Shahnaj Alam, PT, DPT
Shahnaj, also known as Ambi, was born and raised in the Houston area suburbs. Since high school she has been drawn to rehabilitation as a student athletic trainer. While she enjoys supporting her favorite sports teams, she knew she did not want to be limited to only helping athletes. She found herself following a path towards physical therapy to pursue this interest and ultimately chose to share her passion for populations with neurologic diagnoses, amputations, and prosthetics. Ambi committed to her love for Houston by attending the University of Houston and working as a rehabilitation technician in League City and Webster – before branching out to San Antonio. University of the Incarnate Word School of Physical Therapy allowed her to further identify a love for amputation/prosthetics and neurologic populations while providing compassionate, empathetic, and holistic care to underserved communities. She has also pursued both physical therapy-related and non-physical therapy volunteer opportunities to give back to those in need in Houston and San Antonio. Ambi also took on leadership opportunities including Class Secretary of her DPT program and worked at her school’s library to aid her fellow students. Ambi was interested in Harris Health’s neurologic PT residency early on, as she was eager to bring her training back to Houston and further her skills in a neurologic specialty. As a student, she had the opportunity to complete her last clinical rotation at Fournace Place, where she was able to meet patients, faculty, and former/current residents – giving her confidence in an environment and culture that would promote growth and application of her beliefs and values to those at Harris County. After graduating, Ambi worked as a physical therapist for in-patient rehab and looks forward to returning to Harris Health for the start of her residency.
Tayo Akinboboye PT, DPT, CSCS
Tayo, native to Newburgh, New York, double majored in Health Sciences and Spanish at Ithaca College, where he also completed his Doctorate of Physical Therapy. Tayo has a special interest in knee and shoulder injuries as well as sports performance and is a member of the DEI committee for the American Academy for Sports Physical Therapy. When not working, Tayo enjoys travelling, collecting sneakers, watching sports, and smashing the competition in a game of UNO.
Samantha Cain PT, DPT
Samantha is originally from Friendswood, Texas, and stayed local to attend Rice University to complete her Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology with a minor in Neuroscience. Following undergrad, she completed her Doctorate in Physical Therapy at Texas Woman’s University – Houston. Samantha’s clinic interests include lower extremities injuries. Outside of the clinic, Samantha enjoys weightlifting, baking new recipes, spending time with her family, and her go-to karaoke song is “Silver Bells.”
Vikki Chen PT, DPT
Vikki is the current sports physical therapy resident at Texas Children’s Hospital. She grew up in Taiwan and Colorado, and attended Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences in Rochester, MN, where she earned her doctorate of physical therapy in 2023. As a sports physical therapy resident at Texas Children’s Hospital, she has had the opportunity to work with different middle school and high school athlete populations including soccer, football, performing arts, basketball, baseball, swimming, and etc. Vikki has a passion in treating adolescent athletes and enjoys taking performing arts related classes in her free time to better understand the population.
Fermin Garcia PT, DPT
As a child and later as an adult, Fermin grew up working in construction with his father. Due to the continuous manual labor, Fermin received a shoulder injury and was introduced to Physical Therapy. After months of therapy, he continued to learn more about the profession by volunteering, which ultimately fueled his desire to pursue physical therapy as a career. After completing 3 years of community college, he attended Texas A&M University where he majored in Kinesiology-Motor Behavior with a minor in Psychology. After graduating from Texas A&M, he attended the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) to earn his Doctorate of Physical Therapy. During his time at UTMB Fermin volunteered at a pro-bono clinic in Galveston serving the underserved and uninsured community. Now pursuing an Orthopedic residency at Harris Health, he continues his journey of growth as a clinician, dedicated to serving those in need.
