Grand Rounds Seminar

Abstract: Diaphragm dysfunction frequently arises after complex nerve injuries including cervical spinal cord injury, inflammatory neuropathies, and iatrogenic injuries related to neck and thoracic surgery, representing a major but often underrecognized challenge in neurorehabilitation. These disorders can lead to substantial respiratory morbidity, impaired functional independence, prolonged ventilator dependence, and reduced quality of life. This presentation will review evolving approaches to the clinical evaluation and rehabilitation of diaphragm paralysis, with a particular focus on cervical spinal cord injury and phrenic nerve injury. Through case-based examples, the talk will illustrate how injury etiology, chronicity, severity, and patterns of residual neuromuscular connectivity can help guide individualized treatment pathways and restorative strategies. Clinical assessment approaches including electrodiagnostic testing, neuromuscular ultrasound, and respiratory physiology will be discussed as tools to identify prognosis, optimize current rehabilitation and surgical decision-making, and inform patient selection for emerging therapies. Interwoven with these clinical scenarios will be translational research spanning clinical datasets and preclinical discovery science aimed at restoring diaphragm muscle function after neurologic injury. The talk will also explore emerging restorative strategies including peripheral nerve repair, neurostimulation technologies, surgical reconstruction approaches, and future regenerative neurorehabilitation paradigms. Finally, future directions will be discussed, including the potential role of bioengineering, human spinal cord organoid models, and biologically integrated restorative strategies to better understand phrenic motor neuron vulnerability and regenerative capacity.

About: Colin Franz, MD, PhD, FAAPMR is a physician-scientist at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and Associate Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine with appointments in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Neurology, Physical Therapy & Human Movement Sciences, and Medicine (Pulmonary and Critical Care). He directs the Electrodiagnostic Laboratory at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and co-directs the Nerve CARE Clinic for complex nerve injuries. He is also a physician-affiliate of the Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine. Dr. Franz is board certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Neuromuscular Medicine, and Electrodiagnostic Medicine, with additional certification in Neuromuscular Ultrasound. His clinical and research work focuses on diaphragm dysfunction, peripheral nerve injury, respiratory neurorehabilitation, electrodiagnostic medicine, neuromuscular ultrasound, and translational strategies to restore function after neurologic injury. His laboratory integrates rehabilitation medicine with bioengineering, neurostimulation technologies, and human stem cell-derived organoid models to develop restorative approaches for spinal cord and peripheral nerve injury.

June 17, 2026: Colin Franz, MD, PhD
Physician-Scientist | Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
Associate Professor | Feinberg School of Medicine