2025 Fall Edition

Congratulations to the Awardees of the BI-ISIG 2025 Task Force Awards

Each year, the BI-ISIG Task Force Awards provide competitive funding to support innovative projects proposed and led by our Task Force members. These awards are designed to spark collaborations, advance knowledge, and create meaningful impact in the field of brain injury rehabilitation. This year’s awardees reflect the strength, creativity, and dedication of our community, with projects spanning cultural considerations in research, clinical validation of diagnostic tools, and implementation of best practices in rehabilitation.

• Culture and Diversity Task Force: “Values and Priorities of Research Participants with Brain Injury”
  Led by Jessica Kersey, PhD, OTR/L, with collaborators Zaccheus Ahonle, Patricia Garcia, Paige Salinas, Anthony Lequerica, Dawn Neumann, Devan Parrott, and Robiann Broomfield*, this project will elevate the voices of individuals with lived experience of brain injury by exploring what matters most to them in research participation.
• Mild TBI Task Force: “Validation of ACRM Diagnostic Interview for mTBI”
  Led by Amanda Rabinowitz, PhD, with team members Anita Brandt, Allie Tracey, Rael Lange, PhD, Noah Silverberg, PhD, and Tracey Wallace, MS, CCC-SLP**, this study aims to rigorously validate the new ACRM Diagnostic Interview, ensuring it can be applied with confidence across clinical and research settings.
• Cognitive Rehabilitation Task Force: “Studying Implementation of the ACRM Cognitive Rehabilitation Practice Standards”
  Led by Amy Shapiro-Rosenbaum and Tom Bergquist, with a large interdisciplinary team including Aubree Alexander, Rylea Ranum, Natalie Gilmore*, Kate Hyzak*, Adam Kinney, Donna Langenbahn, Emily Dunlap, Stephanie O’Duro, Katy O’Brien, Silvana Costa, Michael Fraas, and Monika Gross**, this project will investigate how evidence-based practice standards can be effectively implemented in real-world rehabilitation contexts.

A special note of recognition goes to the early-career members (marked with *) who are stepping into leadership and collaboration roles through these projects. Their engagement highlights the next generation of innovators in brain injury rehabilitation.

We look forward to seeing the outcomes of these exciting initiatives and celebrating the contributions they will make to our field.