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Center for Cerebral Palsy at UCLA | OIC

Center for Cerebral Palsy at UCLA | OIC

Center for Cerebral Palsy at UCLA | OIC
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Center for Cerebral Palsy at UCLA | OIC

About Us

About Us

About Us

  • Meet Our Team
  • Events
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  • Meet Our Team
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  1. Home
  2. About Us
  3. Meet Our Team

Meet Our Team

Our Expert Team

Meet our team of dedicated doctors and faculty researchers who have spent their lives on the improvement of the quality of life for our patients and their families.

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Rachel M. Thompson, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Director, Center for Cerebral Palsy 

Associate Residency Program Director, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
William and Patricia Oppenheim Presidential Chair in Pediatric Orthopaedics
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Orthopaedic Institute for Children

Rachel Thompson is a Chicago native, who attended medical school at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and completed her residency in orthopaedic surgery at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL.  She completed her first fellowship in pediatric orthopaedics and scoliosis at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas, TX and her second in neuromuscular orthopaedics at Nemours A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE.  She additionally completed a travelling fellowship in adolescent and adult hip dysplasia in Aarhus, Denmark.  Her primary area of practice is pediatric orthopaedics, with a specialization in neuromuscular orthopaedics/cerebral palsy.  She is on staff at Orthopaedic Institute for Children as an assistant clinical professor-in-residence in the department of orthopaedics at UCLA, where she also serves as the Associate Director for the UCLA/OIC Center for Cerebral Palsy.  Her clinical and research interests are in cerebral palsy and adolescent hip disease and in using gait analysis to improve surgical decisions making and evaluate clinical outcomes. She is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA), American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) and Health Volunteers Overseas. More >


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William L. Oppenheim, MD
Director Emeritus, Center for Cerebral Palsy
Margaret Holden Jones Kanaar Chair, Cerebral Palsy
Professor and Emeritus Chief, Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Dr. Oppenheim is a board-certified pediatric orthopaedist and past president of the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine. He manages the orthopaedic problems related to spasticity and abnormal movement in children and adults with cerebral palsy. When indicated, he performs treatments including botulinum toxin injections, as well as soft tissue or bony surgery to correct deformities and maximize mobility. He is a past-president of the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, the premier professional organization.  He has traveled extensively, teaching pediatric orthopedics to physicians throughout the world. He has authored numerous publications in cerebral palsy and associated pediatric orthopedic conditions. More >

Joseph Solberg, DO  
Joseph Solberg, DO

Dr. Joseph Solberg is an interventional spine care specialist and is double board certified in the fields of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine. He completed his undergraduate degree in biology at the University of Iowa and received his medical degree at the Western University of Health Sciences. He completed his residency training at the University of California Davis in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He then pursued fellowship training in Pain Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles and West Los Angeles VA. He brings a wealth of experience to UCLA after being on faculty at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York where he also served as the Director of Physiatry for the Columbia University/New York Presbyterian Spine Hospital. Dr. Solberg believes in patient centered, individualized care, with the ultimate goal being improved function and quality of life. He performs minimally invasive procedures for the spine and joints using ultrasound and fluoroscopy guidance. Dr. Solberg sees patients in Santa Monica, Westwood and Encino.

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Eileen Fowler PhD, PT
Director, Kameron Gait and Motion Analysis Laboratory
Peter William Shapiro Chair for the Center for Cerebral Palsy

Dr. Fowler directs the research and education programs at the Center. The Center’s research examines the underlying causes of movement and function disorders and cerebral palsy and assesses the effectiveness of various treatment interventions on these disorders. Dr. Fowler served as president of the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine for the 2015 – 2016 term. More >

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Kristen Stearns-Reider PhD, PT

Associate Director, Kameron Gait and Motion Analysis Laboratory
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Dr. Stearns-Reider’s research is focused on the development of therapeutic strategies to address muscle contractures and improve patient function in cerebral palsy and other musculoskeletal disorders. She received her MS in Physical Therapy from the University of California, San Francisco, and her PhD in Biokinesiology from the University of Southern California. She completed two postdoctoral fellowships, the first at the University of Pittsburgh, and the second at UCLA, focused on the role of the extracellular matrix in muscle pathology and failed regeneration in aging and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Dr. Stearns-Reider’s current research combines the basic science experience gained during her post-doctoral fellowships with her clinical training and expertise in biomechanics to conduct translational research investigating the mechanisms underlying muscle dysfunction and fibrosis in cerebral palsy.


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Michael L O'Hara MSW, LCSW

UCLA Field Instructor
Center for Cerebral Palsy

Michael O’Hara is a licensed clinical social worker from Southern California. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California Santa Barbara and a Master of Social Welfare degree from the University of California Los Angeles Luskin School of Public Affairs. Michael’s experience includes working in child welfare as a residential therapist for foster and probation youth, and most recently as a medical social worker in intestinal rehab, liver and intestinal transplant at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Michael is currently a field instructor for the Center for Cerebral Palsy and for Special Patient Care in the School of Dentistry at UCLA. She is passionate about improving quality of life, health equity and addressing the social determinants of health. As a mental health clinician, she continues to promote the importance of trauma-informed care and addressing the mental health impact on patients and families due to health differences and complex medical needs.  


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Dana Connolly MSN, FNP- BC
Nurse Practitioner 

Dana Connolly is a board-certified nurse practitioner specializing in pediatric orthopaedics. She assists with evaluation and treatment for children with cerebral palsy in clinic and with patient coordination. Her role in clinic also includes spasticity management with baclofen pumps and botulinum toxin injections. Dana graduated from the UCLA School of Nursing and started her career as a nurse at UCLA in the Surgical/Transplant Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department. She then completed her Master of Science at UCLA to become a nurse practitioner and transitioned to pediatric orthopaedics at the Orthopaedic Institute for Children. She loves helping children achieve their highest level of function and celebrate with them in their successes. In addition to the cerebral palsy clinic, she also works in the pediatric orthopaedic urgent care, diagnosing and treating acute injuries.


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Marcia Greenberg MS, PT, KEMG
Physical Therapist

Ms. Greenberg evaluates patients in the Center’s inter-disciplinary lifespan clinic and, with her team members, establishes a plan of care focused on the patient and family goals. She communicates with community therapists and physicians in the design and implementation of treatment programs and equipment. Licensed to perform kinesiological electromyography, Ms. Greenberg conducts the gait evaluations in the Kameron Gait and Motion Analysis Laboratory and, along with Dr. Fowler, Dr. Oppenheim and Dr. Rachel M. Thompson, develops the treatment plan based on those findings. More >

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Loretta A. Staudt PT, MS
Research Physical Therapist

Ms. Staudt has been working for many years with infants and young children in the UCLA Intervention program. As a research physical therapist, she participates in all phases of the Center’s projects. She also evaluates patients in the Center’s inter-disciplinary lifespan clinic.

Kimberly Gilliam  
Kimberly Gilliam
Administrative Assistant

Kim is the administrative assistant for Drs. Oppenheim and Thompson. She is responsible for scheduling and coordinating patient care in the clinic and in the operating room.

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Andy Vuong

Andy is the Kameron Gait and Motion Analysis engineer. He is a graduate of Wake Forest University and is currently a doctoral student in Bioengineering at UCLA.
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