UMDNJ Administrator Receives National Honor and Will Chair Prestigious Medical Education Council

Dr. Joel DeLisa, M.D., M.S., Professor and Chair Department of PM&R UMDNJ and President of Kessler Research Center

December 17, 2007 UMDNJ Press Release

NEWARK - An administrator from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School recently received two national honors in recognition of his extensive knowledge and expertise in academic medicine.

Dr. Joel DeLisa, professor and chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, was elected by his peers to serve the one-year term as chair of the Association of American Medical College's Council of Academic Societies. In the 30-year history of the Council, Dr. DeLisa is the first chair from UMDNJ and the first representative of

TBI Model Systems Return to KESSLER RESEARCH CENTER

The Traumatic Brain Injury Research Laboratory at Kessler Research Center Launches TBIMS with support from NIDRR

November 8, 2007 As of October 1, 2007 Kessler Research Center and its collaborators under the banner of the Northern New Jersey Traumatic Brain Injury System (NNJTBIS) began their 5 year designation as one of the 14 NIDRR funded TBIMS sites nationwide. Under Elie Elovic, M.D., project director and director of the TBI Lab at Kessler Research Center, The Northern New Jersey Traumatic Brain Injury System is a partnership and collaboration between KMRREC, the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, UMDNJ University Hospital in Newark, Hackensack University Medical Center, Morristown Memorial Hospital, St. Josephs Medical Center in Paterson, various organizations advocating

Kessler Foundation Research Center Human Performance Movement Laboratory and Rehabilitation Engineering Collaboration

NIDRR Fellowship Training Grant for Neuro-Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation

October 18, 2007 - Interviews are underway for this post-doctoral research interdisciplinary training program on Neuromusculoskeletal Rehabilitation to provide postdoctoral research opportunities to qualified individuals interested in research, and academic careers related to rehabilitation research. Core faculty involved in the program represent the associated departments of physical therapy, occupational therapy, rehabilitation science and engineering, biomechanics, motor control, biomedical engineering, computer science and mechanical aerospace engineering. The ultimate goal is to train Fellows to become independent researchers in the field of physical rehabilitation.

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KESSLER FOUNDATION RESEARCH CENTER Participate on Projects to Develop Modern Outcomes Assessment Instruments

Kessler Research Center partners with Northwestern University with support from NIH and NIDRR

Advances in psychometric research methodology, including computerized adaptive testing and virtual reality, combined with traditional performance-based tools, should lead to the efficient, flexible, and responsive assessment of Cognition (such as learning, memory, executive function, language/verbal abilities, attention, speed of processing, and working memory); Emotion (mood, adaptability, interpersonal relations, self- regulation); Motor Functioning (locomotion, nonvestibular balance, dexterity, strength); and Sensation (vision, hearing, vestibular balance, smell, taste, touch). The NIH Toolbox initiative seeks to assemble brief, comprehensive assessment tools that will be useful to

Treating New Learning Deficits in MS: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Laboratory study uses fMRI to examine cerebral activity during learning and in people with MS.

Individuals with MS, with documented impairment in memory and new learning, are randomly assigned to either a memory retraining group or a placebo control group. Outcome is currently measured through two mechanisms: (1) a traditional neuropsychological (NP) battery and (2) an assessment of global functioning (AGF) examining the impact of the treatment on daily activities. The researchers have recently been awarded a supplement to the clinical trial to examine the impact of the targeted behavioral intervention on functional cerebral activity using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). The goal is to determine the effects of treatment on a

Kessler Foundation Research Center Human Performance Movement Laboratory and Rehabilitation Engineering Collaboration

Foundation Researchers Contribute to Special SCI I

SCI researchers at Kessler Foundation author 6 Articles in March special issue of Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

May 20, 2007- The articles summarize research conducted by the Northern New Jersey SCI Model System (NNJSCIMS), one of 14 federally funded systems throughout the United States.  Each system collects key data and conducts research that improves quality of life for people with spinal cord injury. Every five years, SCIMS researchers publish their findings in a special issue.  This issue of Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation contains 24 articles, including six from NNJSCIMS. These articles cover pain management, motor recovery, socioeconomic factors, current research outcomes and sensory classification for motor complete

UMDNJ - New Jersey Medical School

Faculty of the Year 2007-8: Joel A. DeLisa, M.D. in Clinical Sciences and Michael B. Mathews, Ph.D. in Basic Sciences

Clinical Sciences - Joel A. DeLisa, M.D.Dr. DeLisa is being honored for contributions well beyond his role as a Chair at NJMS. Widely recognized as a leader in academic medicine, Dr. DeLisa has been an invited speaker at numerous national and international meetings. Dr. DeLisa serves as Editor-in Chief of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: Principles and Practice, the leading textbook in the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation within the U.S. and the world. In addition to publishing very extensively and serving as Editor of the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine from 1999 to 2005, he has made important contributions to many national and international