Tami Altschuler is a Clinical Specialist in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at NYU Langone Medical Center. As part of the Rusk Rehabilitation team, her focus is on patient-provider communication. Her work was recognized in February 2016 in the journal Augmentative and Alternative Communication. She also has presented nationally and internationally on this topic. Tami has authored a grant proposal and was awarded funding to establish an inpatient augmentative and alternative communication program in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). She completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Speech-Language Pathology at Long Island University – CW Post. In this interview, Tami discusses augmentative and alternative communication with patients, why such a unit was established in the pediatric intensive care unit, the kinds of patients who benefit from this form of intervention, factors that can impede communication between clinicians and patients, and the importance of the environment in which communication occurs.

Dr. Siobhan O’Donnell is the Physical Therapy Assistant Unit Supervisor for Pediatrics at Tisch Hospital at NYU Langone Medical Center and Dr. Daniella Klein is a Senior Physical Therapist in the pediatric acute care setting. Dr. O’Donnell currently is working with the pediatric rehabilitation team at Tisch on the Early Mobilization Project in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Her prior experience includes being a physical therapist at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC with specialties including care of burn and trauma patients and also working at St. Mary’s Hospital for Children in Bayside, NY. She has spoken nationally at the American Burn Association annual conference regarding burn survivor support in the pediatric population, and also in the United Arab Emirates. She obtained her ABPTS Board Certification in Pediatric Physical Therapy in 2016. A graduate of Columbia University, her doctorate in physical therapy is from Northwestern University.
Dr. Klein has been working at NYU Langone Medical Center for the past seven-and-one-half years. She has spent her career working in all areas of the acute care setting with both adult and pediatric patients with her primary focus in pediatric intensive care. She has worked on multiple performance improvement projects and most recently has been involved in the early mobilization initiative in the pediatric ICU. She received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Columbia University and has her certification in Neurologic Physical Therapy by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties.
In this interview, Dr. Klein and O'Donnell discuss early mobilization in pediatric intensive care, services provided by physical therapists in that setting, reasons why some patients might be excluded from receiving this kind of intervention, the importance of working with parents of children in the ICU, and how children and adults compare in that setting.

Dr. Lauren Simon is a Senior Physical Therapist at Rusk Rehabilitation in Pediatric Acute Care.  She has worked at NYU Langone Medical Center for three-and-one-half years. Most of her experience as a physical therapist has been in intensive care units ranging from adult surgical to pediatric cardiothoracic.  She currently works as the primary physical therapist in the neonatal intensive care unit as part of a developmental care team consisting of medical and rehabilitation professionals who work together with families and caregivers to promote development of the infants on the unit. Recently she received ABPTS Board Certification in Neurological Rehabilitation. An honors graduate, she has a doctorate in Physical Therapy from Quinnipiac University. In this interview, she discusses the nature of physical therapy interventions in the neonatal intensive care unit, neurobehavioral cues by infants that aid in determining the nature of treatment, working with parents of infants, and potential research questions to be addressed as a means of advancing the knowledge base.

Dr. William Oswald is a Physical Therapy Supervisor and faculty member at the Center for Musculoskeletal Care at NYU Langone Medical Center. He is a board certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist through the American Physical Therapy Association. In 2013, Dr. Oswald received a diploma in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy through the McKenzie Institute International. He is an adjunct professor at Touro College Physical Therapy program and a Continuing Education Instructor. Dr. Oswald has co-authored studies on back pain in the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy, the Journal of Manual and Manipulative Therapy and the Pain Journal. He graduated from New York Institute of Technology with a Master’s degree in Physical Therapy in 2001 and received his doctoral degree in 2006.

Dr. Joseph Ricker is the Director of Psychology for Rusk Rehabilitation at NYU Medical Center and a Professor in the departments of Rehabilitation Medicine, Psychiatry, and Radiology at NYU. He has a program of research examining the correlates and outcomes of cognitive impairment, recovery, and rehabilitation following human traumatic brain injury (TBI) and other neurological disorders (e.g., multiple sclerosis).  Beginning in the 1990s, he was among the first investigators in the world to apply functional imaging in the investigation of cognition after TBI in humans. Over the past 12 years, he has been the Principal Investigator of four NIH-funded projects that have examined human brain injury.  He is the author of 72 peer-reviewed scientific articles, 21 book chapters, editor or co-editor of 4 books, and has authored dozens of abstracts and other professional publications.  He serves or has served as a member of the editorial boards of 5 peer-reviewed journals. His PhD in Clinical Psychology is from Wayne State University in Detroit and he completed postdoctoral residency training in both Clinical Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation Psychology at the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan.

