RR&D Research Career Scientist Application

Kirsch博士从事VA RR&D研究已有28年，自那以来一直是VA RR&D研究的职业科学家 2007年。他有一个非常活跃的研究计划，是康复研究和学术界的领导者。他的 个人研究活动的重点是恢复肩部、手臂和手的运动 脊髓损伤(SCI)导致的广泛性瘫痪。脊髓损伤是一种破坏性的疾病，通常会导致显著的 残疾和丧失独立性。历史上，退伍军人在SCI人群中的比例过高，而 在最近的军事交战中，脊髓损伤的发生率仍然很高。因此，退伍军人康复 研究与发展服务部将SCI研究列为优先事项，Kirsch博士的研究直接与 这个优先事项。他的研究特别侧重于恢复高颈患者的手臂/手的运动 (C1-C4)脊髓损伤，一种被称为高位四肢瘫痪的情况，其颈部以下有广泛的瘫痪。是这样的 个人通常在日常生活的大部分护理和活动方面都依赖于他人。基尔希博士 开发了最先进的(1)功能性电刺激(FES)系统，用于供电和协调 高位四肢瘫痪患者的手臂和手的运动，(2)允许用户使用的人脑-计算机接口 直观地控制FES驱动的手臂运动，以及(3)人类肩膀的肌肉骨骼模型 和肘部，经过修改以反映脊髓损伤或其他残疾患者的具体特征， 然后用于模拟以探索干预的可行性(例如，FES)并优化系统 为临床部署而设计，大大减少了实验的反复试验。基尔希博士的研究工作 资金雄厚，过去五年的出版记录非常强劲(质量和数量)，以及 他是研讨会和会议的热门演讲者。 基尔希博士还在康复研究领域担任过多项领导职务。他一直是 自2012年1月起担任退伍军人管理局研发支持的FES中心执行董事。FES中心是一个全球性的 神经刺激/神经调节研究的领导者，解决未得到满足的康复需求 患有神经障碍的退伍军人和平民。具体地说，FES中心有86名调查人员(43 科学家/工程师和43名临床医生)和近200名执行和促进尖端技术的人员 研究涉及5个不同的康复研究主题：(1)运动恢复，(2)缓解疼痛，(3) 自主神经恢复，(4)脑健康，和(5)翻译和临床传播。此外，基尔希博士 是翻译研究领域的领导者，是新成立的退伍军人管理局翻译中心的联合PI 教育和指导(退伍军人团队)中心“，专注于教育和指导退伍军人管理局的 美国各地前景看好的翻译研究项目，以及Case-Coulter翻译公司的PI 研究伙伴关系，这是凯斯西储大学的一个全国知名项目。 Kirsch博士在国家研究和学术界非常活跃。他是该组织的成员 曾担任弗吉尼亚州研发与发展职业发展奖评审团10年，并担任主席5年。他曾在 退伍军人研究与发展中心申请审查小组，研究职业科学家审查小组，两个常设NIH 研究部分，以及总共50多个提案审查小组。他曾担任2017年退伍军人管理局RR&D比赛的主持人 国家中心/REAP董事休会。他在12个学术咨询或审查委员会任职。 各部门和研究中心。Kirsch博士一直担任凯斯韦斯特大学生物医学工程系主任 储备大学10年。他曾担任副主席(2016)、主席(2017)和前几任主席 (2018)国家生物医学工程委员会主席，并是国家生物医学工程委员会主席 2019年教育峰会主席。他是美国医学和生物研究所的研究员 工程(AIMBE)。他是一位多产的导师，培养了17名博士毕业生，并指导了大量 本科生、青年研究人员和各级教职员工。

Dr. Kirsch has been a VA RR&D research for 28 years, and a VA RR&D Research Career Scientist since 2007. He has a very active research program and is a leader in both rehabilitation research and academia. His personal research activities focus on restoring shoulder, arm, and hand movements to individuals with extensive paralysis due to spinal cord injury (SCI). SCI is a devastating condition that often causes significant disability and loss of independence. Veterans are historically over-represented in the SCI population, and the incidence of SCI in more recent military engagements remains high. As a result, the VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Service has prioritized SCI research, and Dr. Kirsch’s research directly aligns with this priority. His research specifically focuses on restoring arm/hand movement to individuals with high cervical (C1-C4) SCI, a condition referred to as high tetraplegia, who have extensive paralysis below the neck. Such individuals are typically dependent on others for most aspects of care and activities of daily living. Dr. Kirsch has developed state-of-the-art (1) functional electrical stimulation (FES) systems for powering and coordinating arm and hand movements in people with high tetraplegia, (2) human brain-computer interfaces that allow users to intuitively command FES-powered arm movements, and (3) musculoskeletal models of the human shoulder and elbow that are modified to reflect the specific characteristics of individuals with SCI or other disabilities, and then used in simulation to explore the feasibility of an intervention (e.g., FES) and to optimize system design for clinical deployment, substantially decreasing experimental trial-and-error. Dr. Kirsch’s research work is well-funded, his publication record over the past five years has been very strong (quality and quantity), and he is a sought-after speaker for seminars and conferences. Dr. Kirsch has also undertaken a number of leadership roles in rehabilitation research. He has been the Executive Director of the VA RR&D-supported FES Center since January 2012. The FES Center is a global leader in neurostimulation/neuromodulation research that addresses the unmet rehabilitation needs of Veterans and civilians with neurological disorders. Specifically, the FES Center has 86 investigators (43 scientists/engineers and 43 clinicians) and almost 200 total personnel who perform and facilitate cutting edge research across 5 different rehabilitation research thrusts: (1) Movement Restoration, (2) Pain Mitigation, (3) Autonomic Restoration, (4) Brain Health, and (5) Translation and Clinical Dissemination. In addition, Dr. Kirsch is a leader in translational research, being a co-PI of the of a new VA center entitled the “VA Translational Education and Mentoring (VA-TEAM) Center” that is focused on educating and mentoring the VA’s most promising translational research projects across the US., as well as the PI of the Case-Coulter Translational Research Partnership, a nationally prominent program at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Kirsch is very active in the national research and academic communities. He was a member of the VA RR&D Career Development Award panel for 10 years and was its Chair for 5 years. He has served on review panels for VA RR&D center applications, Research Career Scientist review panels, two standing NIH study sections, and more than 50 proposal review panels overall. He served as the host for the 2017 VA RR&D National Center/REAP Directors’ Retreat. He serves on 12 advisory or review boards for academic departments and research centers. Dr. Kirsch has been the Chair of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University for 10 years. He served as Vice Chair (2016), Chair (2017), and Immediate Past Chair (2018) of the national Biomedical Engineering Council of Chairs, and was the host of the national Council of Chairs Educational Summit in 2019. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). He is a prolific mentor, having trained 17 PhD graduates and mentored large numbers of undergraduate students, young investigators, and faculty at several levels.