Current Research

Funding Agency: Craig H. Neilsen Foundation

2023-2026

Grant ID: 000826

Pime Site / Principal Investigator: Shirley Ryan AbilityLab / Linda Ehrlich-Jones, PhD, RN, FACRM, FAAN

Site Principal Investigator: Simon Driver, PhD

Purpose: To determine whether inpatients with SCI/D treated by physical therapists and occupational therapists who receive motivational interviewing (MI) training and coaching demonstrate greater therapy participation during inpatient rehabilitation, greater functional improvement at discharge from inpatient rehabilitation, and greater community integration at 6 months after discharge, compared to those treated by therapists who did not receive MI training and coaching.

Contact: Dannae Arnold, PT, DPT, ATP | [email protected]

Funding Agency: Department of Defense (DoD) Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP) Clinical Trial Award (CTA)

2023-2027

Grant ID: HT9425-23-1-0418

Prime Site/ Principal Investigators: Shirley Ryan AbilityLab / William Zev Rymer and Milap Sandhu

Site Principal Investigator: Chad Swank, PT, PhD

Purpose: (1) To determine the critical time window for plasticity post-SCI by evaluating the effectiveness of 20 hours of additional high-intensity locomotor training provided in the early, subacute, or the chronic stage following traumatic SCI. (2) To determine the relationship between functional improvement achieved over the course of 20-hr high-intensity training and post-intervention walking activity, including community ambulation, for up to 1-year post-SCI.

Contact: Faith Meza, MPH / [email protected]

Funding Agency: National Institute of Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research

2023-2026

Grant ID: 90IFRE0084

Prime Site: Baylor Scott & White Research Institute

Principal Investigator: Librada Callender, PhD

Purpose: The goal of this project is to adapt the evidence-based Diabetes Prevention Program Group Lifestyle Balance adapted for People with Stroke to be culturally and linguistically relevant for Latinos and to pilot the adapted program.

Contact: Alexandria Suhalka, MPH / [email protected]

Funding Agency: National Institute of Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research

2023-2026

Grant ID: 90IFRE0074

Prime Site: Baylor Scott & White Research Institute

Principal Investigator: Chad Swank, PT, PhD

Purpose: This study examines the cost effectiveness of delivering RGT during inpatient rehabilitation to improve gait and mobility in people with stroke.

Contact: Sara Baltz, MS / [email protected]

We are conducting a healthy lifestyle study for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI). We will meet regularly in groups for 12 months. Volunteers will participate in a 22-session healthy lifestyle program using a telehealth (or virtual) platform. Volunteers will also be asked to complete a program assessment over the phone four times. These assessments will be done at 0, 3, 6 and 12 month marks.

Eligibility criteria

Age: 18-80 years

Timeline: At least 6 months since TBI

Injury: Moderate to severe TBI at time of injury

Health: Clinically overweight; able to participate in physical activity

For more information: [email protected] or call 214.228.5181

Funding Agency: Department of Defense: U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA)

2022-2027

Grant ID: W81XWH2210999

Prime Site/Principal Investigator: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai/Kristen Dams-O’Connor, PhD

Site Principal Investigator: Simon Driver, PhD

Purpose: Leverage existing NIH-funded research infrastructure to define the risk factors and clinical and biological signatures of post-traumatic neurodegeneration, while creating rich data resources to share with the scientific community.

Contact: Simon Driver | [email protected]

Funding Agency: National Institute of Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research

2020-2025

Grant ID: 90DPHF0006

Prime Site/Principal Investigator: University of Indiana/Flora Hammond

Site Principal Investigator: Simon Driver, PhD

Purpose: (1) Develop new knowledge and information about potential characteristics and adaptability of evidence-based CDM models for people with TBI. (2) Develop a CDM model (BeHEALTHY) designed specifically for TBI based on available evidence and best practices for optimizing long-term outcomes after TBI. (3) Develop new knowledge about a TBI CDM model, including its active components, feasibility for implementation, measures of impact, sustainability, and potential for knowledge translation. (4) Develop new knowledge among people with TBI, care providers, and policy makers about the characteristics of the emerging TBI CDM model.

