehab." 

The stories of CU PM&R are countless, but here are a few. Joyce Oleszek, MD, a pediatric rehabilitation medicine physician at Children's Hospital Âé¶¹´«Ã½¸ßÇå, made an emotional appearance on the Dr. Oz Show describing medical miracles. She was part of the CHCO team that rehabilitated severely brain-injured high schoolers to later walk across the stage at his high school graduation. The miracle of rehabilitation was clearly evident in this story. ​

Read more...​

 

Upcoming Events


PM&R News

  • Jun 3, 2025
    Derek Stokes, MD, Assistant Professor and Sports Medicine Physician in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and Alice Barnes, PT, DPT, SCS, Associated Faculty member in the Physical Therapy Program, were featured in this CU Anschutz Today article on the rising use of steroids and the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs.
  • Jun 2, 2025
    Six percent of the population are still feeling the effects of COVID-19 long after infection. William Niehaus, MD, Associate Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, was featured in this CU Medicine article on how PM&R can help manage long COVID symptoms and support recovery.
  • May 15, 2025
    Wendy Pierce, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Practice in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, was featured in this Fox21 story on the Angelman Syndrome Clinic at Children's Hospital Âé¶¹´«Ã½¸ßÇå.
  • May 9, 2025
    Kristin Uhler, PhD, Associate Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, is researching how an infant’s ability to hear the differences between two speech sounds impacts language outcomes. Her work shines light on how language develops and may inform future interventions to address the challenges children with hearing differences face.
  • May 6, 2025
    Amy McDevitt, PT, DPT, PhD, OCS, FAAOMPT, Associate Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, was featured in Episode 64 of the The Tactile Traveler podcast on NPR, where she discussed proper standing techniques particularly for blind and low-vision people.
  • May 2, 2025
    Dr. Cory Christiansen, Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and team, were featured in this CU Anschutz article for the SPARX3 randomized clinical trial which seeks to lessen the hold of Parkinson's Disease for patients.
  • May 1, 2025
    William "Bill" Niehaus, MD wanted to become a doctor after experiencing his own health challenges in high school. Always interested in science, puzzles and helping people, Dr. Niehaus knew medicine would be in his future. As a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor, Dr. Niehaus enjoys helping patients regain pieces of their life they may have lost due to injury or illness.
  • Apr 25, 2025
    Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley, PT, PhD, FAPTA, Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, was featured in this CU Anschutz Today article about knee replacement surgery and recovery.
  • Apr 14, 2025
    Drs. Jason Friedrich and Kristina Barber discuss their recent SpineLine article, "Cervicogenic Headache: Bad Referral or Appropriate For Your Spine Clinic?' with moderator Jayesh Vallabh of the North American Spine Society podcast.
  • HOPE Clinic Launches to Address Complex Cancer Pain

    Apr 4, 2025 by Zachary Noriega, MPA
    Last Friday, March 28, 2025, marked the official launch of the HOPE (Holistic Oncology Pain Evaluation) Clinic, a multidisciplinary complex cancer pain clinic. This initiative, spearheaded by Dr. Franchesca König, Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and team, has been in development for the past 1.5 years and is now ready to provide much-needed support to patients struggling with cancer-related pain.
    Full story
  • Get to Know: Dr. David Gallacher

    Mar 17, 2025 by Zachary Noriega, MPA
    CU PM&R spotlights our incoming Chief Resident Dr. David Gallacher. Learn more about his journey to Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, time within our residency program, and goals as Chief Resident.
    Full story
  • Feb 27, 2025
    Dr. Robin Peterson, Associate Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, was featured in the Âé¶¹´«Ã½¸ßÇåal Diagnosticians podcast. She is one of the authors of "Diagnosing Learning Disorders: From Science to Practice." This group of researchers proposed a Multi-Deficit Model of learning disabilities, and their research influenced the way we think about Dyslexia.
  • Get to Know: Dr. Emma Drenth

    Mar 13, 2025 by Zachary Noriega, MPA
    CU PM&R spotlights our incoming Chief Resident Dr. Emma Drenth. Learn more about her journey to Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, time within our residency program, and goals as Chief Resident.
    Full story
  • Mar 10, 2025
    Dr. Cristina Sarmiento, Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, was featured in the Complex Care Journal Club Podcast, where she discusses a qualitative study exploring experiences of young adults with cerebral palsy and their caregivers with transition to adult care. She describes the major barriers and facilitators to transition, challenges and opportunities related to conducting the study, implications for practice, and next steps from this work.
  • Feb 28, 2025
    Associate Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Dr. William Niehaus, was featured in this article by the Denver Gazette on long COVID.
  • Get to Know: Dr. Samantha Koerber

    Mar 5, 2025 by Zachary Noriega, MPA
    CU PM&R spotlights our incoming Chief Resident Dr. Samantha Koerber. Learn more about her journey to Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, time within our residency program, and goals as Chief Resident.
    Full story

Recent News

2024-2025 Grand Rounds Schedule:

 

 Date Presenter Topic
Wednesday, September 4, 2024Brian Johnson, PhD, JD, MTWhy Should I Come Here?: The State of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Âé¶¹´«Ã½¸ßÇå Anschutz Medical Campus
Wednesday, October 2, 2024Vik Bebarta, MDVeteran Mental Health Research
Wednesday, November 13, 2024Richard Weir, PhD
Neural interfaces, Prostheses. Big Contributor to the DekaArm
Wednesday, December 4, 2024Micol Rothman, MDBone Health and Sex Steroids in athletes
Wednesday, January 8, 2025Candy Tefertiller, PT, DPT, PhD, NCSLocomotor Training in Spinal Cord Injury
Wednesday, February 5, 2025Prakash Jayabalan, MD, PhDExercise as a Biological Medicine in Knee Osteoarthritis’
Wednesday, March 5, 2025Daniel Corcos, PhDExercise in Parkinson’s Disease
Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Janna Friedly, MD, MPH

9th Annual Dennis J. Matthews Lectureship
Wednesday, May 7, 2025Andrew Smith, PT, DPT, PhD/Jeff Berliner, DOShockwaves of Progress: Electrifying Breakthroughs in Spinal Cord Injury Recovery
Wednesday, June 4, 2025Dianna Quan, MDUpdates in Amyloidosis

Wednesdays, 5-6 p.m.

Anschutz Medical Campus | Academic Office Building 1 - Room 7000 | 12631 E. 17th Ave., Aurora, CO 80045. In-person attendance encouraged.

Livestream .

Important Recognition Months and Days

 

 Date Recognition
MarchBrain Injury Awareness Month
MarchCerebral Palsy Awareness Month
March 8thInternational Women's Day
March 30thNational Doctors' Day
MayNational Stroke Awareness Month
May 27thPsychology Day
SeptemberNational Pain Awareness Month
SeptemberNational Rehabilitation Awareness Month
SeptemberNational Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month
September 4-10Suicide Prevention Week
September 7thWorld Duchenne Awareness Day
OctoberNational Physical Therapy Month
November 11thVeteran's Day

 

 

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (SOM)

CU Anschutz

Academic Office One

12631 East 17th Avenue

Rm 1201G

Aurora, CO 80045


 

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