Justin Drogos

Dr. Drogos earned his masters and doctorate in physical therapy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a board-certified clinical specialist in neurologic physical therapy and practices at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC)). He began training as a research physical therapist in the Sensory Motor Performance Program housed in the former RIC, working closely with Drs. Randy Trumbower and Mehdi Mirbagheri. He became a research physical therapist at Northwestern University in the Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences in the lab of Dr. Jules Dewald and later added teaching within the DPT curriculum to his list of responsibilities before receiving a faculty appointment. He also teaches in the Northwestern University Prosthetics and Orthotics Center in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Aside from his professional life, he is active in the Chicago improv community and has performed and taught improv comedy across the country.

Dr. Drogos' work focuses on the study of the mechanisms underlying sensory and motor dysfunction in individuals with stroke, with a focus on upper extremity impairment within the chronic stroke population. He works closely with Dr. Netta Gurari to study proprioception with the goal of a) understanding the link between proprioceptive dysfunction and functional limitations in individuals with stroke, and b) creating a targeted intervention, device, or protocols to improve those limitations. Dr. Drogos also collaborates with Drs. Jun Yao, Jane Sullivan, and Carolina Carmona on current R21 and R01 grants to study the feasibility and impact of a novel therapeutic prosthesis (the ReInHand) on improving hand function and reducing functional limitations in the severe chronic stroke population.