Dr. Steven Flanagan is a nationally renowned expert in the field of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the New York University School of Medicine, and the Medical Director of the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at the NYU Langone Medical Center.

He was formerly the Vice Chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine where he was a faculty member from 1992 to 2008. He was also the Medical Director of the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program which encompassed the physical, cognitive and emotional aftermaths of brain injuries. Under Flanagan's leadership, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research designated the program a TBI Model System recognizing it as a national leader in brain injury medical research and patient care.

He holds a major TBI grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research; is chairman of the Brain Injury Special Interest Group of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R); and is a member of the Medical Advisory Board of the Brain Trauma Foundation.

In 2008, the Brain Injury Association of New York State honored Flanagan with the "Champion of Hope Award" for his work in the field of traumatic brain injury.

He received his B.S. from Fairfield University in 1984 and his M.D. from University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 1988. He completed his residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1992.

This interview was conducted with both Liz Donroe and Kristin Kvaternik. They both are Senior Placement and Rehabilitation Counselors in Rusk’s Vocational Rehabilitation Department.

With over 12 years of experience in the field of rehabilitation, Liz has expertise in counseling individuals with complex medical conditions, including traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal cord injury, and amputation in returning to work. Her focus is on career counseling, work readiness, job placement, and employment retention. She served on NYU Langone Medical Center’s Accessibility Committee and has participated on multiple disability-related panels. She holds a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Hofstra University and is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor.

With more than 19 years of experience in the field of rehabilitation, Kristin has expertise in counseling individuals with complex medical conditions in returning to work. Her focus is on vocational counseling, work readiness, job placement and employment retention. She frequently presents to various disability-related organizations. She has a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from New York University and is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC).

Both individuals are active members of the NYC Placement Consortium Network and were co-presenters at the 2016 National Rehabilitation Association Conference.

Dr. Alex Moroz is a certified physician acupuncturist and the Director of the Integrative Sports Medicine Program at Rusk Rehabilitation. He serves as Associate Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Vice Chair for Rusk Rehabilitation Education and Training, and Director of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Program. The program includes an 18 month track for PM&R Residents in collaboration with the Tri-State College of Acupuncture, leading them to becoming certified physician acupuncturists. His work focuses on the treatment of a wide range of injuries and health problems that relate to pain. He is certified by the American Board of PM&R for both Sports Medicine and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. His medical degree is from New York University and he did his residency training at NYU Rusk Institute.

Dr. Naomi Gerber is a Research Professor and Investigator at the Center for the Study of Chronic Illness and Disability in the College of Health and Human Services at George Mason University. At the university, Dr. Gerber is co-director of the Laboratory for the Study and Simulation of Human Movement. She also serves as Director of Research for the Department of Medicine at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Virginia and the Outcomes Program at the Center for Integrated Research there. Her research investigates causes of functional loss and disability in chronic illness. Specifically, she studies human movement and the mechanisms and treatment of fatigue. Her work has been funded by federal agencies, along with the National Science Foundation and other foundations. She has authored or co-authored more than 125 peer reviewed publications, numerous chapters, and had served on the editorial board of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation until 2012.  A member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, she has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Award of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAMPR). From 1975 to 2005 she was the Chief of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health. Her medical degree is from the Tufts University School of Medicine.

Dr. Naomi Gerber is a Research Professor and Investigator at the Center for the Study of Chronic Illness and Disability in the College of Health and Human Services at George Mason University. At the university, Dr. Gerber is co-director of the Laboratory for the Study and Simulation of Human Movement. She also serves as Director of Research for the Department of Medicine at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Virginia and the Outcomes Program at the Center for Integrated Research there. Her research investigates causes of functional loss and disability in chronic illness. Specifically, she studies human movement and the mechanisms and treatment of fatigue. Her work has been funded by federal agencies, along with the National Science Foundation and other foundations. She has authored or co-authored more than 125 peer reviewed publications, numerous chapters, and had served on the editorial board of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation until 2012.  A member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, she has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Award of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAMPR). From 1975 to 2005 she was the Chief of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health. Her medical degree is from the Tufts University School of Medicine.

Dr. Naomi Gerber is a Research Professor and Investigator at the Center for the Study of Chronic Illness and Disability in the College of Health and Human Services at George Mason University. At the university, Dr. Gerber is co-director of the Laboratory for the Study and Simulation of Human Movement. She also serves as Director of Research for the Department of Medicine at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Virginia and the Outcomes Program at the Center for Integrated Research there. Her research investigates causes of functional loss and disability in chronic illness. Specifically, she studies human movement and the mechanisms and treatment of fatigue. Her work has been funded by federal agencies, along with the National Science Foundation and other foundations. She has authored or co-authored more than 125 peer reviewed publications, numerous chapters, and had served on the editorial board of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation until 2012.  A member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, she has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Award of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAMPR). From 1975 to 2005 she was the Chief of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health. Her medical degree is from the Tufts University School of Medicine.

