Pablo Celnik

Celnik, former director of the Johns Hopkins department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, was born in Argentina. He received his B.S. from Colegio Manuel Dorrego in 1985 and his M.D. from the University of Buenos Aires Faculty of Medicine in 1990. Celnik completed an internship at J. M. Ramos Mejia Hospital in Buenos Aires in 1991 and a residency in neurology at French Hospital at the University of Buenos Aires from 1992 to 1994. He then completed fellowships at the University of Maryland in 1996, and in the Human Motor Control Section at the National Institutes of Health in 1997. Celnik served as an intern at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey from 1999 to 2000, and as a resident in physical medicine and rehabilitation at The Johns Hopkins Hospital from 2000 to 2003. In 2006, he returned to NIH as a visiting fellow in the Human Cortical Physiology Section.

Celnik began his academic career as an anatomy instructor from 1987 to 1989 and as a neurophysiology instructor from 1988 to 1994 at the University of Buenos Aires Faculty of Medicine. From 1997 to 1999, Celnik served as Medical Director in Neurorehabilitation and as Neurology Attending at the Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia (FLENI) Institute in Buenos Aires. In 1998, he was promoted to co-director at the FLENI Rehabilitation Hospital Development in Buenos Aires.

In 2003, Celnik was appointed assistant professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins. In 2004, he became assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and was named medical director of the outpatient neurorehabilitation program in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Celnik was named director of the Human Brain Physiology and Stimulation Laboratory in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2006. He was promoted to associate professor in the departments of physical medicine and rehabilitation, and neurology in 2009, and in neuroscience in 2010. In 2011, he was named Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Celnik was promoted to full professor in all three departments in 2015 and named Interim Director of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. In 2016, he was named the Lawrence Cardinal Shehan Chair in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He held this position until 2023 when he was named Chief Executive Officer of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago.

Celnik’s research studies the physiological mechanisms underlying motor learning and developing interventions to enhance motor function in humans. He has published over 100 peer reviewed articles in scientific journals and more than ten chapters and books. Celnik’s awards include the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from the United States National Science Foundation, the Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award from the American Society of Neurorehabilitation, and the Young Academician Award from the Association of Academic Physiatrists. Celnik is a member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the Association of Academic Physiatrists, the Society for Neuroscience, the Neural Control of Movement Society, and the Organization for Brain Mapping, among others. He has served as a mentor to many students, residents, interns and fellows.