In The News

Dr. Chet Moritz selected for a DARPA Young Faculty Award

May 2012 - Chet Moritz, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine and Physiology & Biophysics, was recently selected for a DARPA Young Faculty Award. The program aims to identify and engage rising stars in junior faculty positions and provide high-impact funding to these elite junior faculty early in their careers. Dr. Moritz's research aims to develop treatments injuries to the brain and spinal cord using neural engineering technology. The goal of this funding is to improve hand function by recording activity in the brain and using it to trigger stimulation of the spinal cord below an injury. This neuroprosthetic circuit may also help to guide regeneration of the damaged central nervous system. Read more about Dr. Moritz's work.

Dr. Joeseph Czerniecki awarded the Paul B. Magnuson Award

May 2012 - Joseph Czerniecki, M.D., Professor and Associate Director of the Seattle-based VA Research Center of Excellence in Limb Loss Prevention and Prosthetic Engineering, is the recent recipient of the Veterans Administration’s (VA) 2011 Paul B. Magnuson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rehabilitation Research and Development (RR&D). The award is presented annually to a VA RR&D investigator who exemplifies the entrepreneurship, humanitarianism, and dedication to veterans displayed by Dr. Magnuson during his career. It is the highest honor for VA rehabilitation investigators. Read more...

UW grad works to become whole 6 years after bullet shattered life

April 2012 - Yonas Seifu discusses his recovery after he was shot in the back of the head by a bullet fired randomly through a window 6 years ago. Dr. Kathleen Bell, professor and medical director of the brain-injury rehabilitation program, has treated Seifu since he was released from his 2-month stay at Harborview Medical Center in 2006. Read more...

Cheryl Kerfeld uses Tegrity Lecture Capture for the first completely online course for DPT program

April 2012 - Cheryl Kerfeld, PT, PhD, lecturer, offered the first completely online course for the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program using Tegrity Lecture Capture. Tegrity provided Dr. Kerfeld with a way to provide dynamic course content for students to review online. Read more...

UW Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Spring Newsletter Now Available

April 2012 - The Department is pleased to bring you the Spring 2012 edition of our quarterly newsletter. If you have questions or would like to contribute to a future edition, please contact Randi Blaisdell at rehab@uw.edu.

• Read the Spring Newsletter

MS team care will unify at Northwest Hospital

April 2012 - UW Medicine will open a dedicated multiple sclerosis center in July and staff it with one of the region's strongest concentrations of MS-focused specialists. The facilty, on Northwest Hospital & Medical Center's campus, will assemble physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists, neurologists, therapists (occupational, physical and speech), counselors and a psychologist - all seasoned in treating the constellations of physical and cognitive problems that MS patients encounter. Read more...

He was crushed by a jet -- and lived

March 2012 - Boeing employee Josh Divers and his medical team, including Janna Friedly, MD, discuss his injuries and rehabilitation needs at a press conference held at Harborview Medical Center. Both Divers’s legs were amputated after he was crushed by a 787 Dreamliner under tow in February. Read the complete story.

Concussion in Sports

March 2012 - Dr. Stan Herring, clinical professor and co-medical director of the Seattle Sports Concussion program, presented “Concussion in Sports” for KCTS9’s "Science Café" series. In the 30 minute program, Dr. Herring explores the causes, symptoms, effects, and recovery from this common sports injury. Science Café is a monthly educational event that brings scientists face-to-face with members of the Greater Seattle Community. Watch "Concussion in Sports."

Register for the Justus F. Lehmann Symposium

March 2012 - The University of Washington Department of Rehabilitation Medicine is pleased to open registration for the 2012 Justus F. Lehmann Symposium. This year's symposium, which takes place on May 18 at the Center for Urban Horticulture, focuses on "New Technologies in Rehabilitation." We are fortunate to have an outstanding group of speakers who will share their work and knowledge on a number of topics in the area, including: the future of technology in rehabilitation, technological advances in spinal cord injury, neural technology, prosthetic engineering, augmented reality technology, and mobile technologies. This year’s keynote speaker is Michael L. Boninger, M.D., professor and chair of the PM&R Department at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Boninger is a leading expert in the areas of SCI and assistive technology; he has authored over 20 book chapters and published more than 174 papers on the topics. He also holds 5 U.S. patents.

• UPDATE: Registration is now closed.

Department of Rehabiltiation Medicine ranks No. 1 in National Institutes of Health Funding

March 2012 - The University of Washington Department of Rehabilitation Medicine received over $2.6 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2011, making it the top-ranked Physical Medicine department in NIH funding in the country. Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research compiled the rank list. Learn more about our research.

Virtual Penguins a Prescription for Pain?

