In today’s blog post, we are celebrating the 2019 ACRM Conference Award Winners in anticipation of the 2019 ACRM Annual Conference which will be held from Sunday November 3rd to Friday November 8th in Chicago. We hope that you are already planning on attending, and if you cannot make it to this year’s conference, you can follow #ACRM2019 on Twitter, see updates and videos of events on our Facebook page, and check out our YouTube channel.
Each of the award winners have made significant contributions to rehabilitation medicine and research, and we look forward to honoring them throughout the week of the conference. Continue reading to learn more about the awards and the award recipients as well as where you can hear them talk at the ACRM Conference. Learn more about ACRM awards and how to submit a nomination, and we hope to see you in Chicago!
John Whyte, MD, PhD
Gold Key Award
This is the highest honor given by ACRM, and candidates must be nominated by the ACRM Board of Governors. The winner must demonstrate extraordinary service to the cause of rehabilitation medicine.
Dr. Whyte has devoted his career to academic pursuits related to rehabilitation. He is the former director of Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute and is the current director of the TBI Rehabilitation Research Laboratory. He also serves as an associate editor for the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and as an ad hoc reviewer for many additional rehabilitation research journals.
ACRM is proud to recognize John Whyte for his dedication to the field of rehabilitation medicine and research.
Chris MacDonell, FACRM
John Stanley Coulter Lecturer Award
This award honors Dr. John Stanley Coulter and the award winner presents a much anticipated plenary at the annual conference. Chris’s talk, “An Around the World Perspective: Moving the Needle on Rehabilitation Medicine and Research” is on November 5th, during the opening session of the ACRM Annual Conference.
Chris MacDonell is the Managing Director of Medical Rehabilitation and International Aging Services/Medical Rehabilitation at CARF International. Her areas of expertise include stroke rehabilitation, cancer rehabilitation, interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation, brain injury programs, and other areas of rehabilitation research.
ACRM is pleased to recognize Chris MacDonell, FACRM and we look forward to her lecture at the 2019 conference.
Fofi Constantinidou, PhD, CCC-SLP, CBIS, FACRM
Distinguished Member Award
This award honors a member of our ACRM community who has contributed extensively to our organization.
Fofi Constantinidou is the Founding Director of the Center for Applied Neuroscience and Professor of Language Disorders and Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Cyprus. She has been an active member of ACRM since 2005 and is the current chair of the International Networking Group and serves as a member at large on the ACRM Board of Governors.
ACRM values the hard work and innovation Fofi has brought to our organization and she will be honored at 2019 conference.
Wing Kair “Alex” Wong, PhD, DPhil
Deborah L. Wilkerson Early Career Award
This award recognizes the accomplishments of an early-career professional in the field of rehabilitation research and medicine. The winner presents an oral presentation during the Early Career and First-Time Attendees Welcome on November 5th.
Dr. Wong is an assistant professor of occupational therapy and neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine where he works to track real-world benefits of clinical trials. His rehabilitation research interests include cognition, depression, mobile health, engagement, and ecological momentary assessment and intervention.
His talk is highly anticipated and ACRM is honored to be able to recognize his work with this award.
Juan Carlos Arango Lasprilla, PhD
Mitchel Rosenthal Mid-Career Award
This award recognizes mid-career clinician-scientists working in the field of brain injury rehabilitation.
Juan Carlos Arango Lasprilla is currently a research assistant professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has been nationally and internationally recognized for his work in the area of brain injury and cultural issue, and primarily focuses on work with diverse populations.
Cheng-Yang Hsieh, MD, PhD
Elizath & Sidney Licht Excellence in Scientific Writing Award
This award celebrates excellence in scientific writing in rehabilitation medicine and recognizes a single article that demonstrates sound methodology, data analysis, and contribution to rehabilitation research
Cheng-Yang Hsieh is an Adjunct Assistant Processor in the Department of Neurology at Tainan Sin Lau Hospital in Tainan, Taiwan. His skills and areas of expertise include stroke thrombolysis, renal disease, hypertension, and neurological disorders.
Angela Colantonio, PhD, OT Reg (Ont)
Women In Rehabilitation Science Award
This award recognizes exceptional rehabilitation research conducted by a female scientist who is currently or previously a Principal Investigator on at least one project involving rehabilitation research.
Angela Colantonio is the Director of Rehabilitation Sciences Institute in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto where she also works as a Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. Her research includes projects on the epidemiology of acquired brain injuries, traumatic brain injury among vulnerable population, girls and women with ABI, and research-informed theatre as knowledge translation. Learn more about the ABI Research Lab she leads here.
ACRM Annual Conference 2019
The ACRM Annual Conference is coming up soon! We hope to see you in Chicago Nov. 5-8 and at the pre-conference from Nov. 3-5. If you’re not able to attend this year, you can still join our community and we hope to see you next year!
