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IN MEMORIAM
Celebrating Lives & Contributions
The Neurotrauma Society honors the memory of members, mentors, and pioneers whose contributions have shaped the field of neurotrauma. Their dedication to advancing science, improving patient outcomes, and supporting the professional community continues to inspire our work. This is a space to reflect, remember, and celebrate the legacies of those we’ve lost.
Dr. Reggie Edgerton
MAR 2025
Dr. Reggie Edgerton
MAR 2025
We were recently saddened to hear the news of Professor Reggie Edgerton’s passing. In his career of over 60 years, his research helped establish the scientific basis for modern neuromodulation and rehabilitation methods. He will be dearly missed, and our thoughts are with those closest to him.
On this page you can read two touching tributes to the late Professor from James Guest, Chair of Spinal Research Strategic Advisory Committee and Professor of Neurological Surgery at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, and Professor Ronaldo Ichiyama, Chair of Spinal Cord Injury Research and member of the Grant Advisory Committee with Spinal Research.
James Guest, Chair of Spinal Research Strategic Advisory Committee and Professor of Neurological Surgery at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis
Professor Reggie Edgerton, who passed away recently, was a towering figure in spinal cord research. A highly skilled physiologist and a true scholar of the spinal cord. Over nearly six decades, starting with his first publication in 1969 on muscle histology, he authored nearly 550 scientific papers that profoundly shaped our understanding of neuromuscular and spinal cord physiology.
Professor Edgerton’s work was groundbreaking in defining the principles of locomotor networks within the spinal cord, clarifying the capacity for spinal cord plasticity, and advancing the idea of spinal cord learning.
His research helped establish that the spinal cord is not just a passive conduit but an adaptable and responsive system capable of interpreting sensory input and reorganizing function after injury.
A hallmark of his career was his commitment to mentorship. He trained numerous students and postdoctoral fellows who have gone on to distinguished careers, extending his scientific legacy across generations.
His scientific vision also emphasized the importance of activity and exercise in recovery. He played a key role in promoting the idea that locomotor training could activate innate spinal mechanisms, enabling the nervous system to “remember” and improve learned motor patterns even after severe injuries. This inspired rehabilitation efforts that clarified principles of locomotor recovery widely used today, including epidural and transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation to enhance function after spinal cord injury.
I first began corresponding with Reggie in 2005 about large-animal models of spinal cord injury, starting a dialogue that has lasted over twenty years. In October 2011, I visited the University of Louisville during the earliest human trials with epidural stimulation, work deeply rooted in the foundational knowledge generated by Reggie and his colleagues. These pioneering studies were made possible by his insights into how the spinal cord responds to training and sensory input, and how these responses can help restore function after paralysis. A later visit to his lab in 2015, with one of my postdoctoral fellows, showed a lively and collaborative scientific environment. It was a place driven by discovery, mentorship, and good humor.
Professor Edgerton’s legacy lies not only in the knowledge he generated but also in the paradigm shift he helped create, moving from viewing paralysis as permanent to recognizing it as a condition with latent potential for recovery. His work helped establish the scientific basis for modern neuromodulation and rehabilitation methods that continue to transform lives. He will be remembered as an innovator, mentor, and scientist whose curiosity and rigor reshaped the field. His influence remains evident in the work of his trainees and collaborators, as well as in the renewed hope his discoveries have inspired for individuals living with spinal cord injury.
Professor Ronaldo Ichiyama, Chair of Spinal Cord Injury Research and member of the Grant Advisory Committee with Spinal Research
Few scientists have had the impact on people living with spinal cord injury today as Reggie has. In this challenging field of clinical science where progress seems frustratingly slow, limited and at times impossible Reggie’s vision has provided the possibility of significant functional recovery and the hope for even further progress.
Reggie will always be remembered as a true scientist by his peers and mentees alike. He loved science and often reminded us how much he loved his job. I remember numerous times Reggie telling a group of us how lucky we were to get paid to do what we do. Reggie’s appetite for new discoveries and new knowledge was not only apparent in the lab, but in every scientific meeting he participated. Without fail, you could catch Reggie from 8:00am visiting every poster, taking notes and talking to each scientist for all five days of the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. And this was often after late dinners and invariably a late night at a jazz club. I never understood how he did that. It feels fitting, then, that Reggie stayed true to what he loved most until the very end.
