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2026 Craig H. Neilsen Foundation Allied Health Professional Research Award of ASIA
Congratulations to Amilie Langlois, MScPT, named as recipient of the 2026 Craig H. Neilsen Foundation Allied Health Professional Research Award of ASIA.
Langlois will receive $30,000 to fund her study, “Development of a Perioperative Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy Protocol for the Prevention of Neurogenic Sphincter Complications in Spinal Surgery.”
The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation Allied Health Professional Research Award of ASIA* is to encourage clinicians with an interest in research, but who have limited experience in research thus far in their career – fostering the transition of the applicant from a clinician into becoming a researcher.
Amilie Langlois, MScPT, is a licensed physical therapist at Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, a leading Canadian center of expertise in spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation. She practices on the neurotrauma and spinal surgery unit, where she provides specialized care to individuals recovering from SCI and cauda equina syndrome.
Motivated to improve perioperative care and functional recovery, she is completing a postgraduate program in Advanced Practice Physiotherapy at the Université de Montréal, in collaboration with the spinal surgery team at her institution. Through this training, she initiated a pilot project to better address bladder and bowel dysfunction—an often underrecognized yet highly impactful issue affecting patients with neurological deficits following spinal surgery.
Her Craig H. Neilsen Foundation–funded study, Development of a Perioperative Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy Protocol for the Prevention of Neurogenic Sphincter Complications in Spinal Surgery, aims to integrate structured physiotherapy-led education and early pelvic floor rehabilitation into perioperative care.
Amilie hopes her work will contribute to refining clinical pathways and strengthening the role of physiotherapists in optimizing recovery and quality of life for individuals with spinal cord injury.
Langlois will be awarded the 2026 Craig H. Neilsen Foundation Allied Health Professional Research Award of ASIA during the ASIA Annual Scientific Meeting in San Antonio, TX.
*Funding provided by the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation
