Highlighting Research in Gulf War Illness, Spinal Cord Injury and Women’s Health

This week spotlights women’s health, Gulf War illness and spinal cord injury. To help raise awareness on these topics Kessler Foundation is sharing rehabilitation research information, news, and podcasts from its team of scientists in the field.

National Women’s Health Week
National Women’s Health Week is a reminder to encourage women to focus on their health and wellbeing. In the United States, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer that affect women’s health. At the Center for Mobility and Rehabilitation Engineering Research at Kessler Foundation,

A Story for Mother’s Day

Happy Mother's Day! At Kessler Foundation, we recognize how important moms can be for people with disabilities—and how important our donors are for advancing life-changing rehabilitation research. Today, I share a story to demonstrate how a mother’s love, optimism, and support make all the difference, and how you make a difference with your support.

About ten years ago, Luciana McGuire received the call every mother dreads: "There's been an accident. Come quickly." Her 7-year-old daughter, Ariana, was playing at a friend's house. A little boy had found a bow and arrow and was playing with it. Not realizing anyone was nearby, he accidently shot Ariana in the forehead. The

Kessler Foundation Awarded Grant to Use Virtual Reality to Prepare Adolescents with Autism for Employment

Helen Genova, PhD, assistant director of Kessler Foundation’s Center for Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Research, received a $355,000 grant from the New Jersey Governor’s Council for Medical Research Treatment of Autism. The grant which starts in June 2019, will fund Genova’s study using virtual reality to improve employment opportunities for young adults with autism.

“This is a major step forward in helping young adults with autism prepare for the job market,” says Genova. “I

Former Postdoctoral Fellow Wins ACRM and INS Awards

Former postdoctoral fellow at Kessler Foundation, Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla, PhD, was honored with mid-career awards from the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the International Neuropsychological Society. Both awards recognize Arango-Lasprilla's contributions and leadership to the field of brain injury research. Arango-Lasprilla will accept the Mitchell Rosenthal Mid-Career Award at the ACRM 96th Annual Conference in Chicago, IL and the International

Elaine Katz Shares Employment Insights at Symposium

Earlier this month Elaine Katz, senior vice president of grants and communications at Kessler Foundation, spoke at the My Talent Pipeline Launch Symposium. She shared the results of the latest national trends in disability employment labor report, also known as nTIDE. Kessler Foundation collaborates with the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability to issue the report and to analyze the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Jobs Report in relation to the disabilities

April is National Minority Health Month

National Minority Health Month is an effort to raise awareness about health disparities that continue to affect racial and ethnic minority populations. Some of the efforts by scientists in Kessler Foundation’s Center for Spinal Cord Injury Research, Center for Outcomes & Assessment Research, and Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research, focus on studying how minorities with disabilities are affected and not properly accommodated for in their

Dyson-Hudson Awarded Fellowship by ASIA

Trevor Dyson-Hudson, MD, director of Kessler Foundation’s Center for Spinal Cord Injury Research and Center for Outcomes and Assessment Research was honored with the title Fellowship in the American Spinal Injury Association at its 2019 meeting, during the SCI Summit in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dyson-Hudson was recognized for his prominent contributions and distinguished accomplishments within the fields of spinal cord injury research, clinical practice, education and advocacy, and for a longstanding active membership of

DeLuca Named Fellow of SNS

John DeLuca, PhD, senior vice president of Kessler Foundation’s research and training was named Fellow of the Sports Neuropsychology Society. This recognition is granted to members who have made significant contributions to Sports Neuropsychology Society and other areas through their work in clinical, scholarly, and teaching/training activities related to sports brain injury.

“It’s a great honor to be recognized,” says DeLuca. “At Kessler Foundation we strive to do the best research, work with the newest technology, and invest quality time and efforts in training our scientists, to help improve the lives of

3 Ways to Give Less to the IRS—and More to Change the Lives of People With Disabilities

Tax day is here. If we haven't done so already, we all must file our taxes. Here's something to know for next year's tax filing: When your charitable giving is part of your overall financial plan, you can give more and have a greater impact, without actually giving more.