I am sure everyone who have worked with Reggie will agree that his passion for science, – and by science, he meant the spinal cord and neuromuscular system -was contagious. Reggie often joked about how the spinal cord already “knew” what to do and that the “the brain got in the way”. Joking aside Reggie’s belief in unlocking the spinal cord potential beyond the textbook descriptions of a “collection of cables” connecting the “all important” brain with peripheral organs and muscles has propelled the field into the next stage of neurorehabilitation and neuromodulation in spinal cord injury.
Reggie was an innovator at heart, unafraid of asking new questions, diving into new domains and scientific fields. The development of the now influential neuromodulation modalities in SCI stems directly from Reggie’s curiosity and knack for innovation. The entire field now lives with the fruits of both epidural and transcutaneous electrical stimulation due to Reggie’s and longtime collaborator Yury Gerasimenko’s work in this area.
His legacy will live on in all of us and in future generations of scientists, clinicians and people living with SCI.
Dr. Fernando Gómez-Pinilla
DEC 2025
Dr. Fernando Gómez-Pinilla
DEC 2025
Fernando Gómez-Pinilla, Ph.D. (1953-2025) passed away unexpectedly on December 29, 2025. Dr. Gómez-Pinilla was a Professor of Neurosurgery having a secondary appointment in Integrative Biology and Physiology. His career at UCLA lasted for over 30 years, beginning in the late 1980s when he became interested in neuroplasticity. Along with Professor Jaime Villablanca, he reported the enhanced sprouting of neuronal connections and the decrease of neuronal degeneration following damage to the cerebral cortex when the damage occurs early in life as compared to adulthood. He went on to become interested in the mechanisms of neural repair and the role of trophic factors on activity-dependent plasticity. As his research progressed, he put his energy into identifying the mechanisms by which environmental factors affect neuronal health. He reported that trophic factors endogenous to the brain and spinal cord can be enhanced by the practice of select behaviors. From this work it appears that physical activity, learning, and nutritional factors control neurotrophins in the brain. Dr. Gómez-Pinilla’s findings have opened the exciting possibility that regulation of trophic factors by behavior may be a pivotal mechanism by which specific experiences can impact on the structure and function of the CNS. This work may account for the improvement of CNS function after trauma provided by rehabilitative therapies. More recently, he collaborated with other faculty in the Department of Neurosurgery exploring the potential of imaging of neuroplasticity, thereby, providing important insight into the applications of his findings to the treatment of recovery of function after traumatic brain injury.
Dr. Gómez Pinilla earned a BA (1977) and MS in Neurobiology (1979) at the University of Chile. In 1986, he obtained his Ph.D. in Anatomy and Cell Biology at UCLA. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute of Brain Aging and Dementia at UC Irvine (1986-1993) in the Department of Psychobiology. He was subsequently appointed Assistant Professor Adjunct at UC Irvine, Department of Neurology (1993-1998). He returned to UCLA in 1998 and had multiple appointments in the Department of Physiological Science (1998-2004), Department of Neurosurgery (2001-2025), and the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology (2004-2025).
He held memberships with the National Neurotrauma Society, the Society for Neuroscience, the Brain Research Institute at UCLA, the American and Canadian Association of Anatomists, the International Brain Research Organization, the British Brain Research Association, and the European Brain and Behavior Society.
Dr. Gómez Pinilla was preceded in death by his wife, Ana Gajardo. He is survived by a son, Alexis Gómez, and granddaughter who reside in Detroit, MI.
Dr. Victoria E. Johnson
SEPT 2025
Dr. Victoria E. Johnson
SEPT 2025
It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Dr. Victoria E. Johnson, MBChB, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Johnson passed away on September 4, 2025, having only just turned 44. She was an internationally recognized neuroscientist, a beloved aunt, sister, daughter, friend and colleague, a Scotswoman and a Philadelphian.
Born and raised in Kilsyth, Scotland, Dr. Johnson, whom we all knew as Vicky (never one to tout her many titles or accomplishments), earned both her medical degree and PhD from the University of Glasgow, fostering the partnership between her two home institutions of Glasgow and Penn and her two true homes of Scotland and Philadelphia.
Vicky joined Penn following medical school, moving to Philadelphia in 2005 where she has lived and worked ever since. She pursued postdoctoral studies in the Penn Department of Neurosurgery and the Center for Brain Injury and Repair and was a two-time winner of the Murray Goldstein Award for Excellence in Neurotrauma Research from the National Neurotrauma Society. She joined the Penn faculty in 2016 as an Assistant Professor, quickly establishing herself as a leader in the field, securing continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense. Her pioneering research significantly advanced understanding of the mechanisms by which acute brain trauma leads to long-term neurological decline.
