Staff Members

Suzanne Groah, RRTC Principal Investigator
Thilo Kroll, RRTC Consultant
Alexander Libin, R4 & T2 Principal Investigator
Matt Elrod, T2 Co-Investigator
Edelle Carmen Field-Fote, Miami R3 Principal Investigator
Lex Frieden, T4 Principal Investigator
Brenda Gilmore, SCI Life Consultant
Samuel A. Gordon, T1 Co-Principal Investigator
Russ Holt , R4 & T2 Peer Mentor Advisor
Matt Kehn, R5 Research Assistant
Manon Lauderdale, RRTC Knowledge Translation
Alison Lichy, R2 & R3 Principal Investigator
Inger Ljungberg, Peer Mentor Coordinator
Mark S. Nash, Miami R1 Principal Investigator & Miami R3 Co-Principal Investigator
Laurie Gerken Redd, T4 Project Director
Marcie Roth, T3 Principal Investigator
Miriam Spungen, R4 & R5 Research Assistant
Steve Towle, R4 & T2 Peer Mentor Advisor, February 14, 1952 – October 5, 2005

Suzanne Groah, MD, MSPH, Principal Investigator

Dr. Groah is the Director for the RRTC and the principal investigator on projects R2 and R4. She has been the director of SCI Research at the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) since 2002, after having served as the director of SCI research at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, CA,for three years.

After finishing her residency in physical medicine & rehabilitation, Dr. Groah completed two fellowships in SCI: one involved aging issues in SCI, while the second was a clinical fellowship in Neurorehabilitation. She has extensive experience treating individuals with SCI and has published and presented nationally on SCI related topics and various secondary conditions. The Academy of PM&R invited Dr. Groah to participate in writing the SCI Study Guide for the Academy members, and she was also nominated by the Paralyzed Veterans of America to be an expert panel member on their most recent clinical practice guidelines development panel for bladder management after SCI. Dr. Groah is also the founder of Richmond Athletes with Disabilities, a grass roots non-profit chapter of National Handicapped Sports that promotes exercise and activity for individuals with physical disabilities.

Thilo Kroll, PhD, Former Co-Principal Investigator; Current RRTC Consultant

Dr. Kroll was the Co-Principal Investigator for this RRTC before leaving for a job in Scotland at the University of Dundee. He remains an integral part of the RRTC, working on projects R4, R5, T1, T2, and T4. He continues to consult on the projects, contributing particularly to the analysis of the national survey data (R5).

Alexander Libin,PhD

Dr. Libin succeeds Dr. Kroll as the RRTC's chief behavioral scientist,serves as Principal Investigator on project R4 and leads T2 training efforts. He received his M.A. in Information Sciences with a specialization in Human-Computer Interactions from the Russian University of the Humanities. He also holds a PhD in General Psychology and Differential Psychophysiology from the Institute of Psychology at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Since 1997 Dr. Libin is Affiliated Faculty at the Department of Psychology, Georgetown University. His research over the last 20 years spans disability research, cognitive and affective neuroscience, differential psychology, neuropsychological measurement, assessment instrument development with an emphasis on positive and negative affect, emotional regulation and adaptability. Dr Libin has extensive experience leading focus and other consensus groups and is an expert in human technology interface design. He also works on the development of new technology-mediated therapies, such as using personalized robots with artificial intelligence and sensory feedback for people with disabilities.

Matt Elrod, PT, MEd, NCS

Mr. Elrod is site principal investigator for project R1 and a co-investigator on project T2, assisting in the latter in the development of the physical therapy curriculum and training materials for individuals with SCI. Mr. Elrod is a trained physical therapist and has over ten years experience working with individuals with SCI. He is currently the president of the DC chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association and has working relationships with the physical therapy departments at Howard, George Washington, and Marymount University.

Edelle Carmen Field-Fote, PT, PhD

Dr. Field-Fote is the principal investigator at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis for project R3. She is a physical therapist with doctoral training in movement science. Her work has concentrated on evaluation of the efficacy of training and on understanding the physiologic basis of training effects. Research conducted for the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis has focused on individuals with SCI, and her recent research has included the effects of loco-motor training and investigations of upper extremity training.

Lex Frieden, MA

Brenda Gilmore, BFA

Ms. Gilmore is a former nationally ranked wheelchair tennis player and has remained actively involved in teaching tennis to able bodied and physically challenged members of her community. She is a graduate of Howard University and serves as the research assistant for Projects R4 and R5, and as the SCI Life Consultant for Projects T1 and T2. As research assistant, Brenda provides consumer input, assists with identifications and recruitment of study participants, helps to manage data.. In her role as the SCI Life Consultant, she trains and works with the peer mentors and assists in providing consumer education to health care professionals.

