Sisto honored with rehabilitation association awards

Sue Ann Sisto, chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Science and an internationally recognized expert in spinal cord injury rehabilitation, has been selected as the recipient of two awards in her field.

Sisto received the 2026 Margaret Nosek Award from the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine’s (ACRM) Spinal Cord Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group. The honor recognizes professionals who demonstrate exceptional commitment to advancing scientific knowledge, shaping standards of clinical practice and advocating for equitable health care and community support for women with disabilities.

Named in memory of influential rehabilitation researcher Margaret Nosek, the award highlights leaders whose work deepens the scientific understanding of disability and contributes to building more inclusive systems of care. Sisto’s extensive contributions to spinal cord injury rehabilitation research, interdisciplinary collaboration and patient-centered practice have positioned her as a prominent voice in the field.

Sisto was also selected as the recipient of the 2026 ACRM Women in Rehabilitation Science Award, established in 2018 to acknowledge world-class rehabilitation research conducted by a female scientist in the field of rehabilitation science. It specifically recognizes women who have served as principal investigator on at least one extramural awarded/sponsored project involving rehabilitation-related research and who have published four or more peer-reviewed publications as first or senior author.

Sisto’s honors reflect her ongoing impact on rehabilitation science and her commitment to improving outcomes for people with spinal cord injuries. Her work continues to advance understanding in the field, strengthens pathways for clinical innovation and inspires emerging rehabilitation researchers.

As part of the Nosek award, Sisto will deliver an in-person presentation in October at the 2026 ACRM’s annual fall conference, Progress in Rehabilitation Research, recognized as a premier interdisciplinary rehabilitation research conference. In addition to her symposium presentation, she will speak at the interest group’s business meeting, where she will reflect on the future of spinal cord injury rehabilitation, highlighting emerging directions in rehabilitation science, the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork and opportunities to better support women with disabilities through research, clinical innovation and community-based care models.