Traumatic Brain Injury Research

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The Northern New Jersey Traumatic Brain Injury System proudly presents “Moving Forward: Personal Perspectives on Life after Brain Injury,” a virtual speakers series. 

Funding source: This podcast was supported under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR; grant number no. 90DPTB0003). 

Learn more about Carole Starr.
 
Podcast host: Joan Banks-Smith at  https://kesslerfoundation.org/aboutus/Joan%20Banks-Smith 

Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research: https://kesslerfoundation.org/research/center-traumatic-brain-injury 

The Northern New Jersey Traumatic Brain Injury Model System: https://kesslerfoundation.org/researchcenter/tbi/modelsystems 

Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation: https://www.kessler-rehab.com 
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Tuned in to our podcast series lately? Join our listeners in 90 countries who enjoy learning about the work of Kessler Foundation. Be sure to subscribe to our SoundCloud channel “KesslerFoundation” for more research updates. 

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

This podcast was recorded on September 23, 2021, remotely, and was edited and produced by Joan Banks-Smith, Creative Producer for Kessler Foundation.

Ever wonder what it’s like to become a participant in a clinical research study? This podcast outlines all aspects of recruitment, vetting, protocols, and considerations for joining a study and dispels common misconceptions often fostered by Hollywood movies or TV shows. Jessica Ganga, Communications & Digital Media Coordinator at the Foundation, moderates a panel of research coordinators for mobility, spinal cord injury (SCI), stroke, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the Foundation's recruitment manager. They share how volunteers help Kessler Foundation further its clinical research on advancing treatments, which impact the lives of individuals with disabilities worldwide. Volunteers are the heart of our research!   

Learn more about the panel:   
Rachel Byrne, Senior Research Coordinator (SCI) 
Kate Goworek, Research Coordinator (Mobility)
Jenny Masmela, Senior Research Coordinator (Stroke)
Sam Schmidt, Research Recruitment Manager
Angela Smith, Senior Research Coordinator (TBI)
 
Frequently Asked Questions about the Foundation's Research -

Volunteers are the heart of our research! Interested in joining a study? For more information on in-person and tele-studies, check out our studies webpage

Definitions/Keywords
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What is spatial neglect?
Patients who have had a stroke or traumatic brain injury may have a neurological syndrome called spatial neglect, which affects their ability to pay attention to their surroundings and body parts on the less affected side (the left side for patients with right brain injury). Spatial neglect is disabling. Patients may 'forget' to shave, groom, or dress the left side of their bodies. They also have major problems with driving, reading, and balance. Read more about our spatial neglect caregiver webpage and professional pages 

What is KF-NAP®? 
Kessler Foundation Neglect Assessment Process (KF-NAP®) is an assessment tool that may help clinicians detect the presence of spatial neglect and measure the severity of the syndrome. 

What is KF-PAT®? Kessler Foundation Prism Adaptation Treatment (KF-PAT®) is implemented in occupational therapy for post-stroke spatial neglect. Including prism adaptation treatment in standard of care for patients with post-stroke spatial neglect improved functional and cognitive outcomes. 

What is MRI contrast 
There are two major types of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans: with contrast and non-contrast. The main distinction is that for contrast MRIs, a dye (gadolinium-based) is given to the patient intravenously before the scan. Contrast is often order by a physician who wants to highlight a particular part of the body. 

What is HIPPA? 
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge. For more information, go to https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/index.html 

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Tuned in to our podcast series lately? Join our listeners in 90 countries who enjoy learning about the work of Kessler Foundation. Be sure to subscribe to our SoundCloud channel “KesslerFoundation” for more research updates.

In this episode, Dr. Vikram Shenoy Handiru, associate research scientist in our Center for Mobility and Rehabilitation Engineering Research talks about his peer-reviewed article “Graph-theoretical analysis of EEG functional connectivity during balance perturbation in traumatic brain injury: A pilot study” e-published on July 26, 2021 in the journal Human Brain Mapping.

