Gad Alon, PT, PhD

• 1968 Certificate in Physical Therapy, Wingate Institute, Israel.
• 1972 University of Maryland, Collage Park, MD
• 1975 M.S. Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA
• 1979 Ph.D. University of Maryland, Collage Park, MD

Dr. Alon is an Emeritus Associate Professor in the school of Medicine, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science. He was a core faculty until retiring in 2012.  The core of his research endeavor has been to develop, test and help bring to the market new treatment options to treat slow-to-heal wounds, to manage acute inflammation, to strengthen weak-sarcopenic skeletal muscles, and assist in the recovery following damage the central nervous system (CNS) using both functional electrical stimulation (FES) and neuromodulation in the form of non-invasive electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB). In recent years, Dr. Alon began focusing on the design, development, testing and deployment of wearable wireless self-administered FES and EBS systems with the goal of making FES and EBS a standard-of-care option in the discipline of rehabilitation medicine world-wide. Prior to retirement, his major teaching included electrotherapy, management of limb amputation, management of pathological movements and therapeutic technologies. He has been awarded faculty of the year 6 times and his research and teaching has earned him world recognition in the field of clinical electrotherapy. Dr. Alon is invited frequently to share his interest and knowledge with clinicians and scientists throughout the USA and around the world. He is a member of the board of directors of the International functional electrical stimulation society (IFESS) and an adjunct Associate Professor in the Rehabilitation Science department at George Mason University.  

Research: FES, neuromodulation, Stroke, locomotion training, Peripheral vascular disease Clinical: therapeutic technologies

1. Alon G, Smith GV. Tolerance and conditioning to neuro-muscular electrical stimulation within and between sessions and gender. Journal Sports Science & Medicine 2005;4:395-405.
2. Alon G, Levitt AF, McCarthy PA. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) enhancement of upper extremity functional recovery during ischemic stroke rehabilitation: A pilot study. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 2007;21:207-215.
3. Benjamin SJ, Flood JN, Bechtel R, Alon G. Measurement of soft tissue temperature and impedance following the application of transdermal direct current. Physiotherapy 2007;93:114-120.
4. Alon G, Levitt AF, McCarthy PA. Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) May Modify the Poor Prognosis of Stroke Survivors with Severe Motor Loss of the Upper Extremity: A Preliminary Study. Amer J Physical Med Rehabil 2008;87:627-636.
5. Alon G. Defining and measuring residual deficits of the upper extremity following cerebral vascular accident (CVA): A new perspective. Top Stroke Rehabil 2009; 16:167-76.
6. Kim T, Gordes KL, Alon G. Utilization of Physical Therapy in Home Health Care Under the Prospective Payment System. Journal geriatric Physical Therapy 2010;33:2-9.
7. Embrey DG, Holtz SL, Alon G, Westcott-McCoy S, Brandsma BA. Functional Electrical Stimulation to Dorsiflexors and Plantar Flexors during Gait to Improve Walking in Adults with Chronic Hemiplegia. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2010;91:687-696.
8. Alon G, Conroy V, Donner T. Intensive training of subjects with chronic hemiparesis on a motorized cycle combined with functional electrical stimulation (FES): A feasibility and safety study. Physiother. Res. Int. 2011;16:81–91. Online. www.interscience.wiley.com DOI: 10.1002/pri.475
9. Alon G, Roys SR, Gullapalli RP, Greenspan JD. Non-invasive electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB) modifies the resting-state network connectivity of the primary motor cortex. Brain Res. 2011;1403:37-44.
10. Linkov G, Branski RC, Amin M, Chernichenko N, Chen C-H, Alon G, Langmore S, Richard Wong R, Kraus D. A murine model of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on subcutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: Potential implications for dysphagia therapy. Head Neck. 2012;34:1428-1433.
11. Alon G, Yungher DA, Shulman LM, Rogers MW. Safety and immediate effect of non-invasive transcranial pulsed current stimulation (tPCS) on gait and balance in Parkinson’s disease. Neurorehabilitation & Neural Repair. 2012;26:1089-1095.
12. Alon G, Embrey DG, Brandsma BA, Stonestreet J. Comparing four electrical stimulators with different pulses properties and their effect on the discomfort and elicited Dorsiflexion. International J Physiotherapy Res 2013;1:122-129.
13. Alon G. Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES): Transforming Clinical Trials to Neuro-Rehabilitation Clinical Practice- A Forward Perspective. J Novel Physiotherapies 2013: http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2165-7025.1000176.
14. Sours C, Alon G, Roys S, Gullapalli RG. Modulation of Resting State Functional Connectivity of the Motor Network by Transcranial Pulsed Current Stimulation (tPCS). Brain Connectivity. 2014;4(3):157-165.
15. Alon G (2014) Loss of upper Extremity Motor Control and Function affect Women more than Men. J Nov Physiother Phys Rehabil 1(1):104.
16. Embrey DG, Alon G, Brandsma BA, Vladimir F, Silva A, Pflugeisen BM, Amoroso PJ. Functional electrical stimulation improves quality of life by reducing intermittent claudication. International Journal Cardiology 2017;243:454-459.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2017.05.097

17. Alon G.  Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES): Clinical successes and failures to date. J Nov Physiother Rehabil  2018; 2: 080-086. https://doi.org/10.29328.

18. Motavalli G, McElroy J, Alon G. An exploratory electrical stimulation protocol in the management of an infant with spina bifida: a case report. Child Neurology Open 2019;6:1-6.

19. Rodgers MM, Alon G, Pai VM, Conroy RS. Wearable technologies for active living and rehabilitation: Current research challenges and future opportunities. Journal of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering. 2019;6:1-9.

20. Alon G. Obstetric Brachial Plexus Injury (OBPI): Is Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) a Viable Intervention Option? J. Novel Physiotherapies 2019;9:5-6

21. Alon G.  A new paradigm is needed to guide the utility of functional electrical stimulation in            rehabilitation medicine. J Nov Physiother Phys Rehabil 2020;7:45-48.

22. Chieh-ling Yang, Alon G, Creath RA, Magder L, Rogers MW, McCombe Waller S. Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on posture, movement planning, and execution during standing voluntary reach following stroke. J. NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2021;18: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12984-020-00799-8

23. Burgess LC, Venugopalan L, Badger J, Street T, Alon G, Jarvis JC, Wainwright TW, Everington T, Taylor P, Swain ID.  Could neuromuscular electrical stimulation improve the recovery of people with Covid-19 who require care in the intensive care unit? A narrative review. J Rehabil Med 2021; 53: jrm00164.

24. Verceles A, Alon G, et al. Combining Exercise, Protein Supplementation and Electric Stimulation to Mitigate Muscle Wasting and Improve Outcomes for Survivors of Critical Illness - The ExPrES Study. Heart and Lung J. 2023;58: 229-235.

25. Alon G, Grant RA,  Vivekanandan S, Slotkin JR. Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Secrets, 4th ed. Chapter 21 Electrotherapy: Medical Treatments Using Electricity. Elsevier Health 2023, pp.153-158