In the News
John DeLuca, PhD, senior vice president for Research and Training, was named principal investigator of a major MS Collaborative Research Center Award from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. “Our goal is to conduct new and innovative rehabilitation research and expand professional training in this unique area, leading to discoveries that become part of tomorrow’s treatment for persons with multiple sclerosis,” said Dr. DeLuca. The Center is unique in its focus on rehabilitative research that explores the interactions of cognition and mobility.
Brooke Ellison, PhD, director of Education and Ethics at Stony Brook University Stem Cell Research Center, received the 2014 Kessler Foundation Neurorehabilitation Award. Since her paralyzing injury 24 years ago, Dr. Ellison has been an advocate for people with spinal cord injury and other mobility challenges.
The North Jersey Navigators—an adaptive sports team for junior athletes with disabilities—received the Ted Kaplan Exemplary Recreation Group Award from the New Jersey Commission on Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities. The Navigators also set new records at the 2014 National Junior Disability Championships, netting 131 medals. Kessler Foundation has supported the Navigators since 2008.
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) toured Kessler Foundation and Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation to learn the latest updates in rehabilitation research, patient care, and employment funding strategies that are improving the quality of life of people with disabilities.
Kessler Foundation was again named one of the Best Places to Work in New Jersey by NJBIZ and one of the Best US Nonprofit Organizations to Work for by The Nonprofit Times and Best Companies Group.
Alexandre Dupont, 28, of Quebec, Canada, won the Men’s Open division in the 14th Annual Kessler Foundation Wheelchair 10K—the wheelchair division of the Fred d’Elia Ridgewood Run. Twenty-three racers represented six countries in the 10K. Racers competed for a total purse of $10,000.
Kessler Foundation released a nationwide public service announcement (PSA), “Walk Away from No,” available in English and Spanish. The PSA features a man getting out of his wheelchair and walking with the help of Ekso—a robotic, battery-powered exoskeleton.
Elaine E. Katz, MS, CCC-SLP, senior vice president of Grants & Communications, took a month-long sabbatical to learn how Asian countries use social enterprises to create employment options for people with disabilities.
Kessler Foundation and
Kessler Institute for
Rehabilitation received
funding to participate in the
National Institutes of
Health’s Stroke Trials
Network (NIH StrokeNet)
through an affiliation with
Columbia University. NIH
StrokeNet investigators
from 25 centers are
identifying priorities for
research protocols and
providing training opportunities for the future generation of researchers.
Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, director of Traumatic Brain Injury and Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Research, was named the 63rd Mendel Lecturer by Saint Peter’s University. She also received the Alumni Achievement in Science Award from her alma mater, Muhlenberg College.
CBS Newspath captured the story of 30-year-old Dez Duru, who was counting the days to her winter wedding when she had a stroke in May. Dez was filmed while using the Ekso GT, which researchers are studying in stroke survivors during inpatient rehabilitation. The story aired on more than 30 CBS stations across the US.