COURSE

Enabling Leadership in a Diverse Rehabilitation Community >>

BIO

Sonya Kim, PhD, is a research scientist at the NYU School of Medicine where she has a joint appointment as a research assistant professor in the department of Neurology and the department of Rehabilitation Medicine. Dr. Kim is a clinical psychologist, a certified rehabilitation counselor and has board certification in biofeedback. As the pioneering force behind the use of heart rate variability biofeedback to improve emotional regulation for individuals with severe and chronic brain injury, Dr. Kim’s major research interests include cognitive deficits in multiple sclerosis, chronic TBI, and exploring mechanisms and interventions that help rehabilitate functioning post-brain injury. Her research seeks to demonstrate that the pursuit of health requires a multidimensional approach that can better allow for and respond to the individual complexities inherent in a patient’s care. Dr. Kim has examined the ways in which patients’ perspectives and beliefs, as well as those of their families, can play an important role in shaping clinical treatment. She has served as PI in a grant-funded study to develop a post-traumatic growth scale in partners of individuals with multiple sclerosis, She is currently working on a study to adapt this instrument and validate it for use by family caregivers of individuals with acquired brain injury. The study is conducted in collaboration with the Brain Injury Association of America; and Dr. Kim was recently awarded the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) under the Switzer Research Fellowship for this work.