CONNECTIONS Newsletter

July 13, 2009

Experimental Treatments for SCIand Its Consequences: Be AwareBefore You Decide

July 13, 2009 Kessler Foundation Research Center Awarded More Than Two Million Dollars in Grants

Kessler Foundation on Cutting Edge of Research for People with Disabilities

West Orange, NJ - July 6, 2009 - Kessler Foundation announced that it was awarded seven grants totaling $2,049,100 during the first half of 2009. The grants were awarded by federal and state agencies, major universities and other health organizations to support research that improves quality of life for individuals with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke and other disabling conditions.

"Kessler Foundation Research Center continues to be recognized as a national leader in the

The 21st Annual PM & R Review Course - April 23, 2009 - May 1, 2009

April 1, 2009

The most comprehensive curriculum available for review In PM & R.

Date: April 23, 2009 - May 1, 2009
Time: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Location: The Westminster Hotel, Livingston, NJ
CME(s): 70
Download pdf: 2009 PM&R Registration Card & Agenda

The most comprehensive curriculum available for review In PM & R, content and issues relevant to Parts I & II of the Board Exam in PM & R. A world renowned faculty of more than 25 experts. Prescription writing and mock oral sessions are offered to improve clinical management skills. Practicing physicians can earn up to 70 CME credit hours.

Note: To view 2009 PM&R Registration Card & Agenda, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have this free plug-in, click here to

Transition to Work

March 8, 2009

Kessler Foundation focuses on increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

August 3, 2009
By working a full- or part-time job, individuals gain the independence and self-sufficiency necessary for improving their quality of life. People with physical disabilities realize that they, too, can lead competitive, profitable, and purposeful lives.

Although individuals with disabilities represent the largest minority group seeking employment in today's marketplace, they are often not considered a component of corporate diversity programs. In 2007, the Foundation awarded $2.7 million to 17 organizations that work to create job opportunities through development, placement, employer education, business networks and social enterprises. The funding has

Grant to Stroke Rehabilitation Research Laboratory

October 13, 2008

The Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Improvement awards grant on hidden functional disabilities after stroke.

October 13, 2008The Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Improvement awarded the Stroke Rehabilitation Research Laboratory a grant to provide family and professional caregivers with information about the hidden functional disabilities affecting life after stroke. Although problems with memory, communication, and visual function ("seeing with the brain") are not as easily recognized as paralysis, more than half of the 5.8 million stroke survivors in the US may be more challenged by these problems than they are by motor difficulties. On May 29th, 2008, Dr. Joan Toglia, PhD, OTR/L, (at right of photo) Associate Professor and Director, Occupational Therapy Program at

SAC Cognitive Neuroscience Awards Kessler Research Center Fellow

September 24, 2008

James F. Sumowski, Ph.D. from Kessler Research Center Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Lab receives Award at APA convention

September 24, 2008 The Science Advisory Committee (SAC) honored Dr. Sumowski for his submission: Functional Neuroimaging of Cognitive Reserve in Multiple Sclerosis at the 2008 American Psychological Association (APA) convention. The SAC facilitates the scientific mission of Division 40 of the APA by communicating and promoting the integration of scientific goals within the Division, within APA, and across professions. Specific goals of the SAC include promoting the study and application of knowledge regarding brain-behavior relationships, advocating for the recognition of D40 as a science division of APA, recognizing and encouraging student research in

Kessler Foundation Sponsors International TBI Conference

September 16, 2008

International Conference on Culture, Ethnicity and TBI Rehabilitation in Washington DC, March 12-13, 2009

September 16, 2008 Rehabilitation providers often struggle to effectively serve survivors and family members who come from very different cultures and speak different languages. This conference will bring together brain injury rehabilitation experts from different countries and cultures to discuss and share ideas regarding effective assessment, intervention, and research practices. Program faculty include speakers from Asia, Australia, South America, United Kingdom, Spain, Canada, and the United States. A full spectrum of topics relating to neurobehavioral, cognitive, functional, vocational, psychosocial, family, and medical aspects of rehabilitation will be addressed via

Continuing Education Program for Teachers

August 8, 2008

CME accreditation extended to 2012

August 18, 2008 The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) has re-accredited the Kessler Foundation Research Center CME program. This re-accreditation was based on review of written materials that provided evidence to demonstrate compliance with the ACCMEs Essential Areas, Elements and Policies, in addition to a teleconference interview conducted by ACCME surveyors.

