Next month’s MyCP webinar will feature Dr. Laura Gilbert, pediatric neurologist from Washington University who will be presenting the top 10 themes in dystonia in cerebral palsy (CP) research on Tuesday, November 1, at 8 pm ET. Dr. Gilbert will be joined by Dr. Bhooma Aravamuthan, leader of the CP Research Network’s dystonia in CP study group and quality improvement initiative. Dr. Aravamuthan was recognized earlier this month by the Child Neurology Society with the Dodge Award for her work as an outstanding young researcher.

Earlier this year Dr. Gilbert was the lead author on a paper released in the journal Neurology that included these 10 themes (an abbreviated list is below). In 2020-2021 she participated in the study group that led the CP Research Network’s community driven program called Research CP: Dystonia Edition. This team engaged community members and clinicians in a process that included educational information about dystonia and the generation and prioritization of research questions about dystonia in CP.

Dr. Gilbert’s manuscript and presentation won the CNS Young Investigator Award presented at their annual meeting in Boston in 2021. Her platform presentation reviewed both the process and the results of the community-centered research agenda.

Dystonia Top 3 (of 10) Priorities for Research as determined through Research CP Dystonia Edition:

1. Develop new treatments for individuals with dystonia in CP,
2. Assess rehabilitation and psychological approaches to manage dystonia,
3. Comparative effectiveness of pharmacological and surgical treatments for dystonia (including
   evaluation of side effects, the person’s overall function and impact on individualized goals).

People interested in joining the webinar should register in advance on CPRN.org. MyCP webinar subscribers will be sent a link to the webinar several days in advance. The webinar will also be recorded for later posting to our YouTube channel.