Vanesa Bochkezanian

Dr Vanesa Bochkezanian

Senior Research Fellow - JBI

School of Public Health

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Vanesa recently started a Senior Research Fellowship position at JBI in Implementation Science at The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia. Her clinical background is in neurological physiotherapy and her research interests are in rehabilitation in people with spinal cord injuries, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, person-centered approach clinical research, assistive technologies.

Vanesa has started her career as a Physiotherapist working in her home country Argentina. Her educational journey continued when she moved to Australia in 2011 with a Master of Applied Science from The University of Sydney and a PhD from Edith Cowan University. Throughout her doctoral studies, she developed a ground-breaking model of neuromuscular electrical stimulation, significantly enhancing musculoskeletal health and quality of life in individuals with spinal cord injury. After finishing her PhD studies, she then embarked in a full-time academic as a Neurological Physiotherapy lecturer at CQUniversity, Australia for 7 years. Vanesa has recently been awarded Bionics Queensland Early-Stage Bionic Innovation Prizes in 2021 and 2022 for her research in the use of electrical stimulation in people with spinal cord injuries, and as such her research has attracted significant international interest.

Vanesa has recently joined the JBI Implementation Science team at The University of Adelaide as a Senior Research fellow in June, 2024, in which she is working on various implementation research projects and educational projects working with healthcare professional from around the world.

Vanesa's research interests consist of the following:

1. Implementation research projects and educational projects for application of evidence-based practice by healthcare professionals in Australia and around the world
2. The rehabilitation benefits of exercise therapy in the special populations of spinal cord injury, stroke, and elderly individuals
3. The innovative applications of assistive technologies in people with neurological conditions
4. Person-centred approach in research and teaching
5. The use of electrical stimulation exercise as an alternative to induce muscle contractions in lower and upper limbs in paralysed muscles in people with neurological conditions.

Vanesa is passionate about inspiring healthcare professionals to provide best evidence practice, as it will result in improving the physical health and quality of life of people living with physical disabilities.

My research areas are in Implementation Science, rehabilitation in people with spinal cord injuries, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, stroke rehabilitation, neurological physiotherapy, person-centred research, assistive technologies, bladder and bowel management and neurostimulation.

  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2024 Bochkezanian, V., Henricksen, K. J., Lineburg, B. J., Myers-Macdonnell, L. A., Bourbeau, D., & Anderson, K. D. (2024). Priorities, needs and willingness of use of nerve stimulation devices for bladder and bowel function in people with spinal cord injury (SCI): an Australian survey. Spinal Cord Series and Cases, 10(1), 10 pages.
    DOI
    2023 Bekhet, A. H., Jahan, A. M., Bochkezanian, V., Musselman, K. E., & Gorgey, A. S. (2023). Response to Letter to the Editor on “Effects of Electrical Stimulation Training on Body Composition Parameters After Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review”. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 104(3), 514-516.
    DOI
    2023 Dolbow, D. R., Gorgey, A. S., Sutor, T. W., Musselman, K., Bochkezanian, V., & Davis, G. M. (2023). Electrical Stimulation Exercise Recommendations for Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 104(5), 847-851.
    DOI Scopus5 Europe PMC2
    2022 Cardoso, L. R. L., Bochkezanian, V., Forner-Cordero, A., Melendez-Calderon, A., & Bo, A. P. L. (2022). Soft robotics and functional electrical stimulation advances for restoring hand function in people with SCI: a narrative review, clinical guidelines and future directions. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 19(1), 24 pages.
    DOI Scopus10 Europe PMC1
    2022 Bekhet, A. H., Jahan, A. M., Bochkezanian, V., Musselman, K. E., Elsareih, A. A., & Gorgey, A. S. (2022). Effects of Electrical Stimulation Training on Body Composition Parameters After Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 103(6), 1168-1178.
    DOI Scopus19 Europe PMC9
    2022 Bochkezanian, V., & Anderson, K. D. (2022). Comprehensive and person-centred approach in research: what is missing?. Spinal Cord, 60(2), 187-189.
    DOI Scopus4 Europe PMC4
    2021 Dolbow, D. R., Gorgey, A. S., Sutor, T. W., Bochkezanian, V., & Musselman, K. (2021). Invasive and non-invasive approaches of electrical stimulation to improve physical functioning after spinal cord injury. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 10(22), 20 pages.
    DOI Scopus14 Europe PMC5
    2021 Pulverenti, T. S., Trajano, G. S., Kirk, B. J. C., Bochkezanian, V., & Blazevich, A. J. (2021). Plantar flexor muscle stretching depresses the soleus late response but not tendon tap reflexes. European Journal of Neuroscience, 53(9), 3185-3198.
    DOI Scopus2 Europe PMC1
    2019 Bekhet, A. H., Bochkezanian, V., Saab, I. M., & Gorgey, A. S. (2019). The Effects of Electrical Stimulation Parameters in Managing Spasticity after Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 98(6), 484-499.
    DOI Scopus28 Europe PMC13
    2018 Bochkezanian, V., Newton, R. U., Trajano, G. S., & Blazevich, A. J. (2018). Effects of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation in People with Spinal Cord Injury. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 50(9), 1733-1739.
    DOI Scopus21 Europe PMC11
    2018 Bochkezanian, V., Newton, R. U., Trajano, G. S., Vieira, A., Pulverenti, T. S., & Blazevich, A. J. (2018). Effect of tendon vibration during wide-pulse neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on muscle force production in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). BMC Neurology, 18(1), 10 pages.
    DOI Scopus12 Europe PMC8
    2017 Bochkezanian, V., Newton, R. U., Trajano, G. S., Vieira, A., Pulverenti, T. S., & Blazevich, A. J. (2017). Effect of tendon vibration during wide-pulse neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on the decline and recovery of muscle force. BMC Neurology, 17(1), 14 pages.
    DOI Scopus12 Europe PMC5
    2015 Bochkezanian, V., Raymond, J., De Oliveira, C. Q., & Davis, G. M. (2015). Can combined aerobic and muscle strength training improve aerobic fitness, muscle strength, function and quality of life in people with spinal cord injury? A systematic review. Spinal Cord, 53(6), 418-431.
    DOI Scopus25 Europe PMC11
    2012 Freixes, O., Rivas, M. E., Agrati, P. E., Bochkezanian, V., Waldman, S. V., & Olmos, L. E. (2012). Fatigue level in spinal cord injury AIS D community ambulatory subjects. Spinal Cord, 50(6), 422-425.
    DOI Scopus14 Europe PMC9

  • Conference Papers
    Year Citation
    2023 Cardoso, L. R. L., Melendez-Calderon, A., Bochkezanian, V., Forner-Cordero, A., & Bo, A. P. L. (2023). Towards Visual-Tactile Integration of Shoulder and Hand Using Immersive Virtual Reality. In Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS Vol. 2023 (pp. 1-4). Online: IEEE.
    DOI
  • Position: Senior Research Fellow - JBI
  • Email: vanesa.bochkezanian@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: North Adelaide
  • Building: 55 King William Road - Norwich Building, floor Third Floor
  • Org Unit: JBI
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