While Vicky traveled the world extensively, she loved Philadelphia and made it her equal, not second, home to her native Scotland. She was proud to have become a citizen of the US in 2022 and displayed her “I Voted” stickers from each election thereafter on the wall in her office, while her diplomas and accolades sat framed and stacked, unhung on the floor.
Unknown to many, Vicky movingly overcame breast cancer at age 40 and had no evidence of disease when less than four years later she received the devastating diagnoses of metastatic colon cancer that would take her life.
In her too short time and despite the challenges of her breast cancer in 2021 and her later colon cancer, Vicky remained remarkably productive. In 2024, she published a landmark paper in Brain on traumatic brain injury in contact sports and was awarded a major new NIH grant. In 2025, she achieved tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Department of Neurosurgery, which was ranked 3rd in the nation in NIH funding research among departments of neurosurgery, thanks in part to grants awarded to Vicky who was a top-funded neurosurgery researcher.
As was a cherished member of the Penn research community, the National Neurotrauma Society and far beyond, Vicky’s legacy will live on through colleagues and trainees she inspired and the transformative research she led.
Vicky succumbed to colon cancer much quicker than predicted despite the excellent efforts of her care team, to whom she was deeply grateful, and her own valiant, steadfast struggle for more time. She faced the disease head on and managed her care with laser focus on ensuring she left no one with the burden of her absence, that she did everything she could, for everyone else and for science, right to the end.
She had wanted to celebrate her tenure promotion at a villa in Europe with an open house invitation. She talked about a dinner table filled with family, friends and the unparalleled meals she was known for procuring, whether through reservations at the best places in the world or her own outstanding cooking. We picture her there, inviting us in, sharing a glass of wine as we soak up every flavor and the warmth of her company.
She is survived by her nephew and niece, her brother and sister-in-law and her two parents and her loyal canine companion, who laid at her feet to the end.
By Douglas H. Smith, MD
NNS President, 2025-2026
NNS President, 2025-2026
Dr. Mary Bartlett Bunge
FEB 2024
Dr. Mary Bartlett Bunge
FEB 2024
Dr. Mary Bartlett Bunge passed away on February 17th, 2024. Dr. Bunge was a very special person and dedicated scientist who, since 1989, was an important member of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and the University of Miami academic community and served as Vice President of the National Neurotrauma Society from 2000-2001. Dr. Bunge developed a passion for biology at an early age while she was observing tadpoles swimming around her and questioned how they developed into frogs. During her junior college year, she was further inspired by a summer school in Bar Harbor, Maine, where she was first exposed to tissue culture. After graduating from Boston’s Simmons College in 1953, she accepted an invitation to graduate school at the University of Wisconsin Medical School, where she graduated with a master’s degree in medical physiology in 1955 and a doctorate in 1960. While at the University of Wisconsin, Mary met a medical student named Richard Bunge whom she married and shared her career. Working together, Mary and Richard published the first evidence of remyelination by oligodendrocytes in the spinal cord in 1961. Together, they moved to Columbia University in New York, where they began their career-long work on the biology of Schwann cells. In New York, their two sons, Jonathan, and Peter, were born. Mary was one of the earliest to master electron microscopy, which combined her passion for cell biology with artistic expression and allowed her to first observe synapses in tissue culture. After moving to Boston for a sabbatical at Harvard, the family moved to St. Louis in 1970 to accept faculty positions at Washington University School of Medicine, where in 1974, Mary was promoted with tenure to associate professor of cell biology, neurological surgery, and neurology and, in 1978, became professor.
During these Saint Louis years, Mary and her research team made several important discoveries while focusing on Schwann cells in tissue culture and their ability to wrap around peripheral axons to form the myelin sheath that acts to increase the speed of impulse conduction down the axon. Through their meticulous use of tissue culture, methods were found to isolate Schwann cells from neurons, which led to new hypotheses regarding repairing the nervous system after injury. In 1989, the Bunge’s were recruited to the University of Miami where Dr. Richard Bunge became the Scientific Director of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. During these years, the Bunge laboratory focused on determining whether Schwann cell transplantation into the injured spinal cord would promote successful axonal regeneration by making the injured tissue more permissive for successful axonal growth. Mary mentored a succession of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who paved the way through translational studies for current and future FDA-approved clinical trials using autologous human Schwann cells as a novel strategy to repair the spinal cord and peripheral nerves after severe trauma. Dr. Richard Bunge passed away in 1996, but Mary continued the work through to its clinical realization to support recovery in people after spinal cord injury. Together, they greatly elevated the scientific standing of the Miami Project, which was formed in 1985.