Funding source: New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research, Grant/Award Number: CBIR15MIG004

Learn more about:
Dr. Shenoy Handiru
The peer-reviewed article
Center for Mobility and Rehabilitation Engineering Research
and podcast host Joan Banks-Smith

Co-authors: Alaleh Alivar, Armand Hoxha, Soha Saleh, Easter S. Suviseshamuthu, Guang H. Yue, Didier Allexandre 

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Tuned in to our podcast series lately? Join our listeners in 90 countries who enjoy learning about the work of Kessler Foundation. Be sure and subscribe to our SoundCloud channel “KesslerFoundation” for more research updates. 

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

This podcast was recorded on October 20, 2021 remotely and was edited and produced by Joan Banks-Smith, Creative Producer for Kessler Foundation.

Welcome to another Kessler Foundation podcast!

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In this episode, the Foundation’s Jessica Ganga, Communications & Digital Media Coordinator, and Joan Banks-Smith, Creative Producer, had the opportunity to speak with Ali Welch. She multitasks as mother, schoolteacher, and caregiver to her husband Pete, who was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury as result of a traumatic event.

Learn more about Jessica Ganga and Joan Banks-Smith

For information about the Foundation’s caregiver studies or our traumatic brain injury research

Caregiver Resources:
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LoveYourBrain.com
www.loveyourbrain.com/attend-a-virtual-caregiver-retreat
www.loveyourbrain.com/yoga/practice
www.loveyourbrain.com/mindset

Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey
www.bianj.org/support/#a3
www.bianj.org/resources/

Websites
Care for the Caregiver
www.caregiver.com

Caregiving - Blog & Forum - Reeve Foundation
www.christopherreeve.org/blog/tags/caregiving

Books
https://www.amazon.com/Over-My-Head-Doctors-Looking/dp/0740705989/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=over+my+head+book&qid=1636634340&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Soup-Caregivers-Soul-Community/dp/1623610206/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=chicken+soup+for+the+caregiving+soul&qid=1636634696&sr=8-2
https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Caregiver-Peter-Rosenberger/dp/1683972821/ref=sr_1_23?crid=2G5K54K7WXCW3&keywords=books+for+caregivers&qid=1636635884&refinements=p_72%3A1250221011&rnid=1250219011&s=books&sprefix=books+for+care%2Caps%2C174&sr=1-23

Support Guide
https://lapublishing.com/supporting-survivors-caregivers-after-brain-injury
https://lapublishing.com/search.php?search_query=caregivers§ion=product

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Tuned into our podcast series lately? Join our listeners in 90 countries who enjoy learning about the work of Kessler Foundation. Be sure to subscribe to our SoundCloud channel “KesslerFoundation” for more research updates. 

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

This podcast was recorded remotely on November 16, 2021, and was edited and produced by Joan Banks-Smith, Creative Producer, for Kessler Foundation.

Fast Takes – Episode 12

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In this episode Dr. Rakesh Pilkar, senior research scientist from our Center for Mobility and Rehabilitation Engineering Research at Kessler Foundation talks about his latest peer reviewed article "Evaluating Sensory Acuity as a Marker of Balance Dysfunction After a Traumatic Brain Injury: A Psychophysical Approach” which was published August 11, 2020 in the journal Fontiers of Neuroscience.

Funding sources for this study was the New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research (NJCBIR) Multi-Investigator Grant CBIR15MIG004

Learn more about Dr. Pilkar at and the Center for Mobility and Rehabilitation Engineering Research

Read the Kessler Foundation article and Fontiers of Neuroscience article
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Co-authors: Kiran K. Karunakaran, Akhila Veerubhotla, Naphtaly Ehrenberg, Oluwaseun Ibironke and Karen J. Nolan 

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

This podcast was recorded on Friday, January 15, 2021 remotely and was edited and produced by Joan Banks-Smith, Creative Producer for Kessler Foundation.

