Marcalee Alexander, MD

Marcalee Sipski Alexander, M.D., is a board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at Marcus Neuroscience Institute and serves as medical director of the Cornell Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine at Bethesda Hospital East, both part of Baptist Health. She has more than 30 years of experience helping patients with disabilities restore function after injury to muscle, bone, soft tissue or the nervous system. She has special expertise in spinal cord injury and a clinical interest in the development of telemedicine to increase accessibility to healthcare for people with spinal cord injury.

Dr. Alexander has held numerous academic positions and currently serves as an affiliate faculty member of the climate and health program at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Her vast clinical experience includes leading multiple Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems on the East coast, holding the role of director of spinal cord injury rehabilitation and medical director at Renown Regional Rehabilitation Hospital in Reno, Nevada, and serving in various leadership roles at the VA Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama. Prior to joining Baptist Health, she provided patients with telerehabilitation services in private practice.

Dr. Alexander earned her medical degree at Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She remained at the university to complete an internship and residency in rehabilitation medicine, where she served as administrative chief resident.

Early in her career, Dr. Alexander served as the first female president of the American Spinal Injury Association and vice president for North America of the International Spinal Cord Society. Currently, she is a member of several professional societies.

Dr. Alexander has participated in numerous clinical trials related to spinal cord injury and conducted research documenting its effects on sexual response in both women and men. Her findings are widely published in peer-review publications. In conjunction with her research, she spearheaded the development of the International Standards for the Assessment of Autonomic Function After Spinal Cord Injury.

Dr. Alexander is the founding editor-in-chief of The Journal of Climate Change and Health and serves as an editorial board member of other publications. She is the author of numerous book chapters, scholarly publications and two books, Sexual Sustainability: A Guide to Having a Great Sex Life With a Spinal Cord Disorder and More Sex, Less Drugs: A View to the Future. She also is the editor of a new book entitled Climate Change and Disability: A Collaborative Approach to a Sustainable Future for All. This book reflects her concern about the impact of rising temperatures and weather disasters on people with and without disabilities.

In 2019, Dr. Alexander founded and led Sustain Our Abilities (SOA) to educate people about climate change, disability and health. In 2025, SOA became a committee of the Climate Health Society and Dr. Alexander serves as the inaugural president of this global interdisciplinary professional society that advances the prevention and treatment of health risks from increasing heat, harmful environmental exposures and ecological degradation while promoting strategies to enhance resilience and quality of life.  

To raise awareness about the importance of exercise and being outdoors, Dr. Alexander completed a walk from Canada to Key West entitled GRAHAM (Green Route Aiding Health Adaptation and Mitigation). This passion project was named after her son, Graham, who died of fentanyl poisoning at the age of 20. 

When treating patients, Dr. Alexander stresses the importance of healthy lifestyle habits and the judicious use of medications to reduce potential side effects and interactions. Her experience in integrative health, pain management and the treatment of sexual dysfunction enables her to help patients maintain their quality of life and maximize their abilities.    

Aside from her lifelong ambition to connect with people and improve their quality of life, Dr. Alexander enjoys jogging, scuba diving, doing Pilates, traveling, reading, watching Netflix, decorating and spending time with her husband and sons.