Dr. Mary Bunge received many national and international honors during her career, including the Wakeman Award for spinal cord injury repair, and was a three-time recipient of the Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. She was elected chair of the of the Society for Neuroscience Development of Women’s Careers in Neuroscience Committee from 1994-2002. Mary was a member of the National Neurotrauma Society, serving as Vice President 2000-2001, and participated in Woman in Neurotrauma at its inception. In 2000, she received the Mika Salpeter Women in Neuroscience Lifetime Achievement Award for her leadership in advancing the careers of women in neuroscience. In 2001, she received the Christopher Reeve Research Medal for Spinal Cord Injury Repair. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine and was awarded the Health Care Hero Lifetime Achievement Award by the Greater Miami Chapter Chamber of Commerce. She also received the Christine Lynn Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience Award in 2003 and the Lois Pope LIFE International Research Award in 2005. Upon receiving this award, she donated the money to the University of Miami to establish a lecture series to bring prominent women researchers doing groundbreaking work in cell biology to serve as role models to our campus annually. In 2012, Dr. Bunge received the University of Miami Faculty Senate Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award. The American Spinal Injury Association awarded Drs. Richard and Mary Bunge with the lifetime achievement award in 2018. On February 6, 2024, the 19th Annual Mary Bartlett Bunge Distinguished Women in Cell Biology Lecture was held. Dr. Bunge listened to this special lecture emphasizing her enduring passion for science until her age of 92.
In addition to these many accomplishments and honors, Dr. Bunge was an incredible teacher and mentor. She trained numerous graduate and postdoctoral fellows who went on to become leaders in the fields of cell biology, neuroscience, and Schwann cell transplantation. Dr. Mary Bunge will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her and had the privilege of learning from this special scholar who contributed so much to her scientific field.
W. Dalton Dietrich, PhD, and the entire Miami Project Scientific Community
Ronald L. Hayes, Ph.D.
NOV 2023
Ronald L. Hayes, Ph.D.
NOV 2023
Ron Hayes passed away unexpectedly on November 13, 2023. Ron served as President of the NNS (1995-1996). Ron stayed close to his hometown of Portsmouth, VA earning a BA in Classical Studies and Philosophy at the University of Richmond and a PhD in Physiological Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. During this academic journey he joined the Virginia Air National Guard earning his wings as a jet fighter pilot. In graduate school he studied endogenous opioids and nociception under David Mayer and continued in that field as a scientist at the NIH. Around 1980, the Division of Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Virginia recruited Ron to lead the TBI labs where he and Japanese research fellow, Yoichi Katayama performed seminal studies in traumatic unconsciousness and coma.
Ed Dixon and I were Ron’s first graduate students at MCV starting in 1983. I found Ron to be brilliant, insightful, energetic, sometimes impatient, but always warm-hearted. He always had incredible stories; tales of adventures traveling to scientific meetings – rarely did he travel without something unusual happening. He loved fast cars and bought an Acura only because it out-performed David Mayer’s Toyota Celica!
Ron confided to me that one of his favorite eras in science was with his MCV group of Doug DeWitt, Larry Jenkins, Ed Dixon, Linda Phillips and me on the 9th floor of Sanger Hall. Ron led our scientific inquiry into acetylcholine and glutamate receptor-mediated secondary injury cascades. This period was enriched by the many talented research fellows from Japan, Europe, South America, and China that passed through Ron’s laboratory. Thanks to Ron’s leadership, they developed into productive scientists with many becoming leaders in the field of TBI. His students and colleagues learned so much from Ron about scientific method, writing, securing funding, and the utter joy of scientific discovery.
Ron defined himself in many ways: philosopher, scientist, warrior in the battle against crippling brain injuries and later described himself as " a closet philosopher and classicist. It may be unconventional training for a scientist, but it has served me very well."