Fast Takes – Episode 15

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Welcome to a Fast Takes #WomenInScience podcast honoring the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Celebrated on February 11th, this United Nations initiative recognizes the critical role of women and girls in science and technology communities and calls for strengthening of their participation in STEM fields. Did you know that today, just 30% researchers are women, and only 35% of all students enrolled in STEM-related fields of study are women? At Kessler Foundation, 70% of our staff are women making major contributions to the advances we achieve in rehabilitation research that changes the lives of people with disabilities. 

Episode 15 features Dr. Erica Weber, a research scientist in our Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research. Producer Joan Banks-Smith interviews Dr. Weber about her work at the Foundation, how mentors have influenced her career choices, and her most memorable experiences while working in science. 

Learn more about:
Dr. Weber and the Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research

Tuned in to our podcast series lately? Join our listeners in 90 countries who enjoy learning about the work of Kessler Foundation.  

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, or wherever you get your podcasts.  

This podcast was recorded on Monday, January 18, 2021 remotely and was edited and produced by Joan Banks-Smith, Creative Producer for Kessler Foundation.

Fast Takes - Episode 6

In this episode, Dr. Helen Genova, assistant director of our Center for Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Research at Kessler Foundation talks about her study " Using virtual reality to improve job reentry in adults with traumatic brain injury: a randomized controlled trial.“

This is a three-year study funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) 90IFRE0031.

Learn more about Dr. Helen Genova and podcast host Joan Banks-Smith

Co-authors: Denise Krch, PhD, and Anthony Lequerica, PhD, from the Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research, and John O’Neill, PhD, director of the Center for Employment and Disability Research.

Learn about ongoing brain injury studies at Kessler Foundation

Be sure and subscribe to our SoundCloud channel “KesslerFoundation” for more research updates. 

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

This podcast was recorded on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 remotely and was edited and produced by Joan Banks-Smith, Creative Producer for Kessler Foundation.

My Life As A Research Assistant: Silvio Lavrador on Traumatic Brain Injury Data Collection at Kessler Foundation

*** Originally recorded on April 14, 2016, updated September 25, 2020. ***

*** Silvio is currently a Realtor/Marketing Director for Realty 33 in Northern New Jersey.***

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Welcome to our podcast series, “My Life As A Research Assistant”. This series is brought to you by Kessler Foundation, where we are changing the lives of people with disabilities.

Research assistants are on the front lines of our research studies—collecting data, conducting interviews, testing subjects—and are the face of Kessler Foundation to our research study participants. In 2020, Kessler Foundation was ranked among one of the Best Nonprofits to Work For and Best Places to Work in New Jersey (kesslerfoundation.org/press-release/…ork-new-jersey)!

Throughout this series, we’ll meet up with research assistants from our centers for mobility, spinal cord injury, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and neuroscience and neuropsychology who have been with the Foundation for over a year, and some who are now senior research assistants, nurses, medical students, graduate students, and post docs, and those who applied their experience to other professions.

In this episode, I met up with Silvio Lavrador who worked for four and a half years as a research assistant in our Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research. Early on, he worked with interventions for clinical trials for studies looking to improve memory and cognition and then with the TBI model systems. Currently, Silvio is a Realtor/Marketing Director for Realty 33 Northern New Jersey. Listen in as Silvio talks to Joan Banks-Smith, Creative Producer for Kessler Foundation about his experience at the Foundation.

Read more about Joan Banks-Smith
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Interested in working at Kessler Foundation? Check out our career opportunities.

Interested in joining a study?

Tuned in to our podcast series lately? Join our listeners in 90 countries who enjoy learning about the work of Kessler Foundation.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This podcast was recorded on, April 14, 2016 at 300 Executive Drive, West Orange, NJ and was edited and produced by Joan Banks-Smith, Creative Producer for Kessler Foundation.

