UTMB to train rehabilitation sciences in partnership with University of Florida

For immediate release: Oct. 4, 2007
GALVESTON, Texas - The School of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, in partnership with the College of Public Health and Health Professions at the University of Florida, will use a $4.98 million research grant to educate and train scientists who study the rehabilitation of people with such neuromuscular and neurological conditions as dementia and muscular dystrophies.

The grant is funded by the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research in the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Both are National Institutes of Health agencies. It is one of two such grants awarded nationally, the other going to a consortium of Washington University, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Delaware.

The grant funds six full-time faculty at each school who will devote 75 to 100 percent of their time to research.

"These new positions will allow us to significantly increase our research infrastructure," said Kenneth J. Ottenbacher, director of the Division of Rehabilitation Sciences at UTMB. "More importantly, this is considered to be a national training grant and the persons trained here and at the University of Florida are expected to move on to other universities and create new research programs in rehabilitation sciences."

Participating faculty will receive mentored training in the areas of research strength at UTMB and UF and will have the opportunity to collaborate with NIH supported Research Infrastructure Cores, Veterans Administration Centers of Excellence, rehabilitation research centers and physical and occupational therapy departments nationwide.

Ottenbacher is the principal investigator for the project and Krista Vandenborne, chairwoman of the Department of Physical therapy at UF, is the project deputy director. Elizabeth Protas, dean ad interim of the UTMB School of Allied Health Sciences, and William Mann, chairman of the Department of Occupational Therapy at UF, are associate program directors.

Prior to the award of this grant, UTMB's School of Allied Health Sciences was ranked No. 11 in the amount of NIH federal funds awarded to schools of allied health sciences.

Each school will focus on training in its respective areas of research strength, Ottenbacher said. The two institutions share strengths in neurological and cognitive rehabilitation as well as aging. UTMB will take the lead in muscle biology and functional outcomes while UF will offer training in neuromuscular disease, assistive technology and respiratory physiology rehabilitation.

"There is an urgent need for further research in Rehabilitation Science in order to impact the quality of life of individuals with disabilities," Protas said. "This grant will develop outstanding scientists in Rehabilitation Science, and recognizes the strength that our faculty have already established in rehabilitation research. There is a significant shortage of well-prepared physical and occupational therapists who are competitive as independent investigators."

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