Center for Quality of Life After Stroke
Co-Chairs
Dr. Edgley is an associate professor and Director of the Stroke Rehabilitation Program at University of Utah. Dr. Edgley is passionate about stroke recovery. In addition to his clinical work, caring for thousands of stroke patients, he is focused on developing and implementing innovative strategies to enhance standard of care in stroke and improve quality of life. As a person with a lived experience of stroke and the author of two books he brings a unique perspective that blends personal experience with insights into stroke recovery.
As one of the co-chairs for The Center for Quality of Life after Stroke, he’ll be able to continue his goal of promoting functional independence while elevating quality of life for persons living with stroke along with their care partners.
Dr. Edgley has extensive experience leading prospective research studies and recruitment which makes him well positioned to partner with Alex Terrill and furthering research into quality of life after stroke.
Dr. Terrill is a licensed clinical psychologist with extensive expertise in stroke, quality of life, and rehabilitation. With over 15 years of experience in intervention development that uses mixed-methods and community-engaged research approaches, she has been continuously funded from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Dr. Terrill's research interests were inspired by the inherent resiliency of patients when they face a life changing injury or illness and the recognition that recovery was influenced by personal, interpersonal, as well as social-environmental factors. For the majority of her career, she has focused her research on understanding what helps patients adapt to and cope with disabling conditions and translating this into interventions that support patients and their care partners.
Dr. Terrill holds joint appointments in the Department of Occupational and Recreational Therapies and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Utah. As co-chair of the Center for Quality of Life after Stroke she’ll be able to continue the work of implementing strategic research initiatives to enhance stroke rehabilitation and outcomes well into the future.
Team
Dr. Kumar joined the University of Utah in 2024 after completing 2.5 years as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Dalhousie University in Canada. He holds a Ph.D. focused on prognostic risk modeling for patients having symptomatic carotid stenosis, as well as a Master’s in Cognitive Neuroscience. His research experience spans the entire continuum of stroke care, including pre-hospital, emergency room, in-hospital, and post-discharge stages. During his time at Dal, Dr. Kumar led several impactful projects aimed at evaluating pre-treatment logistics and processes, as well as access to MRI during the in-patient phase of stroke care and its impact on patient outcomes and healthcare resource utilization. He also led multi-provincial large-scale stroke epidemiology studies, evaluating health services and outcomes in terms of timeliness, effectiveness, and equity, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Kumar's current work at PM&R focuses on advancing research and interventions that enhance the quality of life (QOL) for persons with stroke. He believes that comprehensive rehabilitation, covering motor, cognitive, and psychosocial recovery are the pillars of improving long-term quality of life for persons with stroke. Dr. Kumar also advocates for an equitable and accessible patient-centered approach, while believing that empowering patients and their informal caregivers is crucial to the recovery process.
In his free time, Dr. Kumar enjoys traveling, going on walks, exploring new cafes, and learning about different cultures and history.
Erin joined the University of Utah in 2012 as a clinical research coordinator in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. From there she started working for Revenue Cycle Support Services learning project management and leading institutional and department projects including customer service, finance, and IT. Later she was able to rejoin clinical research with Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine and then the Clinical and Translation Science Institute. Erin has experience working on all varieties and sizes of projects including multi-contract industry partnerships, FDA IND's, design and start-up for investigator initiated trials, software implementations and more. Erin grew up in Indiana and obtained her bachelors from Purdue University and Masters of Public Health from Ohio State University before relocating to Utah. She enjoys cooking, traveling, and hiking all over the west with her dog Gracie.
As a Recreational Therapist, my role includes providing leisure and recreation services to patients and their families/caregivers while admitted to inpatient rehabilitation. My scope addresses the physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and spiritual needs of each patient through activity-based treatment. I prioritize patient interests through the treatment process to boost participation and mood.