Project Director

Dr. Chen is a tenured Professor in the UAB Department of PM&R. She is a board-certified physiatrist from Taiwan and also an epidemiologist with extensive training and experience in database management, research methodology, and statistical analysis. With this unique blend of medical and research training, Dr. Chen has been very productive and gained international recognition for her research involving epidemiology, mortality, and secondary conditions after SCI including obesity, racial health disparities, and social determinants of health. Dr. Chen’s research has been continuously funded through the NIDILRR, NIH, PVA, and industries over the last 2 decades. She currently serves on the Editorial Board of the Topics in SCI Rehabilitation and the Executive Committee of the International SCI Data Sets. She is also a member of the Oversight Committee of the NINDS SCI Common Data Elements, International Spinal Cord Society’s Prevention Committee, as well as American Spinal Injury Association’s Award Committee. Dr. Chen has been affiliated with NSCISC since 2001, serving as Statistical Analyst until summer 2005, when she assumed the role of the Project Director. She has led a number of studies and published more than 75 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, most of which involved the use of the SCIMS Database.

Project Co-Director

Jenn Coker, Ph.D., MPH, FASIA received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Berry College, a Master of Public Health from Emory University. and Ph.D. in Clinical Investigations from the University of Colorado – Anschutz Medical Campus.

Dr. Coker began her research career right after college as a clinical research coordinator at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia. She then went on to serve in various roles for in spinal cord injury (SCI) research programs in prestigious rehabilitation research institutions, such as Shepherd Center, Medical University of South Carolina’s College of Health Professions, and Craig Hospital.

Throughout her career, Dr. Coker has established herself as a leading investigator in SCI outcomes research. Her research portfolio includes pioneering investigations into self-efficacy interventions for individuals with SCI, the integration of complementary and integrative healthcare approaches, and the impact of oral health on overall well-being in this population. Through her research, she aims to enhance quality of life, improve rehabilitation outcomes, and address health disparities in these populations.

Her research has been supported by federal and foundation grants over the last 10 years totaling over $18 million in funding. She formerly served as Co-PD for the Rocky Mountain Regional Spinal Injury System, Site PI for the SCI Model Systems Collaborative project, both of which are funded by the National Institute on Disability Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research, PI for a project funded by the Craig H Neilsen Foundation, as well as Site PI for a prospective multi-center longitudinal cohort study sponsored by the Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America. She currently holds a grant from the Neilsen Foundation, and as noted earlier, is Co-PD of the NSCISC.

Dr. Coker has authored an extensive body of peer-reviewed publications. Her reputation as a respected scientist and leader is underscored by her numerous awards, including the recent 2020 Mulcahey Award for Research in Outcomes Measurement and the 2022 Spinal Research Institute SCI Writing Prize. She serves on the Editorial Board for Topics in SCI Rehabilitation, as Review Editor of the Disability Rehabilitation and Inclusion section for the Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, and as a guest topic editor of Promoting Participation Following Neurotrauma for the Frontiers Research Topics. She has also served on grant review panels for the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute and the Paralyzed Veterans of America Education Foundation.

Dr. Coker’s service contributions are equally impactful. At Craig Hospital, she played a pivotal role in multiple committees, including serving as the Founding Chair of the Research Think Tank and as Chair of the Women’s Health Initiative. Nationally, she has held leadership positions within the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA), including her recent appointment to its Board of Directors and designation as a Fellow of ASIA (FASIA) for her outstanding research and service to ASIA and the SCI community. Internationally, she currently serves on multiple committees and special interest groups for the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS). In the community, Dr. Coker is the former chair and current member of the Board of Directors for the Colorado Brain Injury Trust Fund and Board of the Shine Music Festival, an inclusive and accessible music festival that gives people of all abilities access to the power of live music.

Data Collection and Analysis Manager

Ms Allen has ˃15 years of longitudinal data collection and management experience. Ms. Allen’s primary goals are to manage processes that sustain high-quality data and develop strategies to improve efficiency of the 18 SCIMS Centers’ important work. To that end, she manages a comprehensive, integrated learning and development program, monitors data quality assessments, and is always on the look-out for new procedures and programs to improve processes and sustain and improve high-quality, reliable data for research. r

Research Administrative Associate

Originally a Form I data collector for both TBI and SCI Model Systems at UAB, Sarah has moved up to working with the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center as of May 2022. Sarah has shifted her focus to helping Dr. Yuying Chen and Tori Allen in the data center. Her responsibilities including but not limited to, transitioning the four new data centers into the 2022-2026 funding cycle as well as helping all centers work through the process of the upcoming non-traumatic SCI data collection through July 2023. While Sarah’s main focus is handling the day to day management of administration of the UAB Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation research group, Sarah does spend some of her time helping with data abstraction for SCIMS Form I and Form II follow-up for the Virginia and Missouri centers.

Programmer/Analyst II + Database Analyst

Troy holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from UAB as well as a degree in Audio Production & Engineering from Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA. He came to UAB in 2003 as the Systems Administrator for the Biostatistics & Bioinformatics Unit, where he provided computer and network infrastructure support for the management as well as designed efficient data management solutions for clinical/research data. He also led the Web Development Support Group to assist NSCISC with the initial implementation and continuing development of the SCIMS Database system for 2 years before he officially joined NSCISC in 2009 as a Web Programmer in order to provide more stable programming support. Currently, he manages the National SCI database and is also the programmer/analyst for the National SCI Statistical Center.

Dr. Zhang has been a statistician in Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care since 2018. She worked in various projects and collaborated with investigators both within and outside of the division and department. Her work has resulted in more than 35 publications. In 2024, Dr. Zhang started to provide statistical supports in NSCISC for the SCIMS Database research and collaboration. Dr. Zhang received her MS in Biostatistics and PhD in Cell Biology from University of Alabama at Birmingham.