Dr. Neera Kapoor is a Clinical Associate Professor at NYU-Langone Medical Center's RUSK Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. Her work at Rusk involves providing clinical care for outpatients and inpatients, as well as participating in clinical research in the area of sensorimotor vision function and acquired brain injury. Formerly, she was an Associate Clinical Professor at SUNY-College of Optometry for 21 years and is the former Chief of Vision Rehabilitation Services at SUNY-College of Optometry’s University Eye Center (UEC) in New York City. Dr. Kapoor has co-authored 30 peer-reviewed articles, 9 textbook chapters, and 25 poster presentations, as well as having lectured regionally, nationally, and internationally, regarding vision and acquired brain injury.

Dr. Elizabeth Sandel serves as Medical Director at Paradigm Management Services in Walnut Creek, California. She has held a variety of clinical, faculty, and administrative positions in health systems over the last three decades, including the University of Pennsylvania and Kaiser Permanente. Her research on brain injury and stroke outcomes has been supported with funding from the National Institutes of Health and other entities.  She served on the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Board of Governors for 8 years and as president from 2009-2010.  She has been a member of the editorial board of the journal PM&R since its inception in 2009. She is Academy liaison to the National Quality Forum, chair of the Performance Metrics Committee, and a member of the Evidence-Based Practice Committee. She launched Playback/PM&R, a community oral history project, involving interviews with 80 physiatrists over the last 5 years. Holder of a faculty appointment at the University of California at Davis Health System, her medical degree is from the Medical College of Pennsylvania, which now is called Drexel College of Medicine.

Dr. Elizabeth Sandel serves as Medical Director at Paradigm Management Services in Walnut Creek, California. She has held a variety of clinical, faculty, and administrative positions in health systems over the last three decades, including the University of Pennsylvania and Kaiser Permanente. Her research on brain injury and stroke outcomes has been supported with funding from the National Institutes of Health and other entities.  She served on the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Board of Governors for 8 years and as president from 2009-2010.  She has been a member of the editorial board of the journal PM&R since its inception in 2009. She is Academy liaison to the National Quality Forum, chair of the Performance Metrics Committee, and a member of the Evidence-Based Practice Committee. She launched Playback/PM&R, a community oral history project, involving interviews with 80 physiatrists over the last 5 years. Holder of a faculty appointment at the University of California at Davis Health System, her medical degree is from the Medical College of Pennsylvania, which now is called Drexel College of Medicine.

Dr. Elizabeth Sandel serves as Medical Director at Paradigm Management Services in Walnut Creek, California. She has held a variety of clinical, faculty, and administrative positions in health systems over the last three decades, including the University of Pennsylvania and Kaiser Permanente. Her research on brain injury and stroke outcomes has been supported with funding from the National Institutes of Health and other entities.  She served on the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Board of Governors for 8 years and as president from 2009-2010.  She has been a member of the editorial board of the journal PM&R since its inception in 2009. She is Academy liaison to the National Quality Forum, chair of the Performance Metrics Committee, and a member of the Evidence-Based Practice Committee. She launched Playback/PM&R, a community oral history project, involving interviews with 80 physiatrists over the last 5 years. Holder of a faculty appointment at the University of California at Davis Health System, her medical degree is from the Medical College of Pennsylvania, which now is called Drexel College of Medicine.

Dr. Christine Lee is a senior psychologist at Rusk Rehabilitation at NYU Langone Medical Center and a clinical instructor of rehabilitation medicine at the NYU School of Medicine. She provides  neuropsychological evaluations in neurorehabilitaiton services for individuals with concussion and other types of neurological conditions. She was chosen as a leadership fellow for the Asian American Psychological Association for the 2014-2016 period. This lecture is en titled: Feasibility of Group Intervention for Concussed Patients in the Early Stage of Recovery.  

Olga Hincapie is a senior physical therapist and hand therapist at the center for musculoskeletal care. In this lecture for the 2nd Annual Rusk Reseach Symposium, she discusses proprioception retraining for a patient with chronic wrist pain secondary to ligament injury with no structural instability.

Preeti Raghavan, MD directs the Motor Recovery Research Laboratory, whose mission is to develop innovative strategies to restore hand function after stroke and other neuromuscular disorders. She and her multidisciplinary team investigate how brain injury affects motor skills and how sensorimotor integration can be used to enhance motor learning and control. In this interview, Dr. Raghavan provides an in-depth look at her leading research in stroke rehabilitation, employing strategies to engage patients in their care and in utilizing the unaffected arm to promote plasticity and affected arm recovery. 