Rebecca Fletcher PT, DPT
Rebecca was born and raised in Houston, Texas and attended Texas A&M University (Whoop!!) for her undergraduate studies. Rebecca’s growing passion, and personal experiences led her to attend the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston where she received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy. Prior to DPT school, Rebecca’s interests were mainly in sports medicine, and orthopedic interventions for individuals suffering an injury due to their sport. However, during her coursework and initial clinical experiences, Rebecca was introduced to the world of neurological physical therapy and was unable to ignore the draw it had on her. She saw the power behind the patients, their stories, and the great privilege it is to work with individuals with neurological conditions. Her continued volunteer experiences at a local pro bono clinic and third clinical experience at the Spinal Cord Injury unit at Michael DeBakey VA Hospital continued to solidify her desire to work with both underserved individuals and those with neurological injuries. Rebecca was drawn to the Harris Health Neurological Residency Program due to the strong sense of community, high value for service, and shared commitment to excellence for all patients they work with. Following residency, Rebecca seeks to become a Board-Certified Neurologic Physical Therapy Specialist. Above all, Rebecca aims to be a physical therapist that treats all individuals with unwavering excellence, genuine compassion, and desires to advocate for the health and wellbeing of each patient she interacts with. She hopes to combine her knowledge, and empathy to improve her patients’ quality of life, increase overall function, and empower individuals in their abilities.
Lauren Fogt PT, DPT
Lauren is native to Houston, Texas, and attended St. Edward’s University for her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology with a minor in Spanish. She then returned to Houston to complete her Doctorate in Physical Therapy at Texas Women’s University. Lauren has interest in working with a variety of diagnoses with emphasis on lower extremity injuries. Outside of PT, Lauren enjoys travelling, cooking, doing yoga, golfing, climbing, and you can submit requests of movie soundtracks for her to play on her piano.
Justin Inada PT, DPT
Justin is native to Rancho Palos Verdes, California, and attended San Diego State University where he majored in Kinesiology. He then went on to receive his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Texas Woman’s University in Houston. Justin has clinical interests in spine and shoulder injuries. Outside of work, he enjoys golfing, rock climbing, snowboarding, and trying new pizza places (Justin has ranked over 27 local Houston pizzerias based on their cheese and margherita pizza quality).
Frankie-Ann McCauley PT, DPT, CSCS
Frankie calls the Bronx, New York, home. She attended Ithaca College where she played softball and studied Kinesiology. She stayed at Ithaca College to complete her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Frankie’s clinical interests include shoulder and sports injuries and as Vice Chair of the LGBTQ+ Workgroup for the American Academy of Sports Physical therapy and is passionate about providing equitable care for the LGBTQ+ population a member. When not working, Frankie is tending to her 30+ plants that came with her from New York, thrifting, and reading a book in a coffee shop.
Sabrina Martineau PT, DPT
Sabrina calls McKinney, Texas home and attended University of the Incarnate Word where she received an undergraduate degree in Rehabilitative Sciences. She stayed at this institution to receive her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Sabrina has interest in working with a variety of diagnoses with emphasis on the lower extremity. In her free time, she enjoys going to the gym, playing soccer, volleyball, pickleball, and tennis and spending time with family and friends. If Sabrina wasn’t a PT she would be an anesthesiologist or a vet.
Alex Rodriguez PT, DPT
Alex is originally from San Antonio, Texas, and completed his Undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences at Texas A&M University – Commerce. He then earned his Doctorate in Physical Therapy degree from University of Texas Health Science Center – San Antonio. Alex is interested in hip and knee pathologies and managing the tactile athlete. Outside of the clinic you can find Alex travelling, snowboarding, cooking stir-fry, or rock climbing. While in Houston, Alex is looking for your best Sushi restaurant recommendations!
Sofia Scharunovych PT, DPT, CSCS
Sofia is a current sports physical therapy resident at Texas Children’s Hospital. She grew up in Webster, Texas, and attended the University of Houston where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science in 2019, and Texas Woman’s University – Houston where she earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2023. She was a gymnast and competed at state levels for over 10 years, during which she tore her ACL twice. This led her to become increasingly interested in the rehabilitation of gymnasts and her desire to conduct research on this population. Sofia is passionate about aiding the adolescent athlete in reaching their goals and returning to their sport, leading to her decision to pursue a sport residency with an emphasis on the pediatric athlete. Sofia also enjoys running, hiking, and rock climbing in her free time.
