This expert has been an ever present force in the rehabilitation community since the beginning of his career in PM&R. He entered a four-year integrated program at the Medical College of Virginia in 1985 and became involved from the early in his career in education and research. After completion of his four-year residency program, he completed a one-year fellowship in brain injury medicine. He remained in academia for several years and was involved with numerous grant projects and clinical program development. He then moved on to private practice opportunities while maintaining a unique balance between entrepreneurship, clinical care and ongoing academic achievement.
He has pursued several additional certifications given his interests in neurosexuality, impairment and disability evaluation and management, post-trauma pain, brain injury, as well as medicolegal aspects of neurotrauma. This expert holds numerous academic appointments currently serving as an Affiliate Professor in our department as well as a Clinical Professor at the Graduate School of Psychology, a college in NY and Visiting Associate Professor at a University in VA, Department PM&R. He teaches regularly at the aforementioned institutions and has given hundreds of lectures worldwide mainly focused on topics related to brain injury medicine and neurorehabilitation. He became involved early on in his medical career in grant supported research and has remained involved as a peer reviewer of scientific programs, grants and books. He remains, as an affiliate faculty member of our department, involved in federally funded research projects mainly focused on brain injury outcomes and disorders of consciousness.
He is a sought after speaker due to the great depth of his knowledge and diversity of the topics he is willing and able to speak on and has an international reputation of excellence in his field practice. Since his training at Medical College of Virginia, he has exemplified what it is to be an educator and has trained many students, fellows and clinicians both hands-on�, as well as in the context of his writing and lecturing about topics involving neurorehabilitative and neuromedical issues in acquired brain injury, post-traumatic pain and neurosexuality. He has been quite prolific with his writing serving as an editor of numerous special issues in multiple journals, authoring or co-authoring well over 180 peer reviewed publications. He serves as a peer reviewer or ad hoc reviewer for close to 20 different publications. Additionally, he has served as co-chief editor of the international, peer reviewed neurorehabilitation journal since 1991 and also as co-chief editor of the official scientific journal of the International Brain Injury Association since 2002. His commitment to education and dissemination is also evident in the many chapters (over 60) and books (8 either as chief editor, coeditor or associate editor) he has been responsible for.
He is a member of numerous scientific, honorary and professional societies dealing with his work as a physician focusing on impairment and disability evaluation and treatment, and more specifically, brain injury medicine. These organizations are both scientific and advocacy related. He has held numerous medical directorships over the years and currently serves as the CEO and Medical Director of two successful brain injury related healthcare practices which he started.
He has received multiple awards including most notably the first Young Investigator Award given out by the National Head Injury Foundation (now Brain Injury Association of America). He received the Clinical Service Award at the annual Williamsburg conference, the Weinstock award from the Virginia Brain Injury Association and the Shelton Berrol M.D. clinical service award for outstanding contributions to improving clinical services in brain injury from the Brain Injury Association of America. He has regularly been ranked as a top doctor by Best Doctors�. He is also involved with international health care consultation and frequently is asked to serve as a medical expert on brain injury cases.
He has also served on innumerable committees over the years starting early in his career as a PM&R resident for organizations such as the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, the National Head Injury Foundation (subsequently the Brain Injury Association of America), the Brain Injury Association of Virginia, the International Brain injury Association, and the American Society of Neurorehabilitation, among other organizations. He along with a colleague were responsible for encouraging the National Head Injury Foundation to change its name to the Brain Injury Association of America and was also instrumental in the merger of the International Association for the Study of Traumatic Brain Injury with the International Brain Injury Association. He served nearly a decade as chairperson of the International Brain Injury Association bringing it from the verge of extinction to a thriving international organization. He also has a historical record of pro bono service to numerous agencies and has served on numerous advisory boards, scientific and otherwise.
He has contributed substantively to his field in so many different ways over his 30 year career relative to disability advocacy, lay and professional education (nationally and internationally), support for survivors of ABI and their families, as well as research and dissemination. He is a true example of a clinician who has shown a career long dedication to advancing the field on so many different levels and has become an international leader in the subspecialty area of brain injury medicine and neurorehabilitation.