Today, I share three ways to give less to the IRS—and more to change the lives of people with disabilities.

1. Donate highly appreciated assets, such as stock or real estate. You will avoid capital gains tax on the appreciation and can claim the full value of the assets as a charitable contribution. If made to fund an income-returning gift, such as a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust, recognition of the capital gain is postponed and typically

Celebrating Women at Kessler Foundation

We are proud to say 70% of Kessler Foundation staff are women. As an organization, we embrace efforts to identify and leverage the authentic leadership strengths that women bring to the equation. To celebrate women at Kessler Foundation, we highlight three out of our many deserving employees, each at different stages of their careers. In an interview, these women gave career advice, shared about inspirational figures in their lives, and more. See their full interview below.

Nancy D. Chiaravalloti, PhD is Director of the Center for Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Research and the Center for

Welcome to Our New Website

After months of hard work by our entire staff, we are pleased to announce the launch of the redesigned KesslerFoundation.org . 

Our goal with this redesign is to provide visitors an easier way to learn about Kessler Foundation’s mission to change the lives of people with disabilities through our advanced rehabilitation research and employment initiatives. 

The responsive design makes it easier to access the site on all of your devices. The new navigation means it’s faster to find what you’re looking for. Accessibility features include a screen reader, color controls, and keyboard navigation, and more.

Our new blog is going to be updated frequently with not

Connections: Sexuality and Relationships after Spinal Cord Injury

Join us to learn more about intimacy, sex, dating, long-term relationships, parenting and family life.

Spinal cord injury is life-changing. Much of the focus of rehabilitation care is on the medical and functional aspects of life with SCI, with less attention paid to the profound effects that SCI has on the dynamics of one’s relationships.

Through the generous support of the Paralyzed Veterans of America and other sponsors, the Northern New Jersey Spinal Cord Injury System is hosting two inter-related events on June 21-22, 2019 to discuss sexuality and intimacy, raising a family, care giving dynamics, and other topics relevant to cultivating healthy and

ReelAbilities Film Festival

Kessler Foundation is a proud sponsor of the ReelAbilities Film Festival New Jersey.

ReelAbilities Film Festival is the largest festival in the US dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities.

Screening information are as follows:

Screening at JCC Metrowest

760 Northfield Ave, West Orange, NJ 07052 

Monday, April 1 at 11:30am – 1:30pm
“Scaffolding” | Feature | Director: Matan Yair

Screenings at JCC Bridgewater

775 Talamini Rd, Bridgewater, NJ 08807

Wednesday, April 3 at 12:

Fire or False alarm? Restoring confidence in fMRI research

By Ekaterina Dobryakova, PhD, research scientist in Traumatic Brain Injury Research at Kessler Foundation.

During the past few weeks I have been bombarded with text messages, Facebook posts and face-to-face questions and remarks from friends, colleagues and relatives. The theme I heard from very different people contained very similar information: several Internet posts with a very glum message were asserting that years of neuroimaging research are invalidated. For example, some posts like this one from the UK’s Register: fMRI bugs could upend years of research, sounded an alarm about a bug in analysis software that neuroimaging researchers use to analyze brain data, while others called into question the whole analysis strategy, e.g., A bug in fMRI software could invalidate 15

Kessler Foundation Showcases Robotic Exoskeleton During 2018 Gallery Walk

Gallery Walk highlights new generation of changemakers using data and technology to empower the developing world

October 8, 2018 – Kessler Foundation participated in the 2018 Gallery Walk, an interactive event designed to educate and provide actionable insights to help achieve the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The event took place during the 73rd United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly and welcomed senior officials from the U.N. and national governments, NGOs, the private sector, and civil society organizations.

Attendees explored how different uses of data and technology are revolutionizing and