1991 — 1995 |
Whyte, John |
R29Activity Code Description: Undocumented code - click on the grant title for more information. |
Attention Deficits in Traumatic Brain Injury @ Moss Rehabilitation Hospital
Disorders of arousal, attention, and information processing are widespread after traumatic brain injury, and are responsible for much of the long-term cognitive disability. However, there is little agreement about the nature of these disorders, the appropriate tasks for their assessment, nor their precise relationship to real-world functional behaviors. This project will study a large sample (140) of patients with recent traumatic brain injuries. Each patient will be studied in detail using single-case experimental methodology. The studies will assess 4 proposed dimensions of core attentional function (sustained arousal, phasic arousal, distractibility, and speed of information processing), using computerized reaction time tasks. Patients will also be videotaped engaging in naturalistic behaviors that require attention, in distracting environments. A subsample will receive follow-up testing 5-6 months later to assess attentional changes during recovery. Another subsample will be tested on and off medications thought to affect attention. The interrelationships among the 4 dimensions of core attentional function, and their relationship to naturalistic behavior will be examined using correlational techniques, multiple regression, and factor and cluster analysis. Anticipated results of the project include: 1. Establishment of the interrelationships or independence among the 4 hypothesized dimensions of core attentional function 2. Establishment of the relationship between performance on these four dimensions and complex naturalistic behavior 3. Formulation of tentative neuroanatomic hypotheses regarding control of these attentional dimensions 4. Development of a predictive model that allows prognostication of later attentional function from early test results 5. Validation of a clinically useful attention testing protocol
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0.972 |
1993 |
Whyte, John |
S15Activity Code Description: Undocumented code - click on the grant title for more information. |
Small Instrumentation Grant @ Moss Rehabilitation Hospital |
0.972 |
1998 |
Whyte, John |
R21Activity Code Description: To encourage the development of new research activities in categorical program areas. (Support generally is restricted in level of support and in time.) |
Functional Rehabilitation in Memory Impairment Presence @ Moss Rehabilitation Hospital
DESCRIPTION (Adapted from Applicant's Description): Much of the emphasis of in-patient rehabilitation following traumatic brain injury (TBI) is on the re-establishment of independence in activities of daily living (ADLs) and mobility. Although improvements in these areas are well documented during the rehabilitation process, the efficacy of specific rehabilitation interventions in bringing about increased independence is debated, due to the lack of controlled clinical trials and the confounding effects of spontaneous recovery. Many patients have significant memory impairments during their rehabilitation hospitalization, which may reduce the effectiveness of learning-based rehabilitation services. The investigators propose to design a randomized, controlled trial testing the efficacy of specific therapy services, which are designed around principles of implicit learning -- a form of learning which is preserved in memory disorders -- in increasing independence in ADLs and mobility. The planning grant will involve the project directors and front-line therapy staff of 5 NIDRR-funded brain injury Model Systems, along with consultants on implicit memory, clinical trials design, and statistics. Using a combination of conference calls, e-mail, and in-person meetings, existing collaborators in these 5 sites will develop a specific proposal for a multi-center clinical trial on this topic.
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0.972 |
1999 — 2003 |
Whyte, John |
R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Pharmacologic Rehabilitation of Attention Deficits @ Moss Rehabilitation Hospital
DESCRIPTION (Adapted from the Applicant's Abstract): Attention deficits are frequently reported after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and have significant consequence for the rehabilitation process as well as for subsequent education or vocational pursuits. However, controversy exists regarding the precise components of the distributed arousal and attentional system that are impaired by TBI, and the most effective treatment. Multiple neurotransmitter systems, including norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, and acetylcholine, are known to be affected by TBI, and uncontrolled trials of drugs which manipulate these systems are thought to be potentially beneficial. The proposed research makes use of drugs which manipulate the dopaminergic (bromocriptine) and noradrenergic (desipramine) systems, as well as those which affect both of these systems (methylphenidate), to clarify theoretical questions about the nature of attentional systems and their impairment, as well as to derive practically useful therapeutic efficacy data. Subjects with subacute or chronic TBI will be administered one of the above medications in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design. Dependent variables will include a wide range of measures ranging from laboratory tasks focusing on single facets of the arousal and attention system, to ecologically valid complex measures of attention-related performance. A pilot group of 10 subjects will be tested initially to identify dependent variables likely to be sensitive to drug effects. A larger follow-up study will confirm the drug benefits in multivariate analysis. Additional analyses will assess the factor structure of the arousal and attention system and individual subject variables that predict impairment and response to treatment. The factor structure will also be compared to that obtained from a control sample.
