Dr. Spahija's research interests are in the areas of respiratory and exercise physiology, respiratory muscle function, mechanical ventilation and pulmonary rehabilitation. Her research program focuses both on the acute and chronic care phases of rehabilitation with the aim of develping evaluative measures and treatment strategies for the improvement of respiratory and physical function, exercise capacity and quality of life in individuals who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or who have suffered a stroke or spinal cord injury. The three main themes of her research are: 1) exploration of new ventilator strategies on respiratory muscle activity, patient-ventilator coordination and immune function in COPD and spinal cord injury, 2) understanding of the mechanisms underlying exercise limitation and the effects of breathing techniques, exercise strategies and adjunct therapies such as mechanical ventilation for improving the effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation, and 3) investigation of respiratory muscle dysfunction, respiratory muscle training and the interactions between breathing, balance, posture and locomotion in stroke patients.