Kessler Founfation Research Center has been accredited by the ACCME to award Continuing Medical Education Category I physician credit for education programs that have been sponsored or jointly sponsored by Kessler Foundation since 1998. After an initial two-year accreditation period Kessler Foundation received a four-year re-accreditation in 2000, then

Anna M. Barrett, MD, Director of the HHK/Kessler Research Center Stroke Laboratory

July 21, 2008

Councillor of the Behavioral Neurology Section in the American Academy of Neurology

July 21, 2008 - Anna M. Barrett, MD, Director of the HHK/KMRREC Stroke Laboratory, was in April, 2008 elected as a Councillor of the Behavioral Neurology Section in the American Academy of Neurology, the largest US neurologist professional association. She is currently the only AAN member serving dually on Executive Committees of both the Behavioral Neurology and Neural Recovery and Rehabilitation Sections. More information about the American Academy of Neurology is available at www.aan.com.

 

UMDNJ FACULTY AT KESSLER FOUNDATION RESEARCH CENTER: PRODUCTIVE YEAR OF SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS

April 11, 2008

Growing the scientific evidence-base of knowledge to help people with physical and cognitive injuries/conditions

April 11, 2008

Abbasi, A., Malhotra, G., Malanga, G., Elovic, E.P., & Kahn, A. (2007). Complications of interlaminar cervical steroid injections: A review of the literature. Spine, 32(19): 2144-2151. Adair, J., Barrett, A.M. (2007). Rehabilitating mental representations: A genuinely “blind” study. Neurology, 68: 400-401. Arango, J.C., Chiaravalloti, N.D., & DeLuca, J. (2007). El perfil neuropsicologico en la esclerosis multiple (translated: Neuropsychological Profile of Multiple Sclerosis).

International Neuropsychological Society Early Career Awards

April 8, 2008

Anna M. Barrett, MD, Director of the Stroke Rehabilitation Research Laboratory

April 1, 2008 Anna M. Barrett, MD, Director of the Stroke Rehabilitation Research Laboratory, HHK/KMRREC and Associate Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Neurology and Neurosciences, UMDNJ-NJMS, is the first recipient of the International Neuropsychological Society Early Career Award. The award honors behavioral scientists of conspicuous academic achievement and who have had a significant impact on the interdisciplinary study and treatment of neuropsychological disorders. Dr. Barrett accepted the award from INS President Igor Grant at the Thirty-Sixth Annual Meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society in Hawaii in February, 2008, and then gave an invited plenary address

Joel A. DeLisa, MD, MS as the 32nd Chair of its Board of Directors

March 18, 2008

American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) appoint Joel A. DeLisa, MD, MS as the 32nd Chair of its Board of Directors.

EVANSTON, Ill. - March 18, 2008 -American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), the pre-eminent entity overseeing the certification of physician specialists in the United States, announced at its Annual Assembly Meeting today the appointment of Joel A. DeLisa, MD, MS as the 32nd Chair of its Board of Directors.

Dr. DeLisa most recently served as the Vice Chair of ABMS and previously was its Treasurer. As a member of the ABMS Executive Committee, Dr. DeLisa represented the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR), an ABMS Member Board, which he served from 1987 to 1999, and was its Chair from 1993 through 1998 and was an Emeritus

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

December 7, 2007

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

November 8, 2007

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

October 18, 2007

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.

Read more in the latest issue

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

September 6, 2007 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