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Our Researchers

Casa Colina Research Institute Team

Emily Rosario, PhD – Executive Director, Research Institute

Emily Rosario, PhDDr. Emily Rosario is a neuroscientist with over 20 years of experience in rehabilitation medicine, age-related diseases, neurologic disorders, and endocrine dysfunction. She has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications for high-impact journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association and Neurology, and her research has been funded by prestigious organizations including the NIH and the Alzheimer's Association. Under Dr. Rosario’s direction, CCRI collaborates with multidisciplinary teams at Casa Colina Hospital on a variety of research studies and partners externally with academic institutions like USC, UCLA, and Caltech. She is the Executive Director of the Research Institute at Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare and an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of Southern California.

Caroline Schnakers, PhD – Assistant Director, Research Institute

Caroline Schnakers, PhD Dr. Caroline Schnakers has been working as a clinical scientist in the neurorehabilitation field for the past 20 years. Her research focuses on severe acquired brain injuries and, more particularly, on the assessment of brain activity and cognitive function using behavioral, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging techniques. She has published more than 130 articles (H-index: 62) in international peer reviewed journals such as Neurology, Annals of Neurology, Nature Reviews Neurology, and Lancet. Dr. Schnakers is the Associate Director of the Research Institute at Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare and serves as the Chair of the Special Interest Group on Disorders of Consciousness for the International Brain Injury Association.

Sofia Sakellaridi, PhD – Research Scientist

Dr. Sofia Sakellaridi is a cognitive neuroscientist with expertise in electrophysiology, functional neuroimaging, and signal processing. Her past research has included studying neural and behavioral mechanisms of spatial cognition and decision-making using magnetoencephalography, as well as investigating the neural foundations of spatial cognition, working memory, and perceptual categorization in non-human primates. In 2015, Dr. Sakellaridi joined the California Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral scholar, where, working with scientists at Casa Colina, she examined brain-machine interface learning mechanisms in patients with tetraplegia. She joined the Casa Colina Research Institute (CCRI) in 2024, where she is currently developing therapies targeting the brain and spinal cord for patients with neurological disorders.

Collaborators

As an innovator in rehabilitative care, Casa Colina is committed to clinical research that leads to improved outcomes for patients recovering from stroke, brain injury, and other catastrophic conditions. The Casa Colina Research Institute collaborates with renowned institutions like UCLA, Caltech, USC, Harvard, Princeton, Western University of Health Sciences, and University of La Verne. The institute has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, UniHealth Foundation, Disability Communications Fund, and many more.

For more information on current research projects at Casa Colina, please contact 909/596-7733, ext. 2220.

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