By Bruce Lyeth, PhD, Professor Emeritus, UC-Davis Neurosurgery
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I got acquainted with Ron about 1997 – while I was still at Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical. I fondly remembered that Ron and his then graduate student Rand Postmantur reached out to me to collaborate as we were all fascinated by the role of calpain in TBI. That led to two R01 grants in which I served as subaward PI at Parke-Davis – Such as arrangement in big pharma was practically unheard of - it was only possible because of Ron’s optimism, thinking outside the box and his “why-not’ attitude. That attitude also led to my joining him and Dr. Nancy Denslow at University of Florida and the McKnight Brain Institute. In 2001-2002, with input from my pharma industry background, A light bulb went up in our heads that there is really an unmet need for blood-based biomarker tests for to help manage TBI patients. With the help of his friend and WRAIR contact Dr. Frank Tortella – we got the first ever DOD funded proteomic-based TBI biomarker discovery grant, which was followed by the NIH funded clinical TBI biomarker validation study in partnership with Baylor’s Claudia Robertson and University of Florida’s Steve Robicsek. Pioneering biomarker discovery was hard, but for a PhD like Ron and I to conduct a clinical study was ten times harder – but Ron had a vision and determination that to make a difference in the field in TBI, this was really where it needed to go. As they say, the rest is history, together we co-founded a spinoff company Banyan Biomarkers with the vision to develop the first-ever blood test for TBI and concussion. The Banyan brain injury test based on the tandem biomarkers UCH-L1/GFAP secured FDA clearance in February 2018 and completed a license with Abbott Laboratories that led to the marketing of their i-STAT TBI plasma test and the CE marking of Biomerieux’s TBI test. I know that bringing a diagnostic test to the bedside from start to finish is truly a proud moment we both share – as he would say to me “We did it!”. He has many other memorable quotes – such as academia researchers need to focus on “pubs and grants”, and on writing an effective grant, just “keep it simple stupid”. Some of my favorite memories of him at scientific conferences are that instead of sitting inside of conference rooms listening to talks, he seemed to spend more time outside of the rooms networking with others and forming new collaborations! Ron has been a great mentor to me and others. Ron’s classic language and philosophy training really showed in his well-articulated speeches. It was a privilege for me to know and to learn from him not only on how to be a good translational researcher but also to be a better communicator and to approach life and science with unwavering optimism.
By Kevin K.W. Wang, PhD, Professor & Vice Chair of Neurobiology, Morehouse School of Medicine
This memoriam was adapted from a tribute to Ron Hayes published in the Journal of Neurotrauma 41 (1-2), 1-2, 2024
Dr. Xiao-Ming Xu
FEB 2023
Dr. Xiao-Ming Xu
FEB 2023
In 2023, the National Neurotrauma Society (NNS), in a joint effort with the Chinese Neurotrauma Scholar Association (CNSA) announced the establishment of the “NNS Dr. Xiao-Ming Xu Diversity Memorial Award”. This award serves to honor Dr. Xiao-Ming Xu, an internationally-renowned scientist for his significant contributions to the advancements in spinal cord injury (SCI) research and his unwavering support of diversity trainees.
Dr. Xu received his graduate education in China and the United States. He received his Medical Diploma and a master’s degree from Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine (previously known as Shanghai Second Medical University). He subsequently completed his Ph.D. in Anatomy and Neurobiology at The Ohio State University in 1990, and a postdoctoral fellowship in 1994, under the mentorship of Dr. Mary Bunge, at the Miami project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami.
In 1994, Dr. Xu accepted his first faculty position in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at St. Louis University, achieving the rank of Associate Professor. In 2001, he was recruited to the University of Louisville, where he was named the James R. Petersdorf Endowed Chair in the Department of Neurological Surgery and helped establish the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center as he transitioned from Associate to Full Professor.
Since 2007, Dr. Xu served as the Scientific Director of the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Division at Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Professor and Mari Hulman George Chair of Neurological Surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine, and a Research Career Scientist at the Richard Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis. His research focused on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that contribute to secondary injury after SCI with the objective of developing neuroprotective and neurorestorative strategies to improve neurological outcomes. He championed the pathway toward regeneration, using research that relied on diverse biochemical, physiological and bioengineering approaches. This is exemplified in his studies that examined cell transplantation, gene therapy, and tissue engineering, with the objective of promoting axonal regrowth, myelination, and the restoration of function.
Dr. Xu served as the Editor-in-Chief of the cross-disciplinary journal, Neural Regeneration Research (http://www.nrronline.org/). This platform was effective in bringing together researchers from different disciplines, including neuroscience, molecular biology, chemistry, immunology, and bioengineering, to address the broad biological challenges imposed by SCI. Such collaborations generated significant impact by fostering innovation and a clear pathway toward therapeutic breakthroughs. This was also the foundation for the establishment of the International Neural Regeneration Symposium for which Dr. Xu served as co-chair from 2011-2020.
