This interview is a continuation of a panel discussion on TBI. This is the first of a two-part series featuring Dr. Prin Amorapanth and Dr. Brian Im.
Dr. Prin Amorapanth is a clinical instructor and a member of the research faculty at Rusk. His fellowship at NYU Langone Health focuses on brain injury medicine. His current research interests include identifying markers of visuospatial impairment following acquired brain injury as well as the use of non-invasive brain stimulation as both a therapeutic and investigational tool for maximizing rehabilitation and better understanding mechanisms of recovery following brain injury. He is certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. His medical degree and PhD are from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his residency training in rehabilitation medicine at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
Dr. Brian Im is Associate Director of Brain Injury Rehabilitation at Rusk. He also is program director for the ACGME-accredited brain injury medicine fellowship at NYU School of Medicine. Following medical school at SUNY, Syracuse, rehabilitation residency at NYU School of Medicine/Rusk Rehabilitation, and fellowship in BI rehabilitation medicine at UMDNJ/Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, his subsequent 5-year tenure at NYU Bellevue Hospital focused upon an interest in improving brain injury rehabilitation for underserved populations. He has an active role in TBI research at NYU and the TBI Model Systems Project at Rusk Rehabilitation, specifically as co-director of the Bellevue program. His primary research interest is in disparities in TBI health care for different U.S. populations.
In Part 1, the discussion includes: whether different patterns of outcomes occur upon discharge of different racial and ethnic TBI patients from inpatient rehabilitation facilities; challenges involved in predicting the degree of cognitive, motor, and psychological recovery and the timeline of such recovery after sustaining a TBI; diagnostic tools to explore chronic traumatic encephalopathy pathophysiology; progress being made in identifying suitable biomarkers; kinds of emotional impairment among TBI patients; and the usefulness of incorporating patient self-reports in assessments of their emotional state.