Newswise — Bethesda, MD – Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation professor and chair Dr. Paul F. Pasquina has been named Researcher of the Year by The Geneva Foundation.
“The Geneva Foundation proudly announces Dr. Paul Pasquina as the recipient of the 2022 Researcher of the Year Award. Dr. Pasquina, a distinguished expert in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, currently serves as the professor and inaugural chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Uniformed Services University and the Chief of the Department of Rehabilitation at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. In his 30+ year career, Dr. Pasquina has made a material impact to the Military Health System while providing exceptional care to thousands of service members,” according to the announcement.
The award, the “Founder’s Service Award,” is similar to a lifetime achievement award and is based on Pasquina’s “exceptional contributions and a lifetime dedicated to advancing medical research.”
In addition to his role as department chair, Pasquina also serves as the director of the USU Center for Rehabilitation Sciences Research, principal investigator for the USU Musculoskeletal Injury Rehabilitation Research for Operational Readiness (MIRROR) program, and as co-principal investigator for the USU Military Traumatic Brain Injury Initiative, dedicated to enhancing service member readiness and resilience by exploring innovative technologies for the recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration of extremity trauma, musculoskeletal conditions, and traumatic brain injury.
Throughout his career, Pasquina has established world-class programs in rehabilitation, therapy, research, and education. He has provided care for warfighters in combat during a tour in Iraq and has been involved in treating nearly every warfighter at Walter Reed who suffered from limb loss, brain injuries, and other significant life-altering conditions. As the former medical director of the Amputee Program at Walter Reed, his direct efforts formed the foundation of the comprehensive and internationally-recognized wounded warrior treatment programs that exist today at Walter Reed, San Antonio, and San Diego. Furthermore, his leadership as an advisor to the DoD and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and authorship of the DoD/VA amputee care clinical practice guidelines helped shape amputee care programs throughout the VA and continue to have impact on the civilian community. His leadership in amputee care contributed to Walter Reed being the first institution in the world to introduce the clinical use and evaluation of the first motorized lower limb prostheses, most sophisticated upper limb prostheses, and the first of its kind implantable microelectrodes to drive a prosthetic device. Pasquina also helped shape Walter Reed’s adaptive sports and recreational program, driving rehabilitation program, brain fitness lab, service animal program, creative arts in healthcare, interdisciplinary amputee and TBI clinics, satellite interventional pain suite, vocational and community reintegration programs, Computerized Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN), Wheelchair and Seating Clinic, and musculoskeletal ultrasound clinic. He also was a principal planner in the programming and designing of Walter Reed’s America Building, where most wounded warrior care is centered, and the National Intrepid Center of Excellence for TBI and Psychological Health on the Bethesda campus.
“His longstanding collaboration with Geneva, particularly through his co-leadership of the NCAA-DOD CARE Consortium and the establishment of the MIRROR program in 2018, has significantly advanced critical initiatives aimed at enhancing the health and safety of student-athletes and service members. His cutting-edge contributions in medical research have profoundly impacted lives globally, solidifying his well-deserved recognition as the Researcher of the Year Award recipient,“ according to Geneva’s announcement.
“Geneva is thrilled to recognize Dr. Pasquina as the 2022 Researcher of the Year,” said Elise Huszar, Geneva’s president and CEO. “His relentless pursuit of innovative solutions in the realm of rehabilitation continues to have a profound impact on the military medical enterprise, our service members, and the broader civilian medical community.”
“I am very grateful to Geneva for selecting me for this award, and even more grateful to be able to work with the amazing research teams at Geneva, the Uniformed Services University, and across the Military Healthcare System, who arguably deserve this award more than me,” said Pasquina. “It’s my hope that our research efforts will continue to improve the care of service members and their families, as well as help inform the next generation of clinical and research leaders within military medicine.”
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About the Uniformed Services University: The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, founded by an act of Congress in 1972, is the nation’s federal health sciences university and the academic heart of the Military Health System. USU students are primarily active-duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service who receive specialized education in tropical and infectious diseases, TBI and PTSD, disaster response and humanitarian assistance, global health, and acute trauma care. USU also has graduate programs in oral biology, biomedical sciences and public health committed to excellence in research. The University's research program covers a wide range of areas important to both the military and public health. For more information about USU and its programs, visit www.usuhs.edu.
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