Throughout his career, Dr. Xu promoted national and international interdisciplinary collaborations, which represented a rich diversity of talented scientists. He actively mentored and educated the next generation of scientists including undergraduates, graduate/medical students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty members. In order to prioritize and support under-represented students and trainees, Dr. Xu served as a regular committee member for the NIH Diversity K award and NINDS Diversity K01 and K22 applications. And, as the Founding President of the CNSA, established in 2010, Dr. Xu’s leadership, vision, and commitment to advancing neurotrauma research, has created an environment that has fostered networking opportunities at all levels of expertise, promoting knowledge sharing and professional development. These collective efforts have served to build a bridge of knowledge that has advanced our understanding of mechanisms underlying loss of function and aberrant pain, critically important steps in the identification of novel therapeutics that are specifically tailored to SCI and neurotrauma. Dr. Xu has been recognized by a number of awards, including his listing in the “World’s Top 2% of Scientists 2020”, an honor that speaks to his dedication and accomplishments in the field.
Lisa Xu, MD, Daughter of Dr. Xiao-Ming Xu
Wei Wu, MD, PhD, Board member of CNSA (2022-2023)
Zezong Gu, MD, PhD, President of CNSA (2021-2023)
Linda J Noble-Haeusslein, PhD, Professor, Departments of Neurology and Psychology, University of Texas at Austin
On behalf of the CNSA Board and NNS Program Committee
Wei Wu, MD, PhD, Board member of CNSA (2022-2023)
Zezong Gu, MD, PhD, President of CNSA (2021-2023)
Linda J Noble-Haeusslein, PhD, Professor, Departments of Neurology and Psychology, University of Texas at Austin
On behalf of the CNSA Board and NNS Program Committee
Dr. Harvey Levin
APR 2022
Dr. Harvey Levin
APR 2022
Harvey Steven Levin, Ph.D. passed away peacefully on April 1, 2022.
He was born on Dec. 12, 1946, in New York City to Nathan and Mary Levin. A graduate of the City College of New York, he earned a doctorate in psychology at the University of Iowa under the tutelage of Arthur Benton, Ph.D. and completed his internship in psychology at the Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago.
Harvey was a board-certified neuropsychologist and clinical psychologist and joined the faculty at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston where he began an internationally renowned career in clinical work, teaching, and, most of all, pioneering research on traumatic brain injury. In 1995, Harvey established the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine within the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, which was supported by federal grants, including funding from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CNL integrates rehabilitation and neuroplasticity research with multimodality brain imaging, cognitive psychology, and neuropsychology. The lab focuses on multidisciplinary TBI research involving adult and pediatric populations and has pursued both observational studies and clinical trials. Harvey researched sports-related concussion, and in his joint appointment at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Harvey also researched mTBI sustained by veterans in combat.
Harvey’s seminal findings in brain injury research and treatment include the creation of the Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test, which is used by clinicians around the world to assess cognition in the subacute state of mild TBI (mTBI). Harvey’s group was also one of the first to analyze the neurobehavioral effects of mTBI in relation to various modalities of brain imaging and carried out clinical trials of hypothermia, errorless learning, Ritalin, CDP choline, and progesterone. To monitor the quality of outcome data across sites, Harvey developed a code for the reliability of data collected and implemented the role of an outcome monitor who evaluated adherence to protocol across sites.
During his career, Harvey authored and co-authored more than 300 articles in scientific journals and numerous books that advanced knowledge of and treatments for TBI, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and other illnesses that affect brain functioning. In 1989, he served as president of the International Neuropsychological Society. Over the years he also received many prestigious awards, including the Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award, the Jennett-Plum Award for Research on Traumatic Brain Injury, the Distinguished Career Award by the International Neuropsychological Society, the American Congress of Rehabilitation Gold Key Award, and the Distinguished Lifetime Contribution to Neuropsychology Award from the National Academy of Neuropsychology, as well as awards from other head injury and psychological organizations, including the International Brain Injury Association, the National Head Injury Foundation, the North American Brain Injury Society, Texas Psychological Association, and the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. Harvey was also very active as a reviewer on federal grant panels and as an editor and reviewer for journals.
In addition to being an avid educator, teaching classes within his home department of PM&R at Baylor College of Medicine, at the University of Houston, and at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School in Greece, Harvey was an evaluator for the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology/American Board of Professional Psychology and an often-invited lecturer at numerous scientific organizations. He was known as a great mentor to hundreds of learners over his 50-year career in neuropsychology, including postdoctoral fellows as the director of NCMRR/NIH T32 Postdoctoral Research Program in Rehabilitation Research and as an advocate to anyone who wished to learn. You will be hard pressed to find a neuropsychologist in Houston who cannot trace their training lineage back to Harvey. He will be greatly missed, and his legacy will live on through the many careers he has shaped.
Harvey's zest and enthusiasm for life were contagious. He biked, swam and was an avid runner. He was passionate about music, fine art, health foods, and culture. His most cherished memories include traveling the world, combining his teaching and research engagements while absorbing historical, cultural, and culinary offerings from Turkey to Tuscany.
