Webcast for individuals living with spinal cord injury, their caregivers, and & healthcare professionals

Webcast For individuals living with spinal cord injury, their caregivers, & healthcare professionals

Join us for a Free Webcast and live chat A Continuum of Strategies Targeted at Neuroplasticity for Recovery after Neurologic Injury Epidural Stimulation and Locomotor Training: A Summary of the Research Wednesday, March 7, 2012 6:30-8:00 PM Eastern Time 6:15 PM Check-in Presenter: Susan Harkema PhD Dr. Susan J. Harkema PhD, holds the Owsley B. Frazier Rehabilitation Chair in Neurological Surgery and is the Rehabilitation Research Director of the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at the University of Louisville.  She is the Director of Research at Frazier Rehab Institute and Director of the NeuroRecovery Network that provides standardized activity-based therapies for individuals with spinal cord injury at seven national rehabilitation centers in the United States.  Her research focuses on neural plasticity of spinal networks and recovery of function after spinal cord injury. Dr. Harkema has published numerous scholarly articles on her research and has received several honors and awards throughout her career.  In 2007, the National Spinal Cord Injury Association nominated her into the SCI Hall of Fame for Achievement in Research in Quality of Life, and most recently, Dr. Harkema was a co-recipient of the Reeve-Irvine Research Medal in 2009, awarded to individuals who have made critical contributions to promoting repair of the damaged spinal cord and recovery of function. In 2011, she received the Rick Hansen Foundation Difference Maker Award and Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award. Dr. Harkema earned her Bachelor of Science and PhD from Michigan State University and conducted her postdoctoral fellowship in neurophysiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. About the Webcast: Dr. Harkema’s work on the recovery of function after spinal cord injuries through activity based therapy has found that this intensive rehabilitation can result in improvements in individuals with SCI even years after injury. During this lecture she will report on the most recent findings from research conducted through the Christopher and Dana Reeve NeuroRecovery Network of seven rehabilitation centers that provide standardized Locomotor Training to individuals with chronic incomplete spinal cord injury. Dr. Harkema will also discuss another recent research study she conducted where epidural stimulation was used with an individual with a SCI.  After months of therapy, the individual was able to voluntarily move his legs with the use of the epidural stimulation. During this lecture, Dr. Harkema will discuss both research studies in depth, including the methods, results and plan for continued research.  To register:  Click here or logon to http://development.bmc.org/NERSCICwebcast For more information: call 617-638-7314 or email Judi.Zazula@bmc.org Save the Dates! Upcoming Lecture Series Webcast Wednesday, May 16, 2012 2012 Annual Consumer Research ConferenceSaturday, October 20, 2012 The New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center is now on Facebook! Like us at www.facebook.com/nerscic The Stepping Forward- Staying Informed Consumer Education Program is partially supported by the following organizations:

The University of Washington seeks participants for two research studies on spinal cord injury rehabilitation

The University of Washington’s Northwest Regional Spinal Cord Injury System, a spinal cord injury (SCI) Model System, is engaging participants for two research studies on recovery from SCI.

The goal of the first study, Effectiveness of Physical Activity for Improving Mood in People Aging with MS or SCI, is to clarify what effects exercise may have on improving mood in individuals with multiple sclerosis or SCI. Participants will be reimbursed for phone expenses and will also receive up to $120 in compensation. Please contact 206-221-5641 or 866-928-2114 if you are interested in participating.

The second study, Project to Improve Symptoms and Mood after Spinal Cord Injury (PRISMS), seeks to determine if a 12-week regimen of venlafaxine XR (Effexor XR) is effective in treating symptoms of pain, poor sleep, low energy, low interest in everyday activities, and depressed mood in individuals with SCI. Please contact 206-897-4731 if you are interested in participating.

Please click here for additional information about these two studies.

To learn more about Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center, please visit our homepage.

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics will host the State of the Science Conference on April 23, 2012

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics (StatsRRTC) will host the State of the Science Conference on April 23, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel (One Bethesda Metro Center, 7400 Wisconsin Avenue) in Bethesda, MD. This conference will appeal to all disability researchers, disability program staff, policy leaders, and community advocates. Conference participants will learn more about both the current state of disability statistics and the future advancement of the field.

The keynote address will be given by Dr. Charles Lakin, Director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

Please see the conference website and brochure for additional information.

For additional questions, please email disability.statistics@unh.edu or call 1-866-538-9521, extension 711.

The Center on Knowledge Translation for Employment Research will host a webcast discussing recent disability statistics on Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The Community of Practice on Employment Research of the Center on Knowledge Translation for Employment Research (KTER Center) will host a webcast titled What Counts? Latest Disability Statistics from Federal Surveys and Resources from 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm (EST) on Wednesday, January 25, 2012. This webcast will appeal to all researchers, particularly those interested in employment-related disability research.

The 90-minute webcast will be hosted by Dr. Andrew Houtenville, Research Director of the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. Dr. Houtenville will discuss the November 2011 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium published by the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics.

Click here for registration and here to test your computer prior to the webcast.

If you cannot attend this webcast, please visit this page for the post-webcast archive.

Join the New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center for a free webcast discussing employment after spinal cord injury

The New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center will hold a free webcast and live chat titled “Employment after Spinal Cord Injury” on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm EST (check-in at 6:15 pm). The webcast will be led by Mary McCauley, Area Director of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, and will appeal to survivors of spinal cord injury (SCI), caregivers, and healthcare professionals.

The discussion will focus on the vocational opportunities to survivors of TBI. Ms. McCauley will also highlight the many resources available to support survivors of TBI in fulfilling their employment goals.

Click here to register.

For more information, email judi.zazula@bmc.org or call 617-638-7314.

White House Hosts Monthly Call to Discuss Disability Issues

Each month, members of the White House Domestic Policy Council and Office of Public Engagement who work on disability issues host a public, live-captioned conference call to keep citizens better informed of important disability issues and to connect them to the leaders who work on disability policies in the federal government.

Following is information for the January call:

Date of Call:  Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Start Time: 2:00 p.m. EST (dial in 5 minutes early). This call will probably last 1.5 hours.

Dial in: (800) 762-4758

Code: “White House Disability Call”        

Note: This call is off the record and not for press purposes.

Email disability@who.eop.gov with your name, organization, city and state to be added to the White House Disability Group email distribution list.

Click here to learn more about the White House monthly disability calls.

Visit http://www.disability.gov/ for information on federal disability programs and services.

Report of Recommendations from the State of the Science Meeting on Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Research at the White House

In November 2011, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) and the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) sponsored a meeting at the White House to report on the recommendations from the State of the Science meeting on Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Research held in June 2011. Participants of the meeting discussed a broad range of biopsychosocial issues in SCI rehabilitation along with research recommendations including: a) Neurologic and Functional Recovery; b) Assistive Technology for Mobility and Function; c) Aging and Secondary Conditions; and d) Psychosocial, Vocational and Quality of Life Outcomes.