My Life As A Research Assistant: Gabriel Felix on Learning to Interact in a Clinical Setting

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*** Originally recorded on June 9, 2016, updated July 20, 2020. ***

*** Currently, Gabriel is a resident physician at Cambridge Health Alliance.***

Welcome to our podcast series, “My Life As A Research Assistant”. This series is brought to you by Kessler Foundation, where we are changing the lives of people with disabilities.

Research assistants are on the front lines of our research studies—collecting data, conducting interviews, testing subjects—and are the face of Kessler Foundation to our research study participants. In 2020, Kessler Foundation was ranked among one of the Best Nonprofits to Work For and Best Places to Work in New Jersey (kesslerfoundation.org/press-release/…ork-new-jersey)!

Throughout this series, we’ll meet up with research assistants from our centers for mobility, spinal cord injury, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and neuroscience and neuropsychology who have been with the Foundation for over a year, and some who are now senior research assistants, nurses, medical students, graduate students, and post docs, and those who applied their experience to other professions.

In this episode, I met up with Gabriel Felix who worked as a research assistant in our Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research where his primary focus was investigating treatments and outcomes to improve the lives of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) survivors. Other research populations of interest included individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Stroke, and other acquired brain injuries. Responsibilities included recruiting inpatients and outpatients for research studies, obtaining informed consent, source documentation, data management and analysis, administering neuropsychological and psychometric tests, and assisting with grants and manuscripts. Currently, Dr. Felix is a Resident Physician at Cambridge Health Alliance. Listen in as Gabriel talks to Joan Banks-Smith, Creative Producer for Kessler Foundation about his experience at the foundation.

Read more about Dr. Felix and host Joan Banks-Smith
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Interested in working at Kessler Foundation? Check out our career opportunities at kesslerfoundation.org/careers-kessler-foundation

Interested in joining a study?

Tuned in to our podcast series lately? Join our listeners in 90 countries who enjoy learning about the work of Kessler Foundation.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This podcast was recorded on, June 9, 2016 at 300 Executive Drive, West Orange, NJ and was edited and produced by Joan Banks-Smith, Creative Producer for Kessler Foundation.

My Life as A Research Assistant at Kessler Foundation Series:
Denise Vasquez on Participants are Everything

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*** Originally recorded on April 14, 2016, updated June 19, 2020.***

*** Currently, Denise is a registered nurse in an ICU Stepdown Unit in Northern New Jersey.***

Welcome to our podcast series, “My Life As A Research Assistant”. This series is brought to you by Kessler Foundation, where we are changing the lives of people with disabilities.

Research assistants are on the front lines of our research studies—collecting data, conducting interviews, testing subjects—and are the face of Kessler Foundation to our research study participants. In 2020, Kessler Foundation was ranked among one of the Best Nonprofits to Work For and Best Places to Work in New Jersey (kesslerfoundation.org/press-release/…ork-new-jersey)!

Throughout this series, we’ll meet up with research assistants from our centers for mobility, spinal cord injury, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and neuroscience and neuropsychology who have been with the Foundation for over a year, and some who are now senior research assistants, nurses, medical students, graduate students, and post docs, and those who applied their experience to other professions.

In this episode, I met up with Denise Vasquez who worked at Kessler Foundation from 2011-2018 where she started as a Research Assistant in the Center for Neuroscience and Neuropsychology and was promoted to Senior Research Assistant within the Center for Traumatic Brain Injury in January of 2018. Currently, Denise is a registered nurse in an ICU Stepdown Unit in Northern New Jersey.

For more information about Denise, check out her LinkedIn profile.

For more about the Host: Joan Banks-Smith

Join a research study

Interested in working at Kessler Foundation?  Check out our career opportunities

Tuned in to our podcast series lately? Join our listeners in 90 countries who enjoy learning about the work of Kessler Foundation. 

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This podcast was recorded on Friday, June 19, 2016 at 300 Executive Drive, West Orange, NJ and was edited and produced by Joan Banks-Smith, Creative Producer for Kessler Foundation.