Harvey spoke French and was enamored with French culture, which was evident in his passion for cooking which flourished in the latter third of his life. Harvey also studied wine and classical music, collecting an impressive library of recordings. He immersed himself in Houston's rich performing arts scene, including the Houston Symphony, Houston Ballet, Da Camera Society, Houston Early Music, Houston Grand Opera, and Opera in the Heights.
Raymond Grill, PhD
MAY 2019
Raymond Grill, PhD
MAY 2019
On May 30, 2018 we lost a truly remarkable person when Raymond Grill, passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack. Following our announcement of his passing, we witnessed an outpouring of sorrow from Ray’s friends, students, and fellow scientists. To us, Ray was a gifted scientist, tireless mentor, valued member in our scientific community, an early member and ardent supporter of Mission Connect. One of his former student’s, Jennifer Dulin, Ph.D., shared her thoughts with her fellow members of Mission Connect. No one could have described Ray more accurately and I would like to share this with you.
Ray was a very rare type of individual who has been a force for good in the lives of practically everyone who has known him. He was an unusually selfless person who was fully dedicated to helping others. He always, always kept the focus of his work tightly centered on the issue of “How is this going to improve the lives of people living with a spinal cord injury or traumatic brain injury?” It can sometimes be easy to lose track of the real-world relevance of our research, but Ray never let his students forget it. He was a moral compass in that sense. He was in this business for no other reason than his burning need to figure out ways to help ease some of the burdens carried by these individuals and their loved ones. This is the mindset we should all keep.
Aside from research, he was also a uniquely compassionate person who gave himself fully to everyone who asked of him. He has taken so much of his time to give advice, lend an ear, and mentor an immense number of students/trainees/junior faculty over the years. He has helped many of his friends to cope and pull through during times of crisis. He was always nonjudgmental, loving and kind, but honest, practical and straightforward. He really, really cared about people, and would do anything in his power to help those who fell on hard times. I think that there is no greater or nobler thing you can do in life than that.
Cynthia Adkins
Executive Director, TIRR Foundation
Executive Director, TIRR Foundation
Timothy Schallart, PhD
MAY 2018
Timothy Schallart, PhD
MAY 2018
Timothy Schallert, age 68, died on May 29, 2018 at his home in Austin Texas, with his wife, Diane, and sons, Robbie and Kellan, by his side. He had advanced Parkinson's Disease. Tim received his PhD in 1976 working with Ernest P. Lindholm at Arizona State University, followed by postdoctoral training with Ian Q. Whishaw at the University of Lethbridge and Philip Teitelbaum at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. In 1979 he joined the faculty of the Psychology Department at the University of Texas at Austin, where he remained until he retired and was named Professor Emeritus in 2017. He was also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Michigan School of Medicine and Adjunct Research Scientist at Henry Ford Health Medical Center.
Tim was broadly interested in brain-behavioral interactions, especially in the context of neural repair and plasticity responses to CNS injury and neurodegeneration. He was prolific, authoring more than 250 articles, which have been cited more than 20 thousand times. His discoveries that behavioral manipulations potently affect degenerative and regenerative responses to CNS damage had profound impact in shaping current understanding of the experience-dependency of these processes.
That Tim was often called a "rat neurologist" or " rat whisperer" reflects that he was also a driving force in the behavioral level refinement of rodent models of CNS injury and disease. He developed or helped refine many of the sensitive assays now in common use with such models, including the Schallert cylinder, bilateral tactile stimulation (a.k.a. "sticky tape"), ledged tapered beam, vermicelli handling, and corner tests.
Tim leaves behind a large scientific family of adoring colleagues, collaborators and mentees. To us, Tim was not merely a great scientist, he was a seemingly indefatigable force of nature, a wildly inspiring communicator, a role model, a champion, a person with whom it was endlessly fun to talk science, and a very dear friend who is now deeply and painfully missed.
By Theresa A. Jones, PhD
Professor, University of Texas at Austin
Professor, University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Marion Murray
SEPT 2018
Dr. Marion Murray
SEPT 2018
Dr. Marion Murray, professor emeritus in the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, passed away on September 9 following complications of esophageal cancer.
Dr. Murray was a founding member of our Spinal Cord Research Center, leading its research activities for over 30 years to create one of the most prominent centers in the United States. She inspired and mentored countless students, fellows and faculty, established a world-class research program and published more than 150 scientific articles and reviews. She exemplified a scientific leader who passionately confronted significant problems for human health and then generously shared her knowledge with others. The focus of her research was on neuroplasticity and its relation to recovery of function after spinal cord injury, studying the role of axonal regeneration and sprouting, neuroprotection, and restoration of function lost following injury.
