Each year, it is the pleasure and great honor of the ACRM Awards Committee and Board of Governors to recognize those individuals most deserving of the prestigious ACRM Awards for excellence in the field of rehabilitation medicine. Please join them in congratulating this year’s winners.

Formal presentation of these awards will be made at the Henry B. Betts Awards Gala, 10 October 2014, during the ACRM 91^st Annual Conference in Toronto. Be sure to purchase your gala ticket when you register for the conference or simply return to online registration to add tickets to an existing registration.

Gold Key Award

This award was established in 1932 as a certificate of merit for members of the medical and allied professions who have rendered extraordinary service to the cause of rehabilitation. It is the highest honor awarded by ACRM. It is the great pleasure of the ACRM Awards Committee and Board of Governors to recognize Donald T. Stuss, PhD, C Psych, ABPP-CN, Order of Ontario, FRSC, FCAHS as the winner of the 2014 Gold Key Award.

Dr. Stuss is president and scientific director (2011- present) of the Ontario Brain Institute; senior scientist at the Rotman Research Institute of Baycrest Centre and University of Toronto Professor of Medicine (Neurology and Rehabilitation Science) and Psychology. He is founding director of the Rotman Research Institute, serving from 1989 to 2008; Reva James Leeds Chair in Neuroscience and Research Leadership (2001-2009), and vice president of research at Baycrest (1991-2004, 2006-2009). From 2006-2008, Dr. Stuss served as vice president of academic education at Baycrest; and as interim director and CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation Centre for Stroke Recovery from 2008-2009. His honors include: Fellow of CPA, APA (Divisions 3, 6, 20, 40), APS, American Heart and Stroke Association, AAAS; University of Toronto Faculty Award (2004); University Professor status, University of Toronto (2004); APA/APF FJ McGuigan Lecture on Understanding the Human Mind (2007); Michener Institute Honorary Diploma (2008); Dr. Gonzalo Rodriquez Lafora Lecture, Spanish Neurological Society. National Academy of Neurosciences 2011 Lifetime Contributions to Neuropsychology Award: 3rd Annual Charles Branch Brain Health Award, University of Texas at Dallas (2012). His research focuses on understanding and treating the cognitive functions and personality changes associated with the frontal lobes as they occur after stroke, normal elderly, and in those with traumatic brain injury or dementia. He has one co-authored book, and four co-edited books; over 190 publications and 48 chapters; and has presented over 270 invited scientific lectures and workshops. His publications have been cited more than 14,000 times. Dr. Stuss will

be the guest speaker of the Brucker International Luncheon hosted by the International Networking Group during the 2014 ACRM Annual Conference.

John Stanley Coulter Award

This distinguished lectureship honors John Stanley Coulter, MD, a past president and treasurer of ACRM, and editor of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation by celebrating his life’s many contributions to rehabilitation.

The 2014 John Stanley Coulter Award winner is V. Reggie Edgerton, PhD.  Dr. Edgerton received his PhD in exercise physiology from Michigan State University, a Masters from the University of Iowa, and a BS from East Carolina University. He has been a distinguished professor of integrative biology and physiology and of neurobiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, since 1968. His research is primarily focused on plasticity within the spinal neural networks that control motor function. Currently he is studying how epidural stimulation of the spinal cord in combination with pharmacological interventions can facilitate improvement in motor ability after spinal cord injury and other neurological injuries and diseases. Dr. Edgerton has received numerous awards for his work, including the National Paralysis Foundation Christopher Reeve Award. His research is funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Deborah L. Wilkerson Early Career Award

This award was established in honor of Deborah L. Wilkerson, former ACRM president and fellow, whose life was devoted to improving the quality of rehabilitation and independent living services. This award is presented to those who energetically promote the spirit of interdisciplinary rehabilitation.

The 2014 Deborah L. Wilkerson Early Career Award winner is Brad Kurowski, MD, MS. Dr. Kurowski received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and his medical degree from Case Western Reserve, University School of Medicine. Subsequently, Dr. Kurowski completed residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and fellowship training in pediatric rehabilitation medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC). He is currently an assistant professor of pediatrics and PM&R at CCHMC and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. His clinical and research interests revolve around better elucidating neurophysiologic and environmental influences of cognitive and behavioral recovery after pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) of all severities, with the ultimate goal of improving evidence-based management. He is also interested in identifying ways to maximize clinical and research collaborations to advance the field of rehabilitation. Dr. Kurowski chairs the Physicians Task Force of the ACRM Early Career Networking Group.

Distinguished Member Award

Established in 1988, the Distinguished Member Award honors an ACRM member who significantly contributes to the development and functioning of ACRM. Qualified nominees are ACRM members who provide extraordinary service as a member or chair of a committee, task force, ISIG, or networking group. These individuals demonstrate leadership and organizational abilities, and exemplify public service. The 2014 ACRM Distinguished Member Award winners are Chris MacDonell, FACRM and Philip A. Morse, PhD, FACRM.

