Sandhya Urvashy Gopaul, Ph. D.

Formation

• Baccalauréat en physiothérapie (B.Sc. Hons Pht), Université de Maurice (2008)
• Maîtrise en physiothérapie (M.Sc. Pht), Université de Nottingham, Royaume-Uni (2014)
• Doctorat en physiothérapie (Ph. D.), Université de Newcastle, Australie (2019)
• Postdoctorat, KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Canada (2021-2026)

Principaux projets en cours

• Étude pour évaluer une intervention intégrant les fonctions cognitives, sensorielles et motrices (iCOSMO) pour la récupération des membres supérieurs post-AVC
• Étude pour évaluer les liens entre les fonctions cognitives et le comportement moteur après un AVC

Publications choisies

• Salbach NM, Yao JK, Lindsay MP, Nelson MLA, Shi J, O’Connell C, Barclay R, Bastasi D, Boulos MI, Boyce J, Claveau G, Flowers HL, Foley N, Gopaul U, Kim ES, Lo A, McDonald AM, McIntyre A, O’Connor C, Patterson KK, Shoniker T, Wein T, Wright J, Yeates B, Yiu J, Martin C, Lund R, Mehrabi S, Blacquiere D, Timpson D, Ritsma B, Tang A, Auger LP, Beaumont J, Bowes R, Chibane IS, Courtice SJ, Delgado R, Dunlop M, Ghavami K, Guolla T, Kean D, MacFayden S, Masse J, Paterson P, Shumway E, Tee A, Tsang CYH, Turnbull S, White K, Mountain A; Canadian Stroke Best Practice Recommendations Advisory Committee, in collaboration with the Canadian Stroke Consortium, Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation, and CanStroke Recovery Trials Platform. Canadian Stroke Best Practice Recommendations Rehabilitation, Recovery, and Community Participation Following Stroke, Part Two: Delivery of Stroke Rehabilitation to Optimize Functional Recovery, 7th Edition Update 2025. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2025 Nov 19. doi: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000002821. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41257457.
• Marzolini S, MacDonald SL, Yu AYX, Ocampo G, Tang A, Barbieri R, Quigley A, Gopaul U, Bayley M; EMPOW-HER research group (see online Supplement). Factors influencing participation in stroke recovery research with a focus on diversity considerations: A randomized survey study. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2026 Apr;35(4):108596. doi: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2026.108596.
• Pourghasem F, Colella TJF, Gopaul U, Anderson M, Ashraf A, Khan SS. The use of digital avatars to improve virtual rehabilitation health outcomes amongst adults with health conditions: a scoping review. Disabil Rehabil. 2026 Apr;48(8):2243-2264. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2025.2577878. Epub 2025 Nov 3. PMID: 41185398.
• Gopaul U, van Vliet P, Nilsson M, Bayley MT, Carey L, Callister R. The COMbined Physical and somatoSEnsory (COMPoSE) training intervention to improve upper limb recovery after stroke: a single-case experimental study. Disabil Rehabil. 2025 Nov;47(22):5767-5779. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2025.2487204. Epub 2025 Apr 16. PMID: 40237522
• Raji A, Marquez-Chin C, Gopaul U and Popovic MR, « A Novel Patient-Centered Robotic Rehabilitation Approach for Retraining Reaching and Grasping Functions for Individuals with Stroke, » 2025 International Conference On Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR), Chicago, IL, USA, 2025, pp. 589-596, doi: 10.1109/ICORR66766.2025.11063009.
• Raji A, Gopaul U, Marquez-Chin C, Popovic M. Industrial-Grade Collaborative Robots in Motor Rehabilitation after Stroke and Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Narrative Review. BioMedical Engineering OnLine. 24, 50 (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12938-025-01362-z
• Gopaul U, Bayley M, Kalsi-Ryan S. Design and development of a combined activity-based therapy and cervical spinal cord stimulation for neurorestoration of upper limb function after cervical spinal cord injury. Physiotherapy Research International. 2025;30(2):e70036. Doi: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39927575/
• Gopaul U, Laver D, Carey L, Matyas T, van Vliet P, Callister Measures of maximal tactile pressures of a sustained grasp task using a TactArray device have satisfactory reliability and validity in people with stroke. Sensors. 2023. 23, 3291. DOI: 10.3390/s23063291
• Gopaul U, van Vliet P, Callister R, Nilsson M & Carey L. COMbined Physical and somatoSEnsory training after stroke:  Development and description of a novel intervention to improve upper limb function. Physiotherapy Research International. 2019 Jan;24(1):e1748. DOI: 1002/pri.1748.
• Gopaul U, Laver D, Carey L, Matyas T, van Vliet P, Callister R. Measures of maximal tactile pressures of a sustained grasp task using a TactArray device have satisfactory reliability and validity in healthy people. Somatosensory & Motor 2019;36(4):249-261, DOI: 10.1080/08990220.2019.1673721

Orientation des recherches

• Déficits moteurs et somatosensoriels
• Entraînement moteur, somatosensoriel et cognitif
• Préhension et dextérité
• Technologies avancées : robotique, capteurs haptique et stimulation de la moelle épinière en neuro-réadaptation
• Neuro-pédiatrie
• AVC
• Lésions de la moelle épinière
• Membres supérieurs