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0.972 |
2000 — 2004 |
Whyte, John |
R24Activity Code Description: Undocumented code - click on the grant title for more information. |
Cognitive Rehabilitation Research Network @ Albert Einstein Healthcare Network
Cognitive impairment is common after brain damage, and is a major source of long-term disability. Cognitive rehabilitation, even when delivered long after injury, may improve functional, but much of the evidence for this comes from methodologically compromised studies. We propose to form a regional network to conduct clinical trials of cognitive rehabilitation interventions. Initial studies will focus on interventions derived from promising laboratory research based on theoretical models of cognitive function and dysfunction. The proposed network will conduct controlled clinical trials at a central Research Clinic and, for those that appear to have value, will promote more naturalistic effective trials in clinical settings throughout the region. Studies that begin by focusing on impairment and functional limitation-level outcomes, will be followed by those that emphasize societal participation and quality of life. To accomplish these regional goals, we proposal to establish: an Administrative ore to oversee the overall operation of the Network; a Clinical Trials Core to centralize subject recruitment and screening across 3 large rehabilitation hospitals, to operate a central Research Clinic with staff trained to conduct the clinical trials; a Neuroimaging Core, to conduct research on the methodological problems that limit the application of fMRI to cognitive rehabilitation research, and to support the use of fMRI in current and future research projects; and an Information Technology Core, that will oversee the main information dissemination and collaborator recruitment activities of the Network. Three initial projects are proposed. Two focus on impairment-based treatments for TBI-related attention deficits and stroke-related hemispatial neglect and will make use of both the Clinical Trials and Neuroimaging Cores. The third focuses on a functional limitation based treatment for aphasia and relies on the Clinical Trials Core. The experience of the applicants as well as the specific communication structures put in place, ensure that the proposed activities and research will function as the nucleus of an enlarging focus of research activity throughout the region and beyond.
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0.972 |
2001 — 2005 |
Whyte, John |
K12Activity Code Description: For support to a newly trained clinician appointed by an institution for development of independent research skills and experience in a fundamental science within the framework of an interdisciplinary research and development program. |
Medical Rehabilitation Scientist Development Program @ Albert Einstein Healthcare Network
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) faces exciting opportunities to contribute to the health and well-being of society. As a medical specialty that concerns itself not with a specific organ system, but with human performance and function, the field has much to offer in the way of solutions to critical societal issues such as the aging of the population, the saving of individuals with formerly lethal conditions, and the increased societal recognition of the importance of quality of life rather than simply quantity of life. Moreover, advances in other scientific arenas offer new and exciting tools that may be applied to problems of human function. Advances in PM&R are dependent on research. Considerable attention has been paid to the dearth of physician scientists in the United States and recent financial pressures on academic medical centers further threaten the roles of physician scientists. PM&R faces additional challenges in advancing its research base. The specialty is relatively small, relatively new, lacks a history of major research involvement, and has a relatively short funding history from federal biomedical research agencies. Moreover, because rehabilitation science concerns itself with analytic levels ranging from molecule to society, appropriate models for advanced research training surely differ from those that have been successful in more narrowly defined scientific disciplines. This application requests to renew the Rehabilitation Medicine Scientist Training Program (RMSTP), conducted under the auspices of the Association of Academic Physiatrists, and directed by Dr. John Whyte. This program is based on a long-term vision of physiatric research, and the role of physiatric researchers. The RMSTP is divided into 3 phases. The pre-application phase seeks to identify PGY-2 residents with research interest and potential, and enroll them in career development mentorship during their residencies, culminating in a well-formed application to the NIH-funded Phase I component. During Phase I, trainees will work for 3 years in the laboratory of a productive senior scientist to learn skills relevant to physiatric research. Phase II consists of the first 2 years of junior faculty status, where the trainee will seek to transition to a career as an independent investigator. Where possible, initial faculty positions will be arranged in the PM&R department at the Phase I institution, but an academic career placement network will also be in place to facilitate appropriate placement of trainees who must look elsewhere for their initial faculty position. Phase II faculty positions will provide a minimum of 50% protected research time for a 2-year period, with a goal of 75% research time. The net result of the program will be a cadre of faculty for departments of PM&R who can compete successfully for extramural funds and be productive independent investigators, ultimately fulfilling a vision of physiatric research.
