Stephanie Tow, MD, FAAPMR, CAQSM is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Colorado and Departments of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, Orthopedics Institute – Sports Medicine Center, and Pain Medicine at Children’s Hospital Colorado. She is board-certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R), Sports Medicine, Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, and Brain Injury Medicine. Dr. Tow is the Head Team Physician and Medical Director/Chief Medical Officer of Team USA Paralympics Swimming’s National Team, as well as a National Medical Classifier for US Paralympics Swimming.
Dr. Tow completed her undergraduate degree in neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University, after which she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship (focused on the field of education/teaching) in Hong Kong. She earned her medical degree at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (now Rutgers University) – New Jersey Medical School and completed her residency and chief residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at UT Southwestern. She completed her pediatric rehabilitation medicine fellowship at the University of Colorado/Children’s Hospital Colorado and her sports medicine fellowship at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.
Dr. Tow has a passion for working with athletes of all abilities, including adaptive and Para sports athletes. She has experience working in many leadership and volunteer roles related to adaptive and Para sports, including serving as a co-founder and former director of the Dallas-Fort Worth Adaptive Sports Coalition, serving as a team physician and medical director of multiple adaptive/Para sports medicine teams, organizations, and events, and serving as the former chair of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine Adapted Sports and Recreation Committee. She has also volunteered as a sports medicine physician at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. With a passion for teaching and research related to adaptive and Para sports, Dr. Tow has served as a co-chair, director, invited keynote speaker, and faculty speaker of many adaptive and Para sports medicine courses and presentations to teach other clinicians about different aspects of caring for and supporting athletes with disabilities. She also is a member of the program planning committee for the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee – National Governing Body Medical Conference, where she has advocated for increasing inclusion of Para sports medicine-related topics and implemented creative ideas and methods to teach other clinicians about Para sports and medical support. Her research primarily focuses on sports-related injury and illness epidemiology and prevention in Para sports, particularly in youth athletes where there is a paucity of evidence; Paralympic sport classification; and equity and access to sporting opportunities for athletes with disabilities. She has published multiple peer-review articles, original research, and chapters on topics related to adaptive and Para sports medicine. Dr. Tow is an advocate for equitable access to participation in sports, recreation, and physical activity and sports medicine resources for all athletes.