Cristina L. Sadowsky, M.D.

Dr. Sadowsky is Director of Kennedy Krieger’s
International Center for Spinal Cord Injury
Paralysis Restoration  Clinic

Born in Romania, Dr. Sadowsky attended the Institute of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest from 1983 to 1989. She completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Meridia Huron Hospital/Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH in 1994. She served as Chief Resident from July 1994 to June 1995.  From there, she began a residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. She was named Chief Resident of that program in April, 1997. Immediately following Dr. Sadowsky’s completion of her second residency, she began a fellowship in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine at Barnes-Jewish Hospital/ Washington University School of Medicine. At the same time, she became a Clinical Instructor in the School’s Department of Neurology and  later assumed an Assistant Professorship in Neurology in the Division or Rehabiliation, Spinal Cord Injury Unit.

Dr. Sadowsky has served as president and treasurer of the St. Louis Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Society and previously held positions on the Advisory Boards of the St. Louis Wheelchair Athletic Association, the American Paraplegia Society and the Sam Schmidt Foundation, an organization devoted to helping individuals overcome spinal cord injuries and other debilitating illnesses by facilitating scientific research, medical treatment, rehabilitation and technology advances.

Dr. Sadowsky’s research interests center on the efficacy of activity-based restoration therapies on neuro-medical restoration. She completed a study funded by the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation on the effects of such a program on the physical health and quality of life in persons with spinal cord injuries.

• 9/83 – 9/89  Institute of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
• 7/91 –6/94   Internal Medicine Internship and Residency, Meridia Huron Hospital, Case  Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
• 7/95 –6/98 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
• 7/98 -6/99  Spinal Cord Injury Medicine Fellowship, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri

• 7/98 – 6/99 Clinical Instructor in Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
• 7/1/99 – 6/2005  Assistant Professor of Neurology, Division of Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury Unit, Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri
• 03/05 – present Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland

• 7/93 – 6/95 Internal Medicine – Rehabilitation Department Liaison, Meridia Huron Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio
• 7/94 – 6/95  Residency Development Committee, Meridia Hillcrest Hospital, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
• 7/00 – 9/04  WUSM Student Mentorship Program
• 3/01 – 9/04  Medical Executive Committee, The Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis
• 3/02 – 9/04  Quality Council Committee, The Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis
• 6/03 – 9/04  Peer Review Committee, The Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis
• 10/04 – present  Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore MD
• 2000 – 2004  Director, Spinal Cord Injury Medicine Fellowship Program, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
• 10/04 – present Director Restoration Paralysis Center, The International Center for Spinal Cord Injury at Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland

Specialty Certifications:

• Diplomate in Internal Medicine 8/94 (153731)
• Diplomate in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 7/99 (6153)
• Diplomate in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine 10/00 (229)

Honors and Awards:

• 1995 Outstanding resident Award in Medicine, Meridia Huron Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio
• 1998 Best Resident of the Year, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
• 1999 Best Teaching Attending of the Year, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
• 2000 Outstanding Performance Award, Spinal Cord Injury Board

Recent Publications and Presentations:

Sadowsky, C., Pidcock, F., Brandys, E., Morozova, O., Trovato, M., Salorio, C., & Christensen, J.  Acquired spinal cord dysfunction. Capute & Accardo’s Neurodevelopmental Disabilities in Infancy and Childhood, 3^rd Edition. Edited by Acardo PJ.  Brookes Publishing, Baltimore (2005)

Spinal Cord Injury; A Guide for Living. Medical Complications of Spinal Cord Injury. The Johns Hopkins University Press (in press)

Rogers Textbook of Pediatric Intensive Care. Rehabilitation of Children with Critical Illness (in press)

Becker D, Sadowsky C, McDonald JW. Restoring function after spinal cord surgery. Neurology. 2003 Jan; 9(1): 1-15.

Sadowsky C, Volshteyn O, Schultz L, McDonald JW; Spinal Cord Injury; Disability and Rehabilitation. 2002; 24(13):680-687

McDonald JW, Becker D, Sadowsky C, Jane JA, Conturo TE, Schultz LM. Late recovery following spinal cord injury; case report and review of the literature; Journal of Neurosurgery (Spine 2) 2002; 97:252-265.

McDonald JW, Sadowsky C. Spinal Cord Injury Seminar. Lancet. 2002;359;417-425.

Sadowsky CL. Electrical Stimulation in spinal cord injury. Neurorehabilitation. 2001; 16(3); 164-169.

Sadowsky CL, Margherita A. The cost of spinal cord injury care. State of the Art Reviews in Spine (STARS). 1999; 13(3):593-606.