Chris MacDonell, FACRM is the managing director of medical rehabilitation and international medical rehabilitation and aging services at CARF, International. She began her varied career in the health care industry as an occupational therapist after graduating from the University of Southern California. While in California, she became an administrator of a full rehabilitation continuum of care before coming to CARF, International in in 1991. Chris has represented CARF at international, national, regional and local meetings to promote and interpret standards and the use of accreditation as a quality business and clinical strategy throughout the continuum of care. Chris is very actively involved with ACRM communities and co-chairs the Marketing and Outreach Task Force of the International Networking Group.

Dr. Morse is currently a neuropsychologist and consultant in private practice. He is recently retired from his position as President of Neurobehavioral Services of New England and as a staff neuropsychologist at New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Portland, a company where he was on staff for 32 years. He is a Fellow of ACRM and the inaugural and serving chair of the ACRM Stroke Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group (Stroke-ISIG), having lead the group through its growth and transition from a networking group. Dr. Morse served as chair-elect, chair and past-chair of the ACRM Brain Injury ISIG from 2004-2010. Dr. Morse earned his BA in Psychology from Brown University, and his MA and PhD from the University of Connecticut-Storrs in Developmental Psychology. From 1971 to 1983 he taught in the Psychology Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he carried out research in infant speech perception, completed re-specialization training in clinical psychology and an internship in neuropsychology and clinical psychology at the Boston VAMC. He completed postdoctoral training in neuropsychology at New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Woburn, MA and then served there as director of psychology (1982-1994). He taught neuropsychology as a research professor and lecturer in Boston University’s Psychology Department (1983-1997) and served as the first president of the Massachusetts Neuropsychological Society (1988). Dr. Morse continues to have a strong interest in brain injury and stroke rehabilitation with particular interests in family systems, rehab team building and international issues.

Mitchell Rosenthal Mid-Career Award

This award was established in 2013 to honor those who have significantly contributed to the development and functioning of ACRM, demonstrated evidence of leadership skills, organizational abilities, and demonstrates leadership and significant contributions while involved in current brain injury rehabilitation research.

The 2014 Mitchell Rosenthal Mid-Career Award winner is Arlene Schmid, PhD, OTR. Dr. Schmid is an occupational therapist and was trained as a rehabilitation research scientist at the University of Florida. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship in the Indianapolis VA. She is currently faculty in the Colorado State University Department of Occupational Therapy. The majority of Dr. Schmid’s research is focused on people with chronic stroke but she has recently started to work with other patient populations. Dr. Schmid is a leader in the study of yoga as a complement to rehabilitation therapies. She is very involved with the Stroke-ISIG Executive Committee and co-chairs the Stroke-ISIG Movement Interventions Task Force.

Elizabeth and Stanley Licht Award 

This award honors Sidney Licht, MD, a longtime ACRM member and former president, and his wife Elizabeth, who was the publisher of the Physical Medicine Library. The Elizabeth and Sidney Licht Award recognizes excellence in scientific writing in rehabilitation medicine. Only articles presenting potentially significant empirical and theoretical contributions to rehabilitation medicine, and demonstrating soundness of methodology and data analysis are considered for the award.

The 2014 Elizabeth and Stanley Licht Award winner is Daniele Sirineu Pereira. She is recognized for her work as the primary author for Effects of Physical Exercise on Plasma Levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Depressive Symptoms in Elderly Women: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Dr. Pereira holds a BS in physiotherapy at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais/Brazil (UFMG), and earned her masters degree in 2008, and her doctorate in Rehabilitation Sciences from the graduate program at UFMG in 2012. Dr. Pereira is currently a professor of geriatrics and gerontology in physiotherapy in the Physiotherapy Department at Universidade Federal de Alfenas-MG (UNIFAL-MG). Primary research development is in the areas of health and rehabilitation of the elder, human functional performance, pain and inflammation.

 

Congratulations to 2014 Fellows of ACRM 

The ACRM Fellows Committee and Board of Governors are pleased to recognize the following members as Fellows of ACRM for their outstanding service to the organization and contributions of national significance to the field of medical rehabilitation. These individuals have indeed earned the privilege of claiming the Fellows of ACRM designation (FACRM). Formal recognition of the 2014 Fellows will be made during the ACRM 91st Annual Conference in Toronto.

Pictured left to right below: Teresa Ashman, PhD, FACRM, Chris MacDonell, FACRM, Deborah A. Backus, PhD, FACRM, Fofi Constantinidou, PhD, FACRM, Stephen Page, PhD, MS, OTR/L, FACRM, Angelle Sander, PhD, FACRM, Risa Richardson, PhD, FACRM, Theresa Louise-Bender Pape, DrPH, MA, CCC-SLP/L, FACRM.