Abby Citterman, ’24 MPO, a recent graduate of Northwestern’s Prosthetics-Orthotics Center’s (NUPOC) Master of Prosthetics and Orthotics (MPO) program, was awarded the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (AAOP) Women in O&P Research Award at the AAOP’s 50th Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium in Chicago.
The award, which comes with a $1,500 honorarium, recognized her research titled, “Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation at the Wrist as a Method to Restore Sensory Feedback for Individuals with Partial Hand Amputation.”
Originally from Arlington Heights, Ill., Citterman studied biomedical engineering at the University of Utah and in March, earned her Master of Prosthetics and Orthotics at Northwestern. She will soon begin her residency in prosthetics and orthotics on a research track with a focus in 3D printing at Gillette Children’s Hospital in Saint Paul, Minn.
Learn more about Citterman below.
Why did you choose Feinberg?
Listen to Citterman below:
NUPOC’s reputation for excellence in medical education preceded itself and with its incredible team of faculty, it offered the opportunity to learn from truly esteemed leaders in the field of O&P. Feinberg also emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and a holistic approach to patient care, which resonated deeply with me, and since Chicago is such an innovative rehabilitation hub, there were tons of opportunities for research, hands-on experience, shadowing and collaborative projects.
Why did you decide to go into prosthetics and orthotics?
I was a tutor in high school and I worked with a student who had a lot of medical diagnoses, but her parents declined to accept them. They weren’t offering her help and they thought she just needed to work harder. She was challenged academically and socially, and her parents really weren’t providing the necessary support. I was working with her as a tutor, so I was trying to offer as much help as I could, but I was really frustrated to hear her reports of bullying and frustration in all these areas that she was not receiving support.
I reached out to the school counselor about meeting with her parents and trying to encourage them to get her more help. The counselor spoke with her parents, and they were open to the idea of meeting with an orthotist to address her scoliosis, and she ended up getting an orthosis, a brace for her scoliosis. Before the orthosis even had an impact on correcting the curve in her spine, she was already standing taller, she was more confident, and she was happier — she felt more comfortable immediately. I was so honored to be that tiny fraction of care for her and help encourage things to move in that direction for her. I was absolutely inspired by the experience and wanted to pursue prosthetics and orthotics after seeing the impact it could have.
What are your clinical and research interests?
A lot of my research so far has been in upper-limb prostheses with artificial sensory feedback, so recreating a sense of touch for individuals using bionic hands, and that includes enhancing functionality and overall quality of life and improving the sense of embodiment. More broadly, I would say that I’m very passionate about improving outcomes and advancing technology, specifically striving to bridge the gap between state-of-the-art academic discovery and advanced patient care.
At Northwestern, I’ve also been doing some research on upper limb prosthetic outcome measures and investigating what functionalities those capture and how we can best select outcome measures to use in concert with one another to assess a patient more holistically.
I’ve also had the incredible opportunity to shadow some really great pioneers of 3D printing in prosthetics and orthotics, and my next step is embarking on a research-track residency at Gillette Children’s Hospital. I’m excited about the opportunity to delve into the realm of 3D printing more there and leveraging the technology to create more customized and accessible solutions for patients, continuing to work at the intersection of clinical care and cutting-edge research.
How did it feel to receive the AAOP’s Women in O&P Research Award?
It is such an incredible honor. I’ve presented at many conferences, and this year has been my transition from engineering-focused conferences to prosthetics and orthotics conferences. Much of my work has been extremely well received, so it’s been inspiring and motivating for me to continue pushing ahead in this realm. At this conference, I was able to do a podium presentation for my research with the University of Utah’s NeuroRobotics Lab, and that podium presentation is what won this award. I also did a poster presentation on my capstone research project alongside my colleagues, Antonio and Kelbi, at Northwestern, and we won first place in the poster presentation, as well.
It was also beyond inspiring seeing the other awardees and honorees, whose names I’ve heard about for a long time, who I’ve been citing their research or are just truly giants in the field. Being up on stage with folks that are well-established and making those connections with people that I look up to immensely has been really exciting.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in prosthetics and orthotics?
This field is such an incredible healthcare profession situated uniquely at the intersection of engineering, medicine and design. I was particularly drawn to it because of how it united my many passions in a way that makes every day different, and more exciting, than the last. I think a big thing is to start getting experience in aprosthetics and orthotics setting. There’s lots of opportunities to get involved, whether it be a related research project, a tangential healthcare field, or just shadowing clinicians in the area. When you can see what that clinical side looks like, it’s pretty clear if it feels like a good fit.
Once you have decided that it is a good fit, dive in as much as you can and experience as many environments that you can. I had the opportunity to shadow and intern with different companies and it really helped me see what direction I wanted to go with my own care. Immersing yourself is invaluable in deciding how you want to move ahead in the field and helping make those connections that’ll propel you forward in the meantime.
Lastly, prosthetics and orthotics is such a dynamic and patient-centered field, so developing a mindset of lifelong learning and continually practicing empathy and compassion will help you as you strive towards making a positive impact on patient lives and the profession.
