Dr. DeLuca of Kessler Foundation speaks at ISPRM2013 in Beijing, China
Cognitive expert in MS and TBI will address “Cognitive Rehabilitation Following Brain Damage: Past, Present, and Future”
West Orange, NJ. June 3, 2013. John DeLuca, PhD, of Kessler Foundation, will lecture at the 7th World Congress of the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM2013), the premier international congress of physical and rehabilitation medicine. More than 4,000 professionals will be in attendance at ISPRM2013 from June 16-20, 2013 at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, China. Dr. DeLuca will address “Cognitive Rehabilitation Following Brain Damage: Past, Present, and Future.”
About John DeLuca
Dr. DeLuca is VP of Research & Training at Kessler Foundation, which conducts cognitive and physical research in brain injury (TBI), multiple sclerosis (MS), spinal cord injury, and stroke. He specializes in the study of disorders of memory and information processing in TBI and MS and has published more than 200 articles, books, and chapters in these areas. His collaborative work in cognitive rehabilitation extends to Italy, Spain, Portugal, and China. He has obtained more than $26 million in grant funding and is the editor/co-editor of five recent books, including the Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology, the first encyclopedia of its kind. Dr. DeLuca often presents at national and international conferences and contributes to continuing education for professionals and consumers. He is a professor in the Departments of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Neurology & Neurosciences at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School, and a licensed psychologist in the states of New Jersey and New York.
About Cognitive Research at Kessler Foundation
Kessler Foundation's cognitive rehabilitation research in MS and TBI is funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Disability & Rehabilitation Research, the National MS Society, NJ Commission on Brain Injury Research, Consortium of MS Centers, and Kessler Foundation. Under the leadership of Dr. DeLuca and Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, scientists have made important contributions to the knowledge of cognitive rehabilitation in MS and TBI. Clinical studies span new learning, memory, executive function, attention and processing speed. Research tools include innovative applications of neuroimaging, iPADs, and virtual reality. Among recent findings are the benefits of cognitive reserve; correlation between cognitive performance and outdoor temperatures; the efficacy of short-term cognitive rehabilitation using modified story technique; and the correlation between memory improvement and cerebral activation on fMRI.
Kessler Foundation’s Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Research examines the social and cognitive—thinking, learning, and memory—problems that result from brain injury. Kessler Foundation is one of 16 federally funded model systems that form a national comprehensive system of care, research, education and dissemination aimed at improving quality of life for people with TBI. The Northern NJ TBI System (NNJTBIS) is a collaborative effort of Kessler Foundation, Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, and UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. Research at Kessler Foundation focuses on the cognitive issues that impede recovery from TBI. Processing speed, memory, cognitive fatigue, diversity-based rehabilitation outcomes and other issues that adversely affect the daily function of individuals with brain injury.
With the opening of the Neuroimaging Center at Kessler Foundation, advances in research will occur at a more rapid pace. Equipped with a powerful 3T Siemens Skyra Scanner, this is one of the few on-site imaging centers dedicated solely to research in the nation. State-of-the-art neuroimaging will enable our scientists to study relationships between brain structure, function and behavior in individuals with multiple sclerosis, stroke, and spinal cord injury, as well as brain injury.
About Kessler Foundation
Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility and long-term outcomes, including employment, for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. For more information, visit KesslerFoundation.org.
Contacts: Carolann Murphy, 973.324.8382, [email protected]
Lauren Scrivo, 973.324.8384, 973.768.6583 - c, [email protected]
