Plenary Sessions
Michael Selzer, MD, PhD, FRCP is the Director of Rehabilitation Research and Development in the Department of Veterans Affairs. He came to VA in May 2007 from the University of Pennsylvania, where he continues his research on axon regeneration in the spinal cord, and his directorship of the Center for Experimental Neurorehabilitation Training. Dr. Selzer is the President-Elect of the World Federation for Neurorehabilitation and the former Editor-In-Chief of Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair.
Jonathan R. Wolpaw, M.D. is a neuroscientist and professor at the Wadsworth Center of the New York State Dept of Health in Albany, NY and with the State University of New York. He is Chief of the Laboratory of Nervous System Disorders where his research group has led the development of brain-computer interfaces that can restore communication and control to people who are totally paralyzed. His group has also used operant conditioning of a spinal reflex to provide new insights into the mechanisms of memory, and is showing that reflex conditioning can help restore function after spinal cord injury.
The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) are funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) to conduct advanced research designed to apply advanced technology, scientific achievement, and psychological and social knowledge to solve rehabilitation problems and remove environmental barriers. RERCs seek to find and evaluate the newest technologies, products, and methods that can ultimately benefit the independence of persons with disabilities and the universal design of environments for people of all ages.
Many of the key people in the field of AT and in RESNA have been affiliated with an RERC, and the centers have been a major point of entry for graduate students seeking to apply their talents to addressing the needs of people with disabilities.
Selected centers, that are in the dissemination phase of their work, will highlight their results and share the latest understandings and applications of cutting-edge technology.
Andrew J. Imparato is the first full-time President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), a national non-profit membership organization for the political and economic empowerment of all people with disabilities based in Washington, DC. With more than 100,000 members, AAPD is the largest cross-disability membership organization in the U.S.
Prior to joining AAPD, Imparato was general counsel and director of policy for the National Council on Disability, an attorney advisor with the U.S. Equal Employment opportunity Commission, counsel to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Disability Policy, and staff attorney Skadden Fellow with the Disability Law Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