February 2012 - In this segment of NPR's All Things Considered, a burned soldier describes how the virtual reality therapy program, SnowWorld, developed by Dr. Dave Patterson and Hunter Hoffman, dramatically reduced the pain of his physical therapy procedures. Listen to the story.

National Multiple Sclerosis Society honors Dr. George Kraft with Lifetime Achievement Award

November 2011 - The Department is pleased to announce that George Kraft, MD, MS, professor, has received the 2011 Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The award, presented to Dr. Kraft at the MS society’s national conference in Dallas on November 3rd, recognizes 35 years of outstanding service to MS care. Dr. Kraft is a well-known expert in MS clinical care, education and research. On the UW faculty since 1969, he has served as director of the Western MS Clinical Center since 1979. He is also the principal investigator of the Multiple Sclerosis Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (MSRRTC) that was initially funded in 1998. He is the Alvord professor of Multiple Sclerosis Research; the professorship is named for the late Buster Alvord, former head of neuropathology at the UW’s Department of Pathology and a recipient of the MS Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. Read more...

SCI Transitions Program featured in UW Medicine Magazine's annual Report to Donors

November 2011 - UW Medicine’s Transitions Health Maintenance and Wellness Program (“Transitions”) is featured in UW Medicine Magazine’s annual Report to Donors. Transitions is a health promotion program designed to address the needs of individuals living with spinal cord injury (SCI) as they transition from inpatient rehabilitation into the first two years of life after SCI. The program is made possible by a competitive grant from the Craig H. Neislen Foundation, and generous donations from Mr. Kenny Salvini, his family and friends. These donations allow the program to be offered at no charge to patients. Read more about the innovative rehabilitation program, Transitions, in a “Valuable Life.”

Janet Powell, PhD, OTR/L appointed as Head of the Occupational Therapy Division

November 2011 - The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine is pleased to announce that Janet Powell, PhD, OTR/L, associate professor, has accepted the position as Head of the Occupational Therapy (OT) Division. Dr. Powell joined the UW OT faculty in 2001 after 20 years of clinical practice in pediatrics and adult physical disabilities. Dr. Powell is honored to take on the leadership of the UW OT Division and is looking forward to working with faculty and community clinicians to further the Division’s excellence in education, research, and service.

Daniel Abrahamson, CPO, Helps Create Educational Video Focused on Prosthetics for Middle School Children

October 2011 - Daniel Abrahamson, CPO, lecturer and certified prosthetist/orthotist, recently filmed a video for Symbio Studios and educational publishing company, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH). It is an 8 minute video designed to supplement a middle school lesson on engineering. The video focuses on prosthetics and was filmed here at the UW. Mr. Abrahamson worked with the producer, and the host, Michael Dispezio, to come up with the script and series of activities. View the video (please allow a few minutes to download).

Dr. Stan Herring Helps Launch Online Course on Sports Concussions

October 2011 - Dr. Stan Herring, clinical professor, and Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, professor and chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery, have helped launch a new online course on sports concussions for healthcare professionals. The course, “Heads Up to Clinicians: Addressing Concussion in Sports among Kids and Teens,” is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Football League. Drs. Herring and Ellenbogen co-direct the Seattle Sports Concussion Program, a partnership between UW Medicine and Seattle Children's. Read more...

UW Medicine Multiple Sclerosis Program Move to Northwest Hospital Campus: Questions and Answers for Patients and Families

September 2011 - UW Medicine is building a new state of the art Multiple Sclerosis (MS) center to enhance service offerings and better serve the needs of our MS patients. The new center will combine the existing UW Medicine practices of the MS Neurology and MS Rehabilitation Medicine faculty and clinicians into a single practice where our patients will benefit from the close collaboration of some of the world’s top MS care providers. This will allow a "one stop" clinic where each patient will have the benefit of an individualized care program that will address the complete spectrum of MS treatment resources. Our new UW Medicine clinic will be located on the Northwest Hospital and Medical Center (NWH) campus, in the McMurray building in the early summer of 2012. Information regarding the new location, your upcoming clinic and treatment appointments, and who to contact if you have additional questions is located in this helpful Q&A section.

US News & World Report Ranks University of Washington #3 in the Nation for Rehabilitation Care

July 2011 - We are pleased to report that the University of Washington has been ranked #3 nationally for rehabilitation care in the most recent US News & World Report rankings. In addition, we remain the top-rated hospital-based rehabilitation program in the United States. Scoring is based on a national survey of physicians who are board-certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. This reputational ranking reflects well on our clinical programs throughout the UW Medicine system, including the Rehabilitation Medicine programs at University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle Children's, the Veteran's Administration Puget Sound Health Care System, and our Eastside Specialty Clinic. Further information about the US News & World Report rankings can be obtained at their website: http://www.usnews.com