About the Contributing Authors
Drs. Mahler and Colón-Semenza each generously contributed a chapter to this guide
Leslie Mahler, PhD
​Dr. Mahler is an Associate Professor in Communicative Disorders and Director of the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Mahler began her professional career as a speech-language pathologist working with adults with neurological disorders in a medical setting before completing a dual doctorate in Speech and Hearing Sciences and Neuroscience from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2007. The main focus of Dr. Mahler’s research is to rigorously evaluate the impact of clinical treatments for specific populations of people with neurological diagnoses and translate those findings to clinical practice. Her research includes translating how principles of neural plasticity can be applied to the treatment of individuals with Parkinson’s disease. She has multiple published peer-reviewed articles and has presented at national and international conferences. Dr. Mahler is the principal investigator for LOUD for Life, a group for people with PD, and facilitator of a PD support group for the Rhode Island chapter of the APDA.
Cristina Colón-Semenza, PhD
Cristina Colón-Semenza, PhD, is a Research Scientist in the Center for Neurorehabilitation where she focuses upon studying behavior change related to exercise for individuals with neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Colón-Semenza has extensive experience working as a physical therapist across the spectrum of neurological disorders and across practice settings. Additionally, she is a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy. She recently received her PhD from the program in Rehabilitation Sciences at Boston University under the mentorship of Dr. Terry Ellis. Dr. Colón-Semenza’s dissertation work was focused upon motivation for exercise in people with Parkinson’s disease. Prior to her graduate work, Dr. Colón-Semenza practiced at the University of Connecticut’s Nayden Rehabilitation Clinic where she specialized in the evaluation and treatment of individuals with neurological diseases and disorders. She received her Master of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Delaware and her Bachelor of Science from Rutgers College.
Dr. Colón-Semenza has published several peer-reviewed articles and has presented both regionally and nationally on topics related to neurologic physical therapy practice. Dr. Colón-Semenza is an active participant of the American Physical Therapy Association, both locally and nationally. She is a delegate to the House of Delegates for the state of Connecticut and is a chairperson of the Special Interest Group focused upon Neurologic Physical Therapy through the CT American Physical Therapy Association. She is a board member of the Connecticut chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association.