Contact: Simon Driver | [email protected]

Funding Agency: National Institute of Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research

2022-2027

Grant ID: 90SIMS0021

Prime Site/Principal Investigator: Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation/Amanda Botticello, PhD

Purpose: The proposed program of research consists of three interlocking projects designed to produce actionable information. Project 1 proposes to expand the capacity of the national Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems (SCIMS) database with the creation of contextual datasets (SCIMS-CDF) to facilitate collaboration and increase scientific inquiry in community environmental factors research. Project 2 will use the SCIMS-CDF to address the need for robust estimates of geographic disparities in health and functioning, employment, and participation after SCI. Project 3 seeks to understand the lived experiences of the people behind the numbers represented by the work of Projects 1 and 2. This project will use Smartphones and wearable technology to observe the dynamic relationship between community features and people with SCI in the context of real-time activities. Understanding the daily challenges and compensatory strategies used by people with SCI to participate in their communities can help urban planners make cities and towns more accessible to everyone and help clinicians advocate for devices and therapeutics needed for consumers to engage in meaningful life activities.

Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

2021-2024

Grant ID: 4UH3NS109497

Prime Site/Principal Investigator: University of Texas at Dallas/Seth Hays

Site Principal Investigator: Rita Hamilton, DO

Purpose: The study will provide an initial evaluation of the use of the ReStore implanted stimulator in the context of stroke. The study will help to assess the prospect that vagal nerve stimulation delivered during rehabilitation is a safe and potentially effective adjuvant for enhancing the efficacy of rehabilitation for the treatment of mild to severe upper limb impairment resulting from chronic stroke.

Contact: Alvaro Carrera | [email protected]

Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health

2021-2028

Grant ID: 5UG3NS117844

Prime Site/Principal Investigator: Ohio State University/Jennifer Bogner, PhD, MA, BS

Site Principal Investigator: Simon Driver, PhD

Purpose: The goal for the current performance period (UG3 phase) is to (1) Standardize electronic medical record documentation of rehabilitation therapy to allow valid extraction for research and clinical operations; (2) Compare the effectiveness of well-defined rehabilitation approaches to improve community participation and functional independence of patients with traumatic brain injury; (3) Identify patient, provider, setting, and post-discharge factors that modify the effect of therapy on outcomes.

Contact: Simon Driver | [email protected]

Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the Office of Human and Animal Research Oversight (OHARO), and the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Program (AAHRPP)

2021-2026

Grant ID: W81XWH2110922

Primary Investigator: Chad Swank, PT, PhD

Purpose: This research is being done to find the best dose of robotic walking training after spinal cord injury. We will compare the effects of different levels of robot walking training and standard of care walking training among people with spinal cord injury (SCI) undergoing rehabilitation at Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation (BSWIR). In DOOR, we will also use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a non-invasive procedure that stimulates nerve cells, to measure the electric potential of the neural pathway from the brain to the muscle.

Contact: Alexandria Holden | [email protected]

Funding Agency: National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research

2021-2026

Grant ID: 90SIMS0011

Primary Investigator: Mark Powers, PhD

Purpose: Although the physical outcomes associated with SCI have been widely studied, the psychological consequences of sustaining a SCI remain less explored. Prolonged exposure therapy (PE) is a well-researched and highly effective treatment for PTSD across multiple traumas. However, early intervention with Brief PE for PTSD prevention among people post SCI in a rehabilitation setting has not yet been tested. We aim to conduct the first test of the Brief PE intervention to prevent PTSD among patients with SCI.

Contact: Neil Stewart | [email protected]

Funding Agency: National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research

2022-2027

Primary Investigator: Simon Driver, PhD

Purpose: To (1) examine the efficacy of the existing GLB-TBI intervention delivered using a telehealth approach to increase the reach and accessibility of the program, (2) partner with an advisory board of people with TBI who self-identify as Hispanic/Latino/a to modify the existing GLB-TBI to create a culturally-relevant Spanish and English version, and (3) develop GLB-TBI training modules so interventionists across the country can deliver the GLB-TBI program in a community setting.

Contact: Evan McShan | [email protected]