Barbara Bregman, PhD
Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Georgetown University
Phone: 202.687.1452
Fax: 202.687.0617
E-mail: bregmanb@georgetown.edu
Web: http://neuro.georgetown.edu/faculty/bregman.htm

Dr. Barbara S. Bregman is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Georgetown University Medical Center. She has a long standing interest in regeneration and recovery of function after spinal cord injury - initially as a physical therapist practicing clinically and for more than 20 years as a basic scientist whose research in spinal cord regeneration has received international recognition. Dr. Bregman received her B.S. from Russell Sage College, Troy, NY in 1971 in Physical Therapy, a M.S. from Howard University, Washington, DC in 1977 in Anatomy and a Ph.D. from the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1981. She has been on the faculty at Georgetown University Medical Center for the past 15 years. During that time she has held a number of leadership positions within the University including a role as Associate Dean for Graduate Education. Georgetown University established a new Department of Neuroscience in July 1999 and Dr. Bregman serves as the initial chair of that Department. The long range goal of the research program in Dr. Barbara S. Bregman?s laboratory at Georgetown University Medical Center is to identify the requirements of developing and mature CNS neurons for survival and axonal regeneration after injury and to identify ways to enhance regenerative growth and recovery of function after spinal cord injury at birth or at maturity. Dr. Bregman?s research program has been funded continuously since 1983 by grants from the National Institutes of Health. During 1997-1998, Dr. Bregman was selected as a fellow in the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program. She has been the recipient of an NIH Research Career Development Award, the J. Warren Perry Award from the University of Buffalo, the Distinguished G. Heiner Sell Lectureship Award from the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) and the NICHD MENTOR Award for Excellence in Research Training for her successful training program, ?Training in Recovery and Function After CNS Injury?. Dr. Bregman has been a regular member of NIH study section for five years. She is currently the program director for an NIH Institutional Training grant on Recovery of Function after CNS Injury that supports 4 predoctoral and 4 postdoctoral trainees annually. In addition, she has held research grants from the American Paralysis Association, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, and currently from the International Spinal Research Trust in Great Britain and the Daniel Heumann Foundation. Dr. Bregman serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, is a member of the International Spinal Research Trust Network and on editorial boards for major scientific journals.

Joe Hidler, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Catholic University
Director, Center for Applied Biomechanics and Rehabilitation Research
National Rehabilitation Hospital
Phone: 202.877.1892
Fax: 202.726.7521
E-mail: hidler@cua.edu
Web: http://faculty.cua.edu/hidler
Lab: http://cabrr.cua.edu

Joseph Hidler, PhD, Director of the Center for Applied Biomechanics and Rehabilitation Research (CABRR) at the National Rehabilitation Hospital and Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Catholic University, will serve as Program Director for this NCARRN and will direct the technology development activities and rehabilitation robotics core, and will assist Dr. Barbara Bregman in overseeing other research cores, educational activities, and administrative tasks. Dr. Hidler has extensive experience in experimental research involving human subjects with spinal cord injury and stroke, and has been recognized by his peers for this research. In 2003, he was awarded ?Best Presentation? at the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) meeting for his work looking at the influence of body-weight support and walking speed. He is currently heading up a multi-center clinical trial with NRH and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago investigating the benefits of robotic-assisted training in sub-acute stroke patients. In terms of basic science studies, Dr. Hidler is pioneering methods to optimize therapeutic conditions utilized during gait training. He is the first scientist to develop a modified robotics-based inverse-dynamics experimental technique to quantify step patterns in individuals with neurological disorders. In addition to research applications, Dr. Hidler is active in the scientific community. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Paralyzed Veterans Association, is a grant reviewer for National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), NSF, NIH, and the VA, and is an associate editor for the IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering. Dr. Hidler is also a member of the Society for Neuroscience, IEEE Engineering in Medicine Science and Biology Society, American Society of Biomechanics, and the Biomedical Engineering Society. His research is funded by the Whitaker Foundation (Arlington, VA), NIDRR, NIH, and the Department of Defense.

