National Center of Neuromodulation for Rehabilitation awards pilot project grants
September 28, 2016
The National Center of Neuromodulation for Rehabilitation (NC NM4R) at the Medical University of South Carolina’s College of Health Professions (CHP) has awarded five grants for pilot projects regarding neuromodulation rehabilitation.
Neuromodulation rehabilitation is a promising therapeutic approach for patients suffering from stroke, ADHD, depression, narcolepsy and dementia from Alzheimer’s disease. It can also involve stimulation or direct administration of medications to the body’s nervous system for therapeutic approaches to pain control and neurological dysfunction by treating movement disorders, conditions such as spasticity and epilepsy, as well as pain syndromes. This approach has also seen promising results regarding spinal cord stimulation post-injury, disrupting pain signals from the spinal cord to the brain and converting them into more manageable sensations such as tingling.
Given the breadth and depth neuromodulation rehabilitation can provide in treating very different disease processes, neuromodulation approaches offer clinicians the opportunity to customize a patient’s rehab strategy. Customization offers patients a greater chance of reducing disability and improving neurological outcomes, particularly in stroke patients.
“The research center provides a great opportunity for MUSC to share its expertise in neuro-stimulation with the broader research community in order to promote functional outcomes for people with disabilities,” said Ralph Nitkin, Ph.D., deputy director of the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research and director of the Biological Sciences and Career Development Program in the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. “The center has extensive expertise on the substrates of brain and spinal cord neuroplasticity, therapeutic treatment approaches and non-invasive techniques for promoting therapeutic changes. The current round of pilot grants demonstrates their commitment to collaborating with promising researchers from around the US to support these clinical opportunities.”
Established in 2015 to support researchers in the field of neuromodulation for rehabilitation, NC NM4R is directed by Steve Kautz, Ph.D., The Christie Family Endowed Chair in Stroke Rehabilitation Research, co-director of the Center for Rehab Research in Neurological Conditions and chair of the CHP department of health sciences and research; Mark George, M.D., distinguished university professor in the College of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; and Rick Segal, Ph.D., CHP Department of Health Professions chair.
The following projects were chosen for funding:
Andrew Goldfine, M.D.
Stony Brook University, Neurology
“Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in Chronic Post-Stroke Apathy”
Emily Grattan, Ph.D., OTR/L
Medical University of South Carolina, Health Science & Research
“Examining The Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Task Specific Practice On Cortical Modulation Among Individuals with Unilateral Neglect Post Stroke”
Jane Joseph, Ph.D.
Medical University of South Carolina, Neurosciences
“Learning Enhancement Through NeuroStimulation” (LENS)
Gerwin Schalk, Ph.D.
Wadsworth Center/ NYS Department of Health, National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies
“First Step in Creating a Reflex Conditioning System for Clinical Use”
Amit Sethi, Ph.D., OTR/L
University of Pittsburgh, Occupational Therapy
“Combined Non-Invasive Transcranial Random Noise Current Stimulation and Functional Electrical Stimulation to Improve Hand Movement in Individuals with Moderate-To-Severe Impairments After Chronic Stroke”
For more information about these pilot projects, visit http://academicdepartments.mus
About NC NM4R
The National Center for Neuromodulation for Rehabilitation (NC NM4R) is an infrastructure grant resource center funded by National Institutes of Health (NICHD/NCMRR). The Center has many opportunities for people interested in neuromodulation. Our home is the College of Health Professions at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). The goal of this new center is to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field of NM4R. We seek to fulfill that goal through translational activities and programming to: train researchers in NM4R through workshops, advanced hands on training, consultations with MUSC laboratories and mentorship in research skills and grantsmanship; provide scientific programming in NM4R through webinars, national/international confere
About MUSC
Founded in 1824 in Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina is the oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care. MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and residents in six colleges (Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy), and has nearly 13,000 employees, including approximately 1,500 faculty members. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $2.2 billion, with an annual economic impact of more than $3.8 billion. MUSC operates a 700-bed medical center, which includes a nationally recognized Children’s Hospital, the Ashley River Tower (cardiovascular, digestive disease, and surgical oncology), Hollings Cancer Center (a National Cancer Institute-designated center), Level I Trauma Center, Institute of Psychiatry, and the state’s only transplant center. In 2016, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the number one hospital in South Carolina. For more information on academic programs or clinical services, visit musc.edu. For more information on hospital patient services, visit muschealth.org.
