East Hanover, NJ – May 5, 2026 – Kessler Foundation announced today that Nancy D. Chiaravalloti, PhD, director of the Centers for Neuropsychology, Neuroscience, and Traumatic Brain Injury Research, has been named a 2026 NJBIZ Health Care Hero in the Innovation category.
The NJBIZ Health Care Heroes program was created to recognize excellence, promote innovation, and honor individuals and organizations making a significant impact on the quality of health care in New Jersey. Dr. Chiaravalloti is the Foundation’s sole honoree this year.
“At Kessler Foundation, we believe innovation should lead to better lives,” said Rodger DeRose, president and chief executive officer of Kessler Foundation. “Nancy’s work does exactly that. Her research has pushed the field forward and helped ensure that people with neurological conditions have access to care that is both evidence‑based and meaningful in their daily lives.”
A nationally and internationally recognized clinical neuropsychologist and Research Professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Dr. Chiaravalloti has devoted more than 25 years to advancing cognitive rehabilitation for individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal cord injury (SCI), mild cognitive impairment, and aging. Her work focuses on developing, evaluating, and disseminating evidence‑based interventions that improve daily functioning, quality of life, and participation.
She is best known for developing Kessler Foundation modified Story Memory Technique (KF-mSMT®), a theory‑driven, manualized cognitive rehabilitation intervention that has demonstrated efficacy across multiple randomized clinical trials. KF-mSMT has been shown to improve memory in individuals with MS, TBI, SCI, and aging populations and is now used in diverse clinical settings and adapted internationally.
Dr. Chiaravalloti’s research has also helped transform how success is measured in rehabilitation. She was among the first to integrate functional neuroimaging into cognitive rehabilitation trials to better understand treatment mechanisms, and she pioneered the use of everyday functioning and quality‑of‑life outcomes—helping shift the field toward more patient‑centered, clinically meaningful endpoints.
Since 2009, Dr. Chiaravalloti has served as Project Director of the Northern New Jersey Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, leading large‑scale, longitudinal research on cognitive, psychosocial, vocational, and quality‑of‑life outcomes that informs national datasets, clinical practice, and health policy.
“The impact of health care innovation is best measured by how it improves daily life,” said Dr. Chiaravalloti. “I’m honored to be recognized by NJBIZ and proud to contribute research that advances evidence‑based, non‑pharmacologic treatments and helps individuals with neurological conditions achieve greater independence and quality of life.”
Dr. Chiaravalloti has authored or co‑authored more than 250 peer‑reviewed publications, secured more than $30 million in competitive research funding, and is widely recognized for her mentorship of early‑career scientists. Her work continues to influence clinical decision‑making and expand access to effective cognitive rehabilitation nationwide and internationally.
Honorees will be recognized at an in‑person NJBIZ Health Care Heroes awards ceremony on Tuesday, June 23, with a special supplemental publication highlighting recipients included in the June 29 issue of NJBIZ.