Destiny Thompson PT, DPT
Destiny grew up in Bellville, which is just about an hour west of Houston. Being from a small town, Destiny was able to play a wide variety of sports including basketball, track, and cheerleading. During that time, she experienced her own bout of injuries that exposed her to the profession of physical therapy. After high school, Destiny pursued a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Texas Tech University. She knew that the end goal was to go to a physical therapy school, preferably closer to home. She was fortunate enough to be accepted to Texas Woman’s University in Houston where she served in many positions including student government and was a graduate research assistant to one of her professors. As she drew closer to graduation, she felt there was still a lot to learn. To ensure that she was able to offer the best care to patients, she chose to pursue residency. After doing a rotation with Harris Health as a student, she fell in love with the patient population and felt Harris Health was where she would be able to make the biggest impact. She was also inspired by each physical therapist’s desire to continue to learn and grow within the profession. In her free time, Destiny enjoys trying new restaurants and sharing it on her food blog. She also has a two-year-old golden doodle who keeps her busy. She’s so excited to be part of all the amazing things that Harris Health has to offer!
Lila Tran PT, DPT
Lila grew up in northwest Houston where she ran track and cross country and was introduced to the world of physiology and nutrition. She went to University of Houston where like most undergrads, didn’t exactly know what to do. She soon found a growing interest in the health field. After shadowing and volunteering at different clinics out of curiosity, Lila found an interest and passion in physical therapy. So, she decided to pursue a career in PT while majoring in nutritional science to get the best of both worlds. She was eventually accepted into Texas Woman’s University in the medical center. During PT school, Lila completed a variety of clinical rotations in the acute care, neuro LTAC, orthopedic, and pelvic health setting. Her experience with Harris Health had come full circle when she did a rotation here and became interested in the residency program, something she witnessed during her undergrad career when she volunteered for Harris Health. Lila hopes to improve her skills and clinical thinking as a resident, educate and guide her patients through their rehabilitation, and become a clinical instructor. After residency, she hopes to specialize in pelvic health and utilize her background in nutrition with her patients. On a personal level, Lila loves checking out new cafes in the Houston area, testing out different baking recipes, reading fiction books in her spare time, working out whether at gym or home, and taking long walks to wind down (preferably with her 14-year-old senior dog).
Jacob Vasquez PT, DPT
Jacob calls League City, Texas home and during undergrad majored in Pre-Physical Therapy while playing baseball at St. Edward’s University in Austin. He headed back to Houston to complete his Doctorate in Physical Therapy at Texas Women’s University. His clinical interests include upper extremity athletes and knee injuries. Keep him away from the pool as Jacob cannot swim and when he’s in charge of the clinic music you can hear him blasting country music.
Mitchell Williams PT, DPT
Mitchell, from Cypress, Texas, completed his undergraduate degree in Kinesiology from Texas A&M University – College Station. He then attended Texas Woman’s University – Houston to earn his Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Mitchell has special interests in spine and knee injuries and enjoys working with the geriatric population and high school athletes. When not in the clinic, you will likely find Mitchell playing basketball or soccer, serving in his Church community, travelling, or watching The Office.
Kyle Wright PT, DPT
Kyle, originally from St. Gallen, Switzerland, completed his Bachelor’s of Science in Kinesiology from University of Texas – San Antonio. He then moved west to receive his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from University of Southern California. Kyle has a special interest in spine, foot/ankle, and sports related injuries. In his free time, he enjoys travelling, training/coaching judo, and participating in any friendly competition that comes his way.
ALL Speaker Disclosures & Conflicts of Interest
Financial: Paid Residency position
Non-financial: None
Speaker Disclosures & Conflicts of Interest:
Policy & Procedures exist whereby all speakers must disclose any relationships which may cause a conflict of interest. Any relevant financial and non-financial relationships will be disclosed via speaker agreement, written notification after agreement, and prior to presentation.