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0.972 |
2006 — 2007 |
Whyte, John |
K12Activity Code Description: For support to a newly trained clinician appointed by an institution for development of independent research skills and experience in a fundamental science within the framework of an interdisciplinary research and development program. |
Rehabilitation Medicine Scientist Training (Rmst) Program @ Moss Rehabilitation Hospital
[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), as a specialty concerned with human performance and function, has much to offer in the way of solutions to critical societal issues such as the aging of the population, the saving of individuals with formerly lethal conditions and injuries, and the increased societal recognition of the importance of quality of life rather than simply quantity of life. Moreover, advances in other scientific arenas offer new and exciting tools that may be applied to problems of human function. [unreadable] [unreadable] There is a dearth of physician scientists in the United States and financial pressures on academic medical centers further threaten the roles of physician scientists. PM&R faces additional challenges in that the specialty is relatively small, relatively new, lacks a strong history of research, and has not been well funded by federal biomedical research agencies. Moreover, because rehabilitation science concerns itself with analytic levels ranging from molecule to society, appropriate models for advanced research training surely differ from those that have been successful in more narrowly defined scientific disciplines. [unreadable] [unreadable] The Rehabilitation Medicine Scientist Training Program (RMSTP), conducted under the auspices of the Association of Academic Physiatrists, and directed by Drs. John Whyte and Michael Boninger, is based on a long-term vision of physiatric research, and the role of physiatric researchers. The RMSTP is divided into 3 phases. The pre-application phase seeks to enroll PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents, and junior faculty with research interest and potential, in a career development process, culminating in a well-formulated funding application. A special emphasis will be placed on recruitment of pediatric physiatrists and physiatrists from under-represented minorities. During Phase I, trainees will work for 3 years with a productive senior scientist to learn skills relevant to physiatric research. In Phase II, the trainee will seek to transition to a career as an independent investigator, with a minimum of 50% protected research time for a 2-year period, with a goal of 75% research time. The net result of the program will be a cadre of faculty for departments of PM&R who can compete successfully for extramural funds and be productive independent investigators, ultimately fulfilling a vision of physiatric research. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]
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0.972 |
2013 — 2021 |
Whyte, John |
T32Activity Code Description: To enable institutions to make National Research Service Awards to individuals selected by them for predoctoral and postdoctoral research training in specified shortage areas. |
Postdoctoral Training in Translational Neurorehabilitation Research @ Albert Einstein Healthcare Network
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Advances in basic sciences related to cognition, motor control, and neuroplasticity offer exciting opportunities for treatment advances in neurorehabilitation. Maturation of promising discoveries to validated treatments faces the translational research challenges familiar to all biomedical domains, while also encountering some rehabilitation-specific obstacles. Research collaborators from Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute and Behavioral Neurology and the Center for Functional Neuroimaging at the University of Pennsylvania join forces to offer a post-doctoral research training program in Translational Neurorehabilitation Research, built on the platform of more than 10 years of multidisciplinary collaboration. The program will train 3-4 postdoctoral fellows at a time, recruitd from basic science and clinical disciplines, using a mixture of didactic and hands-on training methods. Program faculty collectively have expertise in 5 key themes that are critical to maturation of treatments from initial concept to validated treatment, including: Theories of normal and abnormal processing; Impairment assessment; Naturalistic assessment; Modulation of neuronal plasticity and learning mechanisms; and Theory-driven treatment trials, and are experienced in a range of cutting edge research tools, including structural and functional neuroimaging, eye- and motion-tracking, computational modeling, virtual reality, psychopharmacology, transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation. Moreover, several individual faculty and collaborative groups have demonstrated expertise in advancing assessments and treatments toward clinical implementation. Thus, trainees have the ability to learn specific tools and perspectives that are applicable to neurorehabilitation research, while benefiting from mentored exposure to the process of translating scientific advances into clinically useful assessments and treatments.
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0.913 |