Dr. Murray received her PhD from the University of Wisconsin in physiology and did her postdoctoral work at McGill University in anatomy and at the Rockefeller University in neurobiology. She was appointed assistant professor in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Chicago, and in 1973 moved to our predecessor school the Medical College of Pennsylvania.
Motivated by the devastating impact of damage to the spinal cord on patients and their families, Dr. Murray and her colleague the late Dr. Michael Goldberger forged an interactive group to discover the mechanisms of injury and interventions towards recovery of function in this major clinical problem. Under her leadership, the center established multidisciplinary research training in spinal cord injury and created a program that has had international impact, with influence in basic and translational neuroscience beyond her initial vision.
Dr. Murray received numerous awards, including the NIH Javits Neurosciences Investigator Award, the Fogarty Fellowship, the MCPHU Research Achievement Award and, most recently, the Reeve-Irvine Research Award. She served on the editorial boards of scientific journals such as Experimental Neurology and Journal of Comparative Neurology; on scientific review committees, including for the NIH and the VA; and as the scientific director of the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, one of the major private foundations focused on spinal cord injury.
Itzhak Fischer, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair of Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy
College of Medicine, Drexel University
Professor and Chair of Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy
College of Medicine, Drexel University
Dennis M. Feeney, PhD
APR 2018
Dennis M. Feeney, PhD
APR 2018
Dennis M. Feeney, age 76, passed away peacefully at home with his wife Marilyn at his side on Saturday, April 7, 2018. He had a long distinguished career as both a scientist and teacher. Receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1962 in Experimental Psychology at the Pennsylvania State University he went on to receive a Masters of Arts in Psychology at Kent State University in Ohio from 1962-1964. Receiving his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1968 he stayed on for a full year to complete his postdoctoral training at the UCLA Brain Research Institute.
Dr. Feeney settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1970 when he joined the faculty in the Department of Psychology at the University of New Mexico.
Dennis enjoyed his associations with A. Earl Walker, M.D. who, came to the University of New Mexico after retiring as Chair of Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University. Together they addressed many issues related to epilepsy and the topic of brain death. However, Dr. Feeney’s main interest was the impact catecholamines had on recovery after experimental cortical lesions the brain.
During his tenure, Dennis wrote many articles related to the topic of recovery of function. One of his most seminal papers appeared in SCIENCE in 1982 where he and his students reported how amphetamine, haloperidol and experience interacted to affect the rate of recovery from motor cortex injury in rodents.
Dr. Feeney had a great influence on his students instilling a sense of morality and ethics while, at the same time, demanding effort for the advancement of science that he expected of himself even though he was paraplegic since 1973. It was always a joy to come to Dr. Feeney’s laboratory. One would always have the ability to experience the excitement of doing something no one else has ever done before. As a student, you could depend on Dr. Feeney to give you advice on all matters of science including philosophy.
In closing, those of us who worked with Dr. Feeney will miss his compassion and love for science, while fighting all the battles associated with being paraplegic for 45 years. We, who worked with him, adopted Dennis as a scientific father who cared, and yes, even loved us, as if we were part of his family.
By David Hovda, PhD
Professor and Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, UCLA
Professor and Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, UCLA
Dr. Walter Koroshetz
JAN 2026
Dr. Walter Koroshetz
JAN 2026
As members of the National Neurotrauma Society, we wish to express our deepest gratitude to Walter Koroshetz, MD, Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), for his tireless support of our mission; to improve outcomes for traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury.
As is now well known, Dr. Koroshetz has recently been released from his leadership role at NINDS during this very tumultuous time for biomedical research. While his departure creates greater uncertainty and unease across our membership and far beyond, we can nonetheless take this moment to thank Dr. Koroshetz. He has been steadfast in his stewardship of neurotrauma research support and he was instrumental in shaping the current and future of state of our collective research enterprises. In particular, he has championed research efforts exploring concussion as a major health issue and how acute CNS injuries can give rise to chronic neurodegenerative changes.
As the field moves forward, the National Neurotrauma Society remains committed to advancing neurotrauma research through continued collaboration with NINDS in service of rigorous science and improved patient outcomes.
As we move forward, the NNS will find a fitting way to honor Dr. Koroshetz for his leadership, vision, support, and lasting impact on neurotrauma research.
Sincerely,
The NNS officers and councilors on behalf of NNS members
“A life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”
Albert Einstein