Lawrence Kromer, PhD
Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Georgetown University
Phone: 202.687.1827
Fax: 202.687.0617
E-mail: kromerl@georgetown.edu
Web: http://neuro.georgetown.edu/faculty/kromer.htm

Dr. Kromer will co-direct the Cellular and Molecular Approaches to Plasticity Core. He will devote 10 per cent effort to this NCARRN. Dr. Kromer's scientific interests focus on research questions related to development and regeneration in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). One area of research is to evaluate the role that the Eph family of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) plays in the development of specific neural connections in the basal ganglia. This research investigates the role that Eph receptors and their ligands, ephrins, play in controlling cell migration during the formation of restricted cellular domains within the striatum and in directing the formation of topographic axonal pathways between the striatum and substantia nigra during development. A second area of research studies whether various Eph/ephrins participate in regulating the glial scar and the reformation of the blood brain barrier following spinal cord injuries. Lastly, experiments are being conducted to determine the role of Eph/ephrins in the development of inhibitory terrains that contribute toward aborted axonal regeneration following CNS injury. Another area of research in Dr. Kromer's laboratory is the utilization of transgenic mice for transplants of embryonic CNS tissue and cultured glial cells to evaluate cellular and molecular environments that promote neuronal survival and axonal regeneration in the injured immature and adult CNS. Current research projects utilize transgenic animals, cell culture procedures and intracephalic transplantation techniques as experimental preparations to study mammalian CNS development and to evaluate cellular substrates for their ability to promote axonal regeneration. For these studies, immunocytochemical and neuroanatomical techniques are used in conjunction with biochemical procedures and molecular biology approaches to assess: 1) the developmental regulation of Eph/ephrins, 2) the influence of Eph/ephrins on regeneration and plasticity following CNS trauma, and 3) the potential of defined cellular/molecular terrains to promote axonal regeneration in the immature and adult CNS.

Jean Wrathall , PhD
Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Georgetown University
Phone: 202.687.1196
Fax: 202.687.0617
E-mail: wrathelj@georgetown.edu
Web: http://neuro.georgetown.edu/faculty/wrathall.htm

Dr. Wrathall will co-direct the Animal Models Core. Much remains to be learned about the cellular and molecular mechanisms of injury and recovery after CNS trauma. Dr. Wrathall's laboratory has developed an in vivo model of spinal cord contusive injury (SCI) in the rat that has been characterized in terms of biomechanics, behavioral analyses of functional deficits, electrophysiological tests of functional connectivity, and morphometric and immunocytochemical evaluations of tissue histopathology. The model has been also been adapted for use in mice and in young rat pups, 14-15 days of age. The goal is increased understanding of mechanisms of injury and recovery that will allow design of cellular (e.g., transplantation), pharmacological and/or molecular (e.g., transfection) strategies to intervene and mitigate the effects of neuronal injury in the CNS. Currently, our models are being used to study three aspects: the role of plasticity of receptors of excitatory amino acid neurotransmitters in recovery of function after incomplete spinal cord injury; cellular interactions in secondary injury and recovery after spinal cord trauma: and pharmacotherapies to reduce secondary injury and function deficits after injury.

Stanley Fricke, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Georgetown University
Phone: 202.687.4628
Fax: 202.681.9619
E-mail: stf2@georgetown.edu
Web: http://cbbc.georgetown.edu/profiles/fricke.html

Dr. Fricke is Director of the Neurobiological Magnetic Resonance Imaging Laboratory at Georgetown. As supervisor for MRI Facility and NMR physicist he not only directs the Small Animal Imaging Laboratory (SAIL) but also provides supervision and training, in the application of magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy methods to analyze anatomical and functional changes after CNS injury. He will contribute 20% effort to this core, and 20% salary support is requested. Dr. Fricke?s role is to interface with users, recommend protocols for in vivo visualization of morphology, neuronal pathologies and trauma and to suggest ways of obtaining in vivo neurochemical data from animal models. Dr. Fricke assists investigators with MRI data analysis and image rendering. He has developed the facilities at Georgetown for rodent brain and spinal cord imaging, post processing of volumetric measurements, dynamic and functional MRI as well as in vivo localized chemistry experiments. Dr. Fricke is ultimately in control of the daily schedule for animal imaging that insures a fair and ready access to the imaging facility for all investigators in neuroscience. Dr. Fricke is also responsible for maintenance of the MRI equipment. Dr. Fricke has an extensive experience in designing and building MRI equipment. Maintenance is generally performed by Dr. Fricke and (when needed) by BRUKER (Bruker Bio-spin, Billerica, Ma.). Dr. Fricke also supports the educational components of this NCARRN by offering imaging courses as part of the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience at Georgetown University.

Tom Dang, MS

National Rehabilitation Hospital

202-877-1486

thang.d.dang@medstar.net

Director of Research Operations

Suzanne Groah , MD

National Rehabilitation Hospital

202-877-1196

suzanne.l.groah@medstar.net

Director SCI Research, NRH

Edward Healton, MD, MPH

National Rehabilitation Hospital

202-877-1604

edward.b.healton@medstar.net

Senior VP and Medical Director

Timea Hodics, MD

Georgetown University and National Rehabilitation Hospital

202-877-1486

tmh33@gunet.georgetown.edu

Dept. of Neurology, GU