Dr. Magnuson received his PhD (Neuroscience) from the University of British Columbia where he worked with Dr. Hugh McLennan. He did postdoctoral work at University College London and at the University of Ottawa. He joined the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Louisville in 1995 and was a founding member of the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center. His research efforts have focused on spinal cord circuitry, the central pattern generator for locomotion, plasticity, rehabilitation and how activity influences functional recovery after SCI. Most recently his laboratory has explored the influence of activity & muscle stretching on locomotor recovery and the impact of passive cycling on cardiovascular function. In addition, in collaborative work his lab is using viral-based synaptic silencing and computer modeling to explore the roles of long-propriospinal neurons in locomotor function before and after spinal cord injury. His service has included roles as the Vice-President of the National Neurotrauma Society (2015-2016), as a member/Vice-Chair of the Research Committee of ASIA. Dr. Magnuson holds the Friends for Michael Chair in Spinal Cord Injury Research and is the director of the Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Translational Neuroscience at the University of Louisville.
Education/Academic History:
University of Victoria, BSc, 1983
University of British Columbia, PhD, 1988
University College London, Postdoc, 1988-1990
University of Ottawa, Postdoc, 1990-1992
University of Manitoba, Faculty, 1992-1995
University of Louisville, Faculty, 1995-present
