In partnership with ACRM, NIDILRR selects five ARRT Fellows to present research relevant to the ACRM mission and audience during the ACRM Annual Conference. This year in Chicago, the following oral presentations will be made on Thursday, 3 November, 11:15 AM – 12:30 PM.

Amanda Childs
Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine
MMPI Profiles of Adults with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: What’s the Norm

Dr. Amanda Childs works as a psychologist at NYU Langone Medical Center, Rusk Rehabilitation. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the NIDILRR funded Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training Program (AART) at Rusk Rehabilitation. She also completed her predoctoral internship at Rusk. She has been actively involved in research on mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and concussion.

Heather Brassil
University of Texas at El Paso
Duration of Neurocognitive Impairments and Symptom Resolution in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Heather Brassil obtained a PhD in General Psychology from Capella University in June 2015 completing a dissertation on grief and loss.  Currently she is a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Texas at El Paso.  She is conducting research in the Concussion Management Clinic working with sport-related traumatic brain injury.

Maria Chang Swartz
University of Texas Medical Branch
Efficacy of Home and Community-Based Physical Activity Interventions on Physical Function among Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Dr. Maria C. Swartz has been a licensed dietitian for more than 10 years and has focused her research in the clinical population.  She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Rehabilitation at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Dr. Swartz received her PhD in Behavioral Science (2014) and Master of Public Health (2006) in Health Promotion/Health Education from the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston. Dr. Swartz has authored 13 referred publications. As a NCI R25T predoctoral fellow at MD Anderson, she was able to obtain funding to conduct her own dissertation work. Dr. Swartz’s dissertation work has focused on evaluating aberrant eating behavior and identifying modifiable factors that can be used to tailor psychosocial and behavioral interventions for cancer survivors. Currently, she is a Co-principal investigator for a University of Texas Medical Branch funded project promoting physical activity using active video gaming among breast cancer patients who are currently in treatment.

Miriam Rafferty
Northwestern University
Allied Health Referral Variability and Outcomes for Persons with Parkinson’s Disease: National Parkinson Foundation Quality Improvement Initiative

Dr. Miriam Rafferty earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Washington University in St. Louis, her Board Certification in Neurologic Physical Therapy while working at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), and her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is currently completing postdoctoral training in Health Services and Outcomes Research at Northwestern University, where she is facilitating and studying the implementation of evidence-based physical therapy in real-world clinical settings. Dr. Rafferty has presented continuing education courses on Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders through RIC, the Illinois Physical Therapy Association, and other education providers. She has been funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, the National Parkinson Foundation, the Foundation for Physical Therapy, and the University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Clinical and Translational Science. Miriam was also the Illinois Physical Therapy Association PT of the Year in 2014.

Sheria G. Robinson-Lane
University of Michigan
Pain, Coping, and Quality of Life Among Community Dwelling Black Elders

Sheria G. Robinson-Lane, is a Registered Nurse and post-doctoral fellow at the University of Michigan in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Robinson-Lane’s research has been focused in pain and coping in older adult minority populations. Her current work is evaluating the relationships between BMI and coping in older adult populations.

GO TO THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE WEBSITE >>

Interested in an ARRT Fellowship?

If you are interested in pursuing an ARRT fellowship you can find out which institutions are funded under the ARRT program and NIDILRR funding mechanism. To do this, query the program database (of NIDILRR grants) held at NARIC. At the bottom of this search page is an item named “Project Type”. The drop-down menu includes the ARRT program and the RRTC funding mechanism as options. The search can be narrowed by changing the “Funding Status” item and/or entering a topical keyword. The search result will provide the grant abstract as well as contact information for the grantee/Project Director.