Rate My Professor Peter Gorman

Peter H. Gorman, MD, MS, is a Clinical Professor of Neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, where he holds the primary appointment in Neurology and a secondary appointment in Physical Therapy. He serves as Chief of the Division of Rehabilitation Medicine within the Department of Neurology and at the University of Maryland Rehabilitation and Orthopaedic Institute. Dr. Gorman earned a Sc.B. in Biomedical Engineering from Brown University in 1979, an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 1982, and an M.D. from The Ohio State University School of Medicine in 1985. His postgraduate training included an internship in medicine and residency in neurology at University of Maryland Hospital from 1985 to 1989, followed by a fellowship in rehabilitation and electromyography at MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, from 1989 to 1991. He directs the University of Maryland Rehabilitation Research Center, established in 2005 through collaboration between UM Rehabilitation, the School of Medicine, and the VA Maryland Healthcare System.

Clinically, Dr. Gorman specializes in the management of persons with spinal cord injury and disease, encompassing inpatient acute rehabilitation, outpatient longitudinal care, and spasticity treatment via botulinum toxin injections and implanted baclofen pumps. His research focuses on spinal cord injury medicine, including as co-principal investigator in a multicenter trial evaluating exoskeletal-assisted walking for ambulation restoration in spinal cord injury patients, principal investigator in a Department of Defense-funded randomized controlled trial comparing robotic treadmill training to aquatic therapy for improving peak fitness in chronic motor incomplete spinal cord injury, co-investigator in a trial of auricular acupuncture for spinal cord injury-related neuropathic pain, and early co-investigator in a pivotal multicenter study leading to approval of a neuroprosthetic functional electrical stimulation device for restoring hand grasp in tetraplegia. Key publications include 'Efficacy of an Implanted Neuroprosthesis for Restoring Hand Grasp in Tetraplegia: A Multicenter Study' (Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 2001), 'Robotically Assisted Treadmill Exercise Training for Improving Peak Fitness in Chronic Motor Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury: A Randomized Controlled Trial' (J Spinal Cord Med, 2016), 'Comparison of Peak Oxygen Consumption Response to Aquatic and Robotic Therapy in Individuals with Chronic Motor Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury: A Randomized Trial' (Spinal Cord, 2019), and 'The Effect of Exoskeletal-Assisted Walking on Spinal Cord Injury Bowel Function: Results from a Randomized Trial' (J Clin Med, 2021). Additional works cover topics such as reliability of peak VO2 assessments in spinal cord injury, prophylactic IVC filter placement risks, and autonomic dysreflexia during training.