ACRM - Brain Injury

Brain Injury

Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group (BI-ISIG)

About the BI-ISIG

The ACRM Brain Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group (BI-ISIG) promotes high standards of rehabilitation practice, education, and research among interdisciplinary professionals with common interests in brain injury.

The BI-ISIG holds two meetings per year, one a mid-year spring meeting and the other, an annual fall meeting, which is held in conjunction with the ACRM Annual Conference, Progress in Rehabilitation Research.

BI-ISIG Task Forces
To learn about the work of the BI-ISIG task forces and get involved, please access the links in the left navigation menu.

BI-ISIG Member Benefits

Moving Ahead semi-annual newsletter
BI-ISIG Task Forces
Continuing education
Opportunity to plan educational courses for the ACRM annual conference
Development of position papers
Joint research opportunities

Executive Committee
Chair		Lance E. Trexler, PhD, HSPP Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana Indianapolis, IN
Past Chair		Ronald Seel, PhD Shepherd Center Atlanta, GA
Chair-Elect		Joshua Cantor, PhD Mount Sinai School of Medicine New York, NY
Treasurer		Risa Nakase-Richardson, PhD James A. Haley Veterans Hospital Tampa, FL
Secretary		Kristen Dams-O'Connor, PhD Mount Sinai School of Medicine New York, NY
Early Career Chair		Andrew C. Dennison , MD Shepherd Center Atlanta, GA
Communications Chair		Donna Langenbahn, PhD, FACRM Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine New York, NY
Program/Awards Chair		Teresa Ashman, PhD Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine New York, NY

BI-ISIG Mid-Year Meeting Participation

The ACRM Mid-Year Meeting is a small, casual working meeting -- just perfect for connecting with colleagues and task force members facr-to-face, and getting your priority projects off the ground. Please visit the 2013 Mid-Year Meeting page for the agenda and schedule of various task force meetings and activities.

BI-ISIG Scholarship Nominations

Nominations are now being accepted for the BI-ISIG Early Career Scholarship created to assist Early Career members attend and fully participate in this important meeting. Please click on the link below to complete and submit the online nomination form by 29 March 2013.

ONLINE NOMINATIONS FORM

BI-ISIG Poster awards

Each year during the ACRM Annual Conference, the BI-ISIG presents two awards for outstanding posters.

David Strauss, PhD Memorial Award

This award was created in 2004 in honor of David Strauss, PhD, a long-term BI-ISIG member, nationally recognized for his humanistic interests, vision, and teaching in post-acute TBI topics. This award is given to the primary author of a poster presentation at the annual conference judged as best reflecting Dr. Strauss’s areas of interest.

Erik Storholm, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, won the 2012 BI-ISIG Strauss Award as first author of the poster: Depression as a mediator of the relation between behavioral disinhibition and substance abuse among individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). He was awarded a full-conference registration for the 2013 Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. The list of authors is: Erik D. Storholm (Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY), Kristen Dams-O’Connor, Maria Kajankova, and Nora Goudsmit. Eric is currently an extern at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY.

Early Career Award
This award is given to a researcher in the first 10 years of his or her career, who is first author of a poster in the area of brain injury exhibited at the annual conference and judged on its merits across several areas of topic relevance and importance, research methodology, coherence, writing quality, and overall presentation.

Maria Kajankova, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, won the 2012 BI-ISIG Early Career Award as first author of the poster: Self-perception and identity development among TBI survivors according to stage of development at injury. The list of authors is: Maria Kajankova, Erik Storholm, Kristen Dams-O’Connor, and Nora Goudsmit. Maria is currently a pre-doctoral intern at Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY.

BI-ISIG Resources

Member Guide to Product Development

The Member Guide to Product Development describes ACRM products, e.g., fact sheets, journal articles, manuals, and the procedure used by ACRM groups and committees to develop them. Includes a product development worksheet and a form to request a product review.

Supplemental Materials for "Preventing Falls Following Brain Injury" Information/Education Page

RELEASED REPORTS

In June 2007, a multidisciplinary group of leaders in neuroimaging, neurology and neuroethics gathered at Stanford University to discuss and deliver an ethics analysis of the emerging capabilities of functional neuroimaging studies (e.g., fMRI, PET) in patients with disorders of consciousness. There was broad agreement that one of the most vexing challenges identified by neurologists, neuroimagers and neuroethicists is negotiating caretakers' responses to media releases concerning peer-reviewed publications that describe novel findings with potential clinical significance (1).

It is not uncommon for rehabilitation clinicians to receive requests from family members to obtain a neuroimaging study for a loved one unable to communicate verbally or gesturally as the result of acquired brain injury. Family members often express the belief and hope that functional neuroimaging may provide signals about the patient's state of consciousness and perhaps prospects for recovery.

Although neurotechnology is increasingly being utilized to study vegetative and minimally conscious patients, the scientific and clinical community still awaits precise figures on the epidemiology of these conditions (2). In response to what appears to be an overwhelming need for better dissemination of information today, at least as measured by the impact of phone calls and emails, a "Frequently Asked Questions" document was developed by participants of the Stanford conference that is specifically oriented for families.

This document describes in simple language some basic facts about neuroimaging, what families should know about the state-of-the-art in functional neuroimaging of brain injury today, and ethical considerations in deciding whether to enroll a loved one in a neuroimaging study. As part of the dissemination plan, the FAQ document has been made available for distribution through this website and by hard copy to imaging centers, neurologists, professional organizations, and advocacy groups.

_________________

1. Judy Illes, PhD, Correspondence

National Core for Neuroethics
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia CANADA

1. Patricia Lau, BSc
National Core for Neuroethics
University of British Columbia
2211 Wesbrook Mall. Koerner, S124
Vancouver, British Columbia CANADA

2. Joseph T. Giacino, PhD
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
USA

How Do I Join other ACRM Groups?

ACRM membership includes affiliation with any ACRM community forum. Members may participate in any group, including Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injury, and Stroke Interdisciplinary Special Interest Groups; Early Career, Healthcare Policy, International, and Outcomes Measurement Networking Groups; as well as groups now forming for Geriatric Rehabilitation, Pain, Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Pediatric Rehabilitation. Nonmembers are welcome and encouraged to participate in any networking or forming group. Please contact Terri Compos, ACRM Community Relations Manager, for details.

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