Medicine professor wins prestigious J. Gordin Kaplan Award for Excellence in Research

Vivian Mushahwar

Congratulations to Vivian Mushahwar, professor and Canada Research Chair in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry’s Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, for receiving the 2025 J. Gordin Kaplan Award for Excellence in Research. 

Trained as an electrical engineer, Mushahwar is a global expert in neural and rehabilitation engineering with a track record of leading successful interdisciplinary teams and commercializing adaptive devices that assist patients after spinal cord injury.

Notably, Mushahwar is the director of the U of A’s Institute for Smart Augmentative and Restorative Technologies and Health Innovations (iSMART) and Smart Technology (ST) Innovations, and leads a large interdisciplinary research team to develop smartwear clothing that will assist with joint injury repair, posture, balance, arm movements and even standing and walking.

Her 2025 Kaplan award follows other major accolades in 2025, including a $24 million federal grant for a smartwear project, and the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research naming Mushahwar one of the top 10 most productive authors in the field of neuromodulation. The same journal also ranked the U of A as one of the top 10 most productive institutions globally in neuromodulation and spinal cord injury in 2025.

The J. Gordin Kaplan Award for Excellence in Research is the University of Alberta’s most prestigious research award, named after its first vice-president of research. Two awards, valued at $5,000 each, are presented annually to recognize outstanding work in each of the following categories: Business, education, fine arts, humanities, law or social sciences and sciences, health sciences or engineering. The award recognizes and honours faculty members whose research has academic and societal impact, who are committed to the principles of access, community and belonging, and set a standard of excellence for others.