BS, Physical Therapy, University of Mumbai, 1998

MS, Physical Therapy – Neurological Disorders, University of Mumbai, 2000

PhD, Biokinesiology, University of Southern California, 2010

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Neuroplasticity, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, 2010–2011

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Neurorehabilitation, University of Maryland, Baltimore, 2011–2013

Dr. Shailesh Kantak is a physical therapist-scientist whose research seeks to understand why individuals differ in their ability to recover movement following neurologic injury and how rehabilitation can be tailored to maximize recovery. His NIH-funded research integrates motor behavior, cognitive-motor neuroscience, quantitative movement analysis, and neurophysiology to identify mechanisms and biomarkers of motor recovery, particularly after stroke. The long-term goal of his research is to advance precision neurorehabilitation by translating mechanistic discoveries into individualized, evidence-based rehabilitation interventions.

A central theme of Dr. Kantak's work is precision neurorehabilitation: identifying the motor, cognitive, and neurophysiological factors that determine an individual's response to rehabilitation and using this knowledge to develop interventions that are mechanistically informed and tailored to the individual. His laboratory uses approaches including quantitative movement analysis, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), electrophysiology, and neuromodulation to investigate corticospinal and broader neural mechanisms supporting motor recovery and learning. His work has contributed to understanding how rehabilitation modifies neural connectivity and motor behavior and how neurophysiological biomarkers may be used to inform treatment selection and clinical trials. Further, his research has challenged conventional rehabilitation assumptions, including the notion that rehabilitation should necessarily progress from simple to complex movements, and has demonstrated the importance of cognitive demands, task goals, and practice structure in shaping motor learning and recovery.

Dr. Kantak is passionate about teaching the behavioral and neural bases of motor control and learning and helping students translate these principles into movement analysis, clinical reasoning and evidence-based rehabilitation for individuals with neurologic and movement-related conditions, including stroke and chronic pain.

Stroke rehabilitation, Motor-control and motor-learning approaches to rehabilitation, Movement analysis, Neural plasticity, Upper-extremity motor recovery, Bimanual coordination, Arm nonuse

Kantak SS, Sullivan KJ, Fisher BE, Knowlton BJ and Winstein CJ. (2010) Neural substrates of Motor memory consolidation depend on practice structure. Nature Neuroscience, 13:923-925.

Kantak SS, Jax SA, Wittenberg GF. Bimanual coordination: A missing piece of arm rehabilitation after stroke. Restor Neurol Neurosci. 2017, 35(4):347-364

Kantak SS, Zahedi N, McGrath RM. Complex skill training transfers to improved performance and control of simpler task in individuals post-stroke, Physical Therapy, 2017 Jul 1;97(7):718-728.

McClure P, Tevald M, Zarzycki R, Kantak S, Malloy P, Day K, Shah K, Miller A, Mangione K. The 4-Element Movement system model to guide physical therapist education, practice and movement-related research, Physical Therapy, 2021, March 3; 101 (3) 

Darmon Y, Kantak S, Cone H, Fullmer N, Ouellette D, Winstein C, Rosario ER, Schweighofer N. Speed-Biased Training Temporarily Improves Motor Performance of the Paretic Arm Compared to Accuracy-Biased Training in Chronic Stroke Survivors: The Phase 1 FAST Randomized Clinical Trial. Neurorehabilitation Neural Repair. 2025 May 10:15459683251331582. doi: 10.1177/15459683251331582.

Kantak S, Johnston T, Zarzycki R. Linking Pain and Motor Control: Conceptualization of Movement Deficits in patients with painful conditions. Physical Therapy, 2022, Apr 1, 102(4)

Potts CA, Kantak SS. Post-stroke deficits in anticipatory control and bimanual coordination during naturalistic cooperative bimanual action. Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation, September, 20, 2023

Johnson T, Ridgeway G, Luchmee D, Jacob J, Kantak SS. Bimanual coordination during reach-to-grasp actions is sensitive to task goal with distinctions between left- and right-hemispheric stroke. Experimental Brain Research, 2022, Jul 23 

Kantak S and Luchmee D. Contralesional motor cortex is causally engaged during more dexterous actions of the paretic hand after stroke- A preliminary report. Neuroscience Letters, 2020. Jan 10; 720: 134751 doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2020.134751

1. Motor Control, Learning and Recovery after Neurologic Injury: Dr. Kantak studies how neurologic injury alters the processes by which movements are planned, controlled, learned, and retained. His work examines interactions between motor impairment and cognitive processes such as attention, motivation, action selection, and task conceptualization, with the goal of identifying rehabilitation strategies that improve not only performance during therapy but long-term learning and functional recovery.

