The College of Staten Island’s cutting-edge Klab4Recovery Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Research Program, directed by Maria Knikou, PT, MBA, PhD, Professor of Neurosciences and Rehabilitation and Deputy Chair of Research and Faculty Development at CSI/CUNY, has earned a spotlight on the international stage, serving as a filming location for the documentary And if the Body which will premiere at the prestigious New York Film Festival on October 4 and 5, 2025.
The film, directed by Toby Lee, Associate Professor in the Martin Scorsese Department of Cinema Studies at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, presents the clinical uses of virtual reality and stimulation technologies to help patients with severe SC I and neuromuscular disorders. Exploring the blurred boundaries between the physical and the technological, Lee’s work portrays how innovation can create new pathways of rehabilitation and healing.
CSI’s Klab4Recovery SCI Research Program is featured toward the conclusion of the film. Around the 20-minute mark, the lab provides the setting for a moving sequence in which a patient is shown relearning how to walk after suffering a gunshot wound. This moment highlights the lab’s mission: to advance knowledge and interventions that transform the lives of people with spinal cord injuries.
The Klab4Recovery SCI Research Program at CSI is devoted to understanding the complexities of spinal cord injuries and developing evidence-based therapeutic strategies to restore mobility and independence. Its presence in And if the Body underscores both the program’s reputation as a leader in spinal cord rehabilitation research and the College of Staten Island’s role as a hub for scientific and clinical innovation.
