Jadranka (Adriana) Spahija
Associate Professor
BSc (Phys Ther), PhD (Rehabilitation Science); post-doctoral studies (Medicine) Université de Montréal
PHTH 552: Cardiorespiratory rehabilitation
PHTH 641: Topics in cardiorespiratory rehabilitation
PHTH 551: PT neurorehabilitation
PHTH 561: Integrated neurorehabilitation
Prof. Spahija's research interests are in the areas of respiratory and exercise physiology, respiratory muscle function, mechanical ventilation and pulmonary rehabilitation. Her research program focuses both on the acute and chronic care phases of rehabilitation with the aim of develping evaluative measures and treatment strategies for the improvement of respiratory and physical function, exercise capacity and quality of life in individuals who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or who have suffered a stroke or spinal cord injury. The three main themes of her research are: 1) exploration of new ventilator strategies on respiratory muscle activity, patient-ventilator coordination and immune function in COPD and spinal cord injury, 2) understanding of the mechanisms underlying exercise limitation and the effects of breathing techniques, exercise strategies and adjunct therapies such as mechanical ventilation for improving the effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation, and 3) investigation of respiratory muscle dysfunction, respiratory muscle training and the interactions between breathing, balance, posture and locomotion in stroke patients.
Research Areas:
diphragm function
exercise
mechanical ventilation
neural control
pulmonary rehabilitation
respiratory mechanics
respiratory muscles
spinal cord injury
stroke
Moga AM, de Marchie M, Saey D and Spahija J. (2012). Mechanisms of non-pharmacologic adjunct therapies used during exercise in COPD. Respir Med, 106: 614-26.
Pakhale S, Wood-Dauphinee S, Spahija J, Collet JP, Maltais F, Bernard S, Baltzan M, Rouleau M and Bourbeau J. (2011). Combining both generic and disease-specific properties: Development of the McGill COPD Quality of Life Questionnaire. COPD: Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, 8:255-63.
Spahija J, de Marchie M, Albert M, Bellemare P, Delisle S, Beck J and Sinderby C. (2010). Patient-ventilator interaction during pressure support ventilation and neurally adjusted ventilatory assist. Crit Care Med, 38:515-26.
Spahija J, de Marchie M and Grassino A. (2010). Factors discriminating spontaneous pursed-lips breathing use in patients with COPD. COPD: Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, 7: 254-61.
Sinderby C, Beck J, Spahija J, de Marchie M, Lacroix J, Navalesi P and Slutsky AS. (2007). Inspiratory muscle unloading by neurally adjusted ventilatory assist during maximal inspiratory efforts in healthy subjects. Chest, 131:711-7.
Beck J, Weinberg J, Hamnegård C-H, Spahija J, Olofson J, Grimby G and Sinderby C. (2006). Diaphragmatic function in advanced Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Neuromuscular disorders, 16:161-7.