Joseph Adams is a Senior Physical Therapist in the Vestibular Division at Rusk Rehabilitation. He is a board-certified clinical specialist in neurologic rehabilitation with advanced training in vestibular rehabilitation. He is a faculty member at Rusk's neurological residency program and has presented on vestibular disorders at the American College of Rehabilitation Medicine and other national conferences. He has two articles pending publication in peer-reviewed journals on concussion and he is actively involved with research within the vestibular division at Rusk. In this discussion, he reviews active rehabilitation interventions for individuals with persistent symptoms after concussion. 

Allison Smith is a board-certified pediatric occupational therapist at Tisch Hospital, primarily working in the neonatal intensive care unit. Alison is currently in the dissertation phase of her PhD in pediatric science at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in Provo, Utah. In this discussion, she discusses the effects of swaddling during bottle feeding in infants born pre-term. 

Dr. Prin Amorapanth is a clinical instructor and a member of the research faculty at Rusk. His fellowship in brain trauma at NYU Langone Medical Center provided him with training in the rehabilitation and management of patients with a wide range of acquired brain injuries in multiple settings. His long-term goals include leveraging developments in neuroimaging and neuroplasticity to deliver focused interventions to patients with an acquired 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. This live presentation is from the 2nd Annual Rusk Research Symposium. 

​Liat Rabinowitz is the Program Manager of Speech Language Pathology. She has worked as a speech-language therapist in the field of neuro rehabilitation for over 11 years; six of them at RUSK. Her experience has been in evaluation and treatment of adults with acquired brain injury with a specific area of interest in cognitive communication impairments and working with patients in disorder of consciousness. Most of her current work involves managing the Speech Language Pathology department, along with supervising and training staff. A native of South Africa, she trained as a therapist at the University of Cape Town. Her master’s degree in speech-language pathology is from Columbia University. She currently teaches as an adjunct faculty member at NYU-Steinhardt school on language disorders in adults and has taught cognitive disorders at Columbia University, which she will resume next semester. This live presentation is from the 2nd Annual Rusk Research Symposium. The introduction is by Dr. Steven Flanagan, Chair of Rusk. 

​Amanda Childs is completing the second year of a postdoctoral fellowship in a National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research-funded Training Program at Rusk. She also completed a pre-doctoral internship at Rusk before graduating from the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University in 2014. She has been actively involved in rehabilitation psychology on a national level and currently serves as the Chair of the Communications Committee for Division 22 in Rehabilitation Psychology of the American Psychological Association. She presented at the 2016 Rehabilitation Psychology Conference in Atlanta and received the Foundation for Rehabilitation Psychology’s Trainee Research Award for Best Oral Presentation and was a recipient of the Senil Gupta VA Travel Award for best trainee poster. She was selected as a Fellow for the Young Investigators Symposium at the 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine annual meeting. Beginning in September 2016, she will be a staff psychologist in the outpatient department. This live presentation is from the 2nd Annual Rusk Research Symposium. 

Elizabeth Galletta is a Clinical Research Specialist who is Director of the Rusk Community Groups Program as well as an Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program (ICAP) in the Speech Language Pathology Department. In her clinical practice she treats patients with acquired speech and language disorders secondary to stroke, concussion, traumatic brain injury, and tumor, along with other acquired neurologic conditions. Her research focuses on treatment approaches for stroke survivors with aphasia and includes using noninvasive brain stimulation as an adjuvant to speech-language intervention. She has both a master’s degree in audiology and a master’s degree in speech language pathology from Hunter College, the City University of New York. Her PhD also is from the City University of NY. She did a post-doctoral fellowship in stroke rehabilitation research at the Kessler Foundation Research Center from 2009-2011 and has worked as a clinician, researcher, and professor throughout her career. This live presentation was given during the 2nd Annual Rusk Research Symposium. 

Dr. Bruce Gans serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and National Medical Director for Rehabilitation for Select Medical, the parent company for Kessler. He also currently is the Chairman of the Board of the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association. His distinguished career in the field of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation spans five decades as a leading clinician, educator, researcher, administrator, and advocate. A prolific writer and researcher, he has served on the editorial boards and as a reviewer for numerous medical journals and just concluded many years of service as an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Gans also has presented hundreds of lectures throughout the world on various topics in PM&R. He is past president of both the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Association of Academic Physiatrists. His medical degree is from the University of Pennsylvania and he also holds Master of Science degrees from both the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Washington. In this special two-part live series, Dr. Gans delivers his acceptance speech of the 2016 Howard A Rusk Leadership and Innovation in Rehabilitation Award. The introduction to this speech, which took place at the 2nd Annual Rusk Research Symposium, is given by Rusk Chairman, Dr. Steven Flanagan.