2. Neural Mechanisms of Motor Learning and Neuroplasticity: A second major focus is determining how rehabilitation changes the nervous system. Dr. Kantak's work has examined the neural substrates and time course of motor memory formation, including the roles of primary motor and prefrontal cortical networks in motor memory consolidation.

3. Neuromodulation and Mechanistically Targeted Rehabilitation: Dr. Kantak investigates whether noninvasive neuromodulation can enhance the effects of behavioral rehabilitation. His work has used repetitive TMS and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to examine how modulation of motor cortical networks influences corticospinal excitability, motor performance, and learning. This research seeks to move neurostimulation beyond a stand-alone intervention toward its use as a mechanistically targeted adjunct to rehabilitation, paired with appropriately designed behavioral training to enhance functional recovery. 

4. Bimanual coordination and Real-world Arm function after Stroke: Much of daily life requires the coordinated use of both hands, yet stroke rehabilitation has traditionally focused heavily on unilateral impairment. Dr. Kantak established a research program investigating the neural and behavioral basis of bimanual coordination after stroke. His laboratory has shown that bimanual dysfunction cannot be explained simply by the severity of impairment in the paretic arm. Instead, task goals, anticipatory control, perceptual information, cognitive demands, and interlimb interactions contribute independently to functional bimanual performance. 

5. Mechanisms of Arm Nonuse after Stroke: Dr. Kantak investigates why individuals with stroke may underuse their paretic arm in everyday activities even when they retain the capacity to use it. His research examines how sensorimotor impairment, cognitive and decision-making processes, task demands, and neuroanatomical injury interact to influence arm choice and real-world upper-extremity use. By identifying the mechanisms that contribute to the disparity between motor capacity and spontaneous arm use, this work aims to develop more precise assessments and rehabilitation strategies that promote meaningful use of the paretic arm in daily life.

6. Precision Neurorehabilitation: An emerging emphasis of Dr. Kantak's research is understanding individual variability in rehabilitation response. By integrating clinical measures with sensorimotor, cognitive, kinematic, and neurophysiological biomarkers, his work seeks to determine why some individuals respond strongly to a given rehabilitation intervention while others show limited improvement. The long-term goal is to develop approaches that help clinicians select and tailor rehabilitation strategies based on the mechanisms and residual capacities of the individual patient.

Dr. Kantak is a physical therapist with specialized training and experience in neurologic rehabilitation. His clinical and translational expertise includes stroke rehabilitation, movement analyses- gait analyses, Functional mobility and rehabilitation.

2024, Stanley Cohen Award, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Thomas Jefferson University for exceptional research contributions to the university.

2022, American Physical Therapy Association- Pennsylvania Chapter, Neurology Special Interest Group (SIG) Award of Excellence

2020, Michael L. Berger Faculty Scholars and Artists Prize, Arcadia University, PA

2017, Patricia Leahy Memorial Lecture, University of Sciences, Philadelphia.

2017, Keynote speaker, Annual John Scholz Stroke Education conference of the Delaware Stroke Initiative and the Delaware Academy of Medicine/ Public Health

2010, Outstanding Student paper award, Motor control and learning, North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA)

2010, Order of the Golden Cane, Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy award to acknowledge graduates from the DPT, PP-DPT or PhD programs who have demonstrated the potential to be the leaders of the future in Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy.

2009, Chattanooga Research Award, Annual award for the best clinical research article published in Physical Therapy Journal. American Physical Therapy Association.

2008, Jacqueline Perry Scholar Award (Biokinesiology), Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California.

2008, Outstanding Mentorship Award, Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California.

Current grants as a PI:

R01: NIH-NICHD: Mechanistic and neuroanatomic bases of disparity between arm capacity and use in stroke: Role: Co-Principal investigator 

Completed grants as a PI: 

R01: NIH-NICHD: Perceptual motor interaction to improve bimanual coordination after stroke. Role: Principal investigator.

RRI Internal Grant: Spinal cord injury Pain outcomes from Integrated Neuromodulation and Behavioral Education program - SPINE-PILOT, Role: Principal investigator.

Peer Review Committee MRRI: Modulation of cerebellar-cortical connectivity in stroke – Feasibility study; Role: Principal investigator.

R03: NIH-NICHD: Coordinating two arms for function: Contribution of task goals and unimanual impairments; Role: Principal investigator.

Completed grants as a co-investigator/consultant: 

R21: Fast training promotes recovery of arm movements post-stroke via cerebellar-mediated anticipatory feedforward control. Role: Consultant; PI: Schweighofer N.

NIH- National center of Neuromodulation for Rehabilitation: Noninvasive brain stimulation to improve quadriceps muscle function after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Role: Co-investigator; PI: Zarzycki R

 http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2004141,00.html

Member, American Society for Neurorehabilitation (ASNR) Program committee member.

Reviewer, CSM scientific abstracts, Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy, APTA.

Member, Eugene Michels Research Committee, CSM 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024.