2025 Fall Edition
Congratulations to our Early Career Travel Scholarship Awardees!
The BI-ISIG Executive Committee is proud to recognize the outstanding recipients of the 2025 Early Career and Consumer Travel Scholarships. Each year, these awards honor the dedication and promise of individuals who are shaping the future of brain injury rehabilitation through research, clinical innovation, and lived experience. This year’s awardees exemplify the BI-ISIG mission of advancing knowledge, fostering collaboration, and strengthening our community.
Full Credentials: Allie J. Tracey, PhD
Current Affiliation: Jefferson Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (JMRRI)
Summary of Conference Participation:
I am thrilled for the opportunity to present a secondary analysis of my dissertation study at the 2025 ACRM Annual Conference. This work explores the user experiences of college-aged athletes with a concussion who reported daily symptoms using an ecological momentary assessment text messaging platform. This project has served as a strong foundation for my current postdoctoral fellowship at JMRRI, where I am working under the mentorship of Dr. Amanda Rabinowitz, a member of the executive board of BI-ISIG. I am also honored to be a recipient of the BI-ISIG Travel Scholarship to support my attendance at the conference. This opportunity will facilitate my active engagement in the BI-ISIG community, allowing me to learn from established brain injury researchers and clinicians and expand my professional network. As an early career investigator, becoming involved with BI-ISIG will support my continued development as a researcher with similar goals of promoting high standards of rehabilitation practice and research among interdisciplinary professionals for TBI. Additionally, I look forward to opportunities such as contributing to task forces, engaging in collaborative research efforts, mentoring students, and eventually taking on leadership roles within BI-ISIG.
Full Credentials: Amrutha Bindu Nagella, MBBS, MD (Anesthesiology)
Current Affiliation: Research Scientist, Brain Function and Recovery Lab, Rehabilitation Sciences, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo
Summary of Conference Participation:
The BI-ISIG conference scholarship has given me the opportunity to attend and present my research on the impact of the APOE4 genotype in aging traumatic brain injury patients at the ACRM 2025 meeting in Chicago. I am eager to engage with fellow researchers, exchange ideas, and explore potential collaborations during the conference. My research to date has focused on traumatic brain injury and its long-term consequences. As a member of the Chronic Brain Injury Task Force, I am particularly interested in investigating the role of prehabilitation in optimizing perioperative pain management—an area that aligns closely with my background in anesthesiology and pain medicine.
Credentials: Jessica Ann Bombino-Elliott, PT, DPT, NCS, CBIS
Current Affiliation: Clinical Postdoctoral Fellow, Colorado State University, PhD Student, Clinical Science, University of Colorado | Anschutz, Physical Therapist, University of Colorado Hospital
Summary of Conference Participation:
The BI-ISIG Scholarship supported my ability to attend ACRM 2025 for the first time as an experienced clinician and emerging researcher. I am excited to present two research posters: one focused on measuring meaningful change in individuals with severe brain injury, and the other focused on strategies to address barriers to implementing evidence-informed programming for individuals with acquired brain injury. Both projects were developed in collaboration with members of the BI-ISIG DoC Task Force. This support allows me to connect in person with long-term collaborators, strengthen existing partnerships, and actively engage in BI-ISIG meetings and task force initiatives.
This opportunity will enhance my professional growth by deepening my engagement with experts in brain injury rehabilitation and research, allowing me to learn directly from national leaders in the field. Through BI-ISIG, and especially the DoC Task Force, I have received mentorship and expanded my research network. Attending the ACRM 2025 conference will further support collaboration and future research aimed at enhancing clinical care. This opportunity, made possible by the BI-ISIG Scholarship, will further my development as a prospective clinical researcher.
I look forward to continuing active involvement in the DoC Task Force, contributing to ongoing research initiatives, and developing as a clinician researcher and a productive member of the BI-ISIG community. My goal is to help bridge research and clinical care through interdisciplinary collaboration, with a focus on improving care for individuals with disorders of consciousness—particularly in intensive care and acute care settings.
Credentials: Katherine Golden, OTD, OTR/L, CBIS
Current Affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA
Summary of Conference Participation:
Receiving the BI-ISIG Conference Scholarship supports my attendance at the 2025 ACRM Annual Conference while I complete my PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences. This generous support enables me to disseminate my research on disorders of consciousness, participate in key BI-ISIG sessions, and engage in collaborative Task Force meetings and working groups. Attending the conference allows me to strengthen in-person relationships with colleagues and mentors, broaden my professional network, and benefit from valuable feedback to refine my research and spark new ideas.
Looking ahead, I plan to stay highly involved with BI-ISIG through ongoing projects, future conference presentations, and new leadership opportunities. The connections and experience gained with this scholarship will hopefully support my transition to future opportunities, such as a postdoctoral fellowship, and help me contribute meaningfully to the BI-ISIG community. I am deeply grateful for this support and excited for the inspiration and mentorship the conference will provide as I advance in my career.
Full Credentials: Kathryn A. Hyzak, PhD
Current Affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University
Summary of Conference Participation:
I am incredibly grateful and honored to have received the 2025 BI-ISIG scholarship award to attend the ACRM Conference in Chicago this year. Since joining ACRM in 2022, my involvement in ACRM has grown exponentially and will continue to grow thanks to this award. When I first joined ACRM, I became actively involved in the Chronic Brain Injury Task Force, where I collaborated with two new colleagues to publish an Information and Education Page on traumatic brain injury and substance use disorders.
For the last year and a half, I have been an active member of the Cognitive Rehabilitation Task Force (Implementation Science Subcommittee), working on a study to examine the adoption of cognitive rehabilitation among professionals treating individuals with acquired brain injury. This project has enabled me to expand my network of collaborators from diverse professional backgrounds who have a strong interest in increasing the adoption and implementation of cognitive rehabilitation across settings to improve patient outcomes.
This year at ACRM, I am looking forward to continuing that collaboration and meeting several of these colleagues for the first time in person. Attending ACRM has expanded my career development through meeting new colleagues, working on interdisciplinary research projects, and developing my leadership skills in rehabilitation medicine by joining the BI-ISIG Executive Committee. I look forward to remaining actively involved in ACRM for years to come.
