Muscle 23 - the speakers / instructors

The muscle 2023 Team

Adrian Harrison

is Lecturer in Animal Production Physiology at the Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences, Copenhagen University. Adrian is trained in agriculture, biochemistry & nutrition as well as possessing a D.Phil. in physiology from Cambridge University. His main research interest has been muscle, first at the level of porcine muscle development, later with isolated rat muscle contraction, and both human as well as veterinary studies of muscle function and weakness. Adrian is the inventor of acoustic myography and has published more than 130 scientific publications.

Jonathan Jarvis

is Professor of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Liverpool. He is an elected member of the Physiological Society and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
His research interest is in the adaptation of muscle to exercise training, and the use of programmed stimulation to activate and rehabilitate weak or disused muscles. He has particular expertise in the design and use of implantable stimulation devices in experimental research. Jonathan is on the Board of Directors of the International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society.

Jessica Pingel

graduated as Cand. Scient. in Sports and Health Sciences in 2007 and worked as a research assistant at the department of Sports Medicine at Bispebjerg Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, until 2009. She did her PhD at the same Department and defended her PhD thesis entitled “Tendon morphology, biochemistry and microvasculature characteristics in humans with Achilles Tendinopathy – Influence of exercise and anti-inflammatory treatment” in 2012. Immediately after, she was recruited for a Post Doc position at the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen in order to work on Pathophysiological changes in muscle tissue in patients with CNS lesions and neuromuscular diseases. In 2017 she became an Assistant Professor, and in 2020 an Associate Professor at the Department of Neuroscience still working on Neuromuscular disorders. In 2022 she switched departments and started at the Institute of veterinary and animal sciences at the University of Copenhagen where her work now focuses on the development of non-invasive medical techniques to assess muscle- and tendon injuries in equine and canine athletes

Sheila Schils

has a PhD in Biomechanics/Kinesiology and a Masters in Equine Nutrition. She was a Professor of Equine Science at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls for 20 years, and her teaching and research has focused on the importance of evaluating the biomechanics of the horse when dealing with injury and recovery. In 2001, she began private practice in the field of equine rehabilitation, specializing in the use of functional electrical stimulation (FES) for muscle therapy. Gait analysis of the horse and rider, to develop correct mechanics, is a primary focus of her rehabilitation protocols and she had had the opportunity to work with many top International and Olympic horse/rider teams.

Lindsay St. George

is a Research Fellow at the University of Central Lancashire, England, where she completed her PhD in 2017. She is research active in equine and human biomechanics, with a special interest in using surface electromyography to investigate how equine muscles facilitate movement. She is a 2021 Morris Animal Foundation Fellowship recipient and is working to evaluate the impact of equine lameness on movement and muscle activity with colleagues at Utrecht University and Delsys/Altec Inc. Lindsay is involved in several other national and international equine research collaborations, as well as supervising postgraduate student research.

Gillian Tabor

is a Chartered Physiotherapist and has been working as an ACPAT Veterinary Physiotherapist for 20 years. After adding teaching to her CV at Duchy College, Cornwall, England, in 2013 she joined Hartpury University, England, and is a Senior Lecturer and the Program Manager for the MSc Veterinary Physiotherapy course.

In 2020 Gillian completed her doctorate entitled ‘The use of objective measurement in Veterinary Physiotherapy’. Gillian continues to undertake research in this thematic area both in her own equine projects and via supervising students. She combines knowledge of biomechanics, behavior, and training with physiotherapy. She integrates hands-on treatments, with electrotherapy, to improve the horses’ posture, performance, balance and strength in her own practice in Devon, with the focus on treatment and rehabilitation of competition horses.

Stephanie Valberg

is an international leader in equine neuromuscular disorders having served as a Professor and endowed chair at the University of Minnesota and Michigan State University, respectively. She currently directs the muscle biopsy service ValbergNMDL.com. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Guelph Ontario Veterinary College and her PhD in equine exercise physiology from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. She is board certified in large animal internal medicine and veterinary sports medicine and rehabilitation. The overarching goal of Stephanie’s research and clinical work has been to define the basis for neuromuscular disorders in horses, develop accurate, minimally invasive diagnostic tests, and produce optimal methods for preventing or managing performance limiting diseases. Her research has led to the discovery of numerous muscle disorders. She is the recipient of several honors including delivery of the Milne Lecture at the American Association of Equine Practitioners in 2012 and she was the first woman to be inducted into the Equine Research Hall of Fame. She has twice received the Pfizer Research Excellence Award. She has over 200 peer reviewed publications.

Cooper Williams

played polo and trained polo ponies with his family. He ultimately obtained a five-goal rating, and played professionally for five years. In 1984 he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. He accepted a post graduate internship at Delaware Equine Center, where he developed their ultrasound imaging program. In 1987 he moved to Maryland where he worked for two years at Maryland Equine Center, also developing their ultrasound imaging program. He started his own practice 1989. He was certified by the International Society of Equine Locomotor Pathology (ISELP) in 2009 and has continued on as a certified instructor with ISELP, teaching other equine veterinarians all over the world. In 2014, Cooper successfully passed his examination and became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. In 2017, along with his associate Dr. Magda Stewart, he started Equine Sports Medicine of Maryland, an extensive lameness, regenerative medicine, rehabilitation, and imaging consultation practice. They also actively perform field research on a variety of sports medicine topics. More recently, he has become a member of the Board of Directors of the High Performance Equine Sports Medicine Group. He is an active member of the North American Regenerative Medicine Association as well as being on the veterinary advisory board for ACell, Inc., a tissue engineering company.