Samuel A. Gordon, PhD

Dr. Gordon is the co-principal Investigator for project T1 and directs and oversees the peer mentoring program with newly injured individuals with SCI. Dr. Gordon is a clinical psychologist at the NRH, serving young adults with spinal cord injuries. He received graduate training in clinical and community psychology at the University of Maryland. He is currently the PI on a peer mentoring program at NRH. He has worked with Howard University's Child Development Center, the D.C. public schools, Children's National Medical Center, and he is in private group practice in Washington, D.C. He is currently a member of the Association of Black Psychologists and the D.C. Psychological Association.

Russ Holt

Mr. Holt works on projects R4 and T1 on the training of SCI Peer Mentors. He currently serves on the Board of the Spinal Cord Injury Network, the local Washington, DC chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association. Since becoming partially paralyzed in a 1986 auto accident, Mr. Holt has become a well known advocate for people with disabilities. After college he began volunteer work as a Montgomery County Crisis Hotline counselor, which led to a job at the Endependence Center of Northern Virginia, where he was employed as a Peer Counselor. During this time, he also taught Transition courses to students with disabilities at TC Williams High School and Loudoun Valley High School. In 2000, Mr. Holt launched Access Information, Inc. which runs DisabilityGuide.org, a website devoted to reviewing the accessibility of restaurants and bars in the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area.

Matt Kehn, BA

Mr. Kehn started at NRH-CHDR in May of 2004 as a Research Assistant. He received undergraduate degrees in both Sociology and Psychology from American University in 2000. He has a strong interest in the social research process with a particular passion for public policy and research outcome application. He also enjoys working closely with people living with both physical and cognitive disabilities. For the RRTC, he oversees the daily operations of project R5, the longitudinal national survey on exercise and physical activity in adults with SCI, to include data collection, tracking, entry and quality assurance.

Manon Lauderdale, MSE PMP

Ms. Lauderdale helps make sure the RRTC's messages find their way to people who need them. She was involved in the inaugural Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Telerehabilitation and manages the dissemination of knowledge generated by RRTC research and training projects including online resource development, webcasting and interactive CD and DVD production. Ms. Lauderdale holds a BA in Language and Literature from Catholic University and a BS in Computer Science from the University of Maryland. She has a Masters Degree in Engineering from the Catholic University of America and received graduate certification in Systems Engineering from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in the fall of 2007. She has managed various sponsored projects at CUA and NRH since 2000 and has been certified a Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute since 2003.

Alison Lichy, PT MS NCS

Ms. Lichy is a physical therapist at the National Rehabilitation Hospital, where she serves as principal investigator for project R3 and co-investigator for project R2. Her SCI experience includes seating and positioning, functional training, wound care, treatment of the shoulder complex, community skills and education programs, medical resident education, body-weight supported gait training, and Lokomat gait training. Ms. Lichy is an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association. She is also a speaker for Think First, a trauma prevention program for school aged children. She is involved in subject recruitment, screening, and data collection for both projects.

Inger Ljungberg, BS

Ms. Ljungberg trained in Management Information Systems and Decision Science at George Mason University where she received her BS degree in 2003. Since 2003, she has been employed at NRH as a database developer. She developed and maintains the NRH SCI and Pediatric clinical databases. These databases track patient progress and serve as both clinical and research tools. Ms. Ljungberg co-facilitates the monthly SCI support group at NRH. She serves as project coordinator for the RRTC's R4 and T1. Her responsibilities include subject recruitment and data collection.

Mark S. Nash, PhD, FACSM

Dr. Nash is the principal investigator of project R1 and the co-principal investigator of project R3. Dr. Nash is a tenured associate professor of neurological surgery and orthopedics and rehabilitation at the University of Miami School of Medicine. He earned his Ph.D. in applied physiology and clinical anatomy. Dr. Nash is director of the Functional Electrical Stimulation Research Laboratory and project coordinator of the South Florida Regional Spinal Cord Injury System. Since 1985, Dr. Nash has been the principal investigator for the Miami Project, and he is also currently the director of the applied physiology research program. He has performed federally funded research on exercise and pharmacological interventions on medical complications associated with SCI. Dr. Nash is widely published on topics examining rehabilitation of persons with spinal cord injuries, to include testing and training of persons with SCI using electrically-stimulated and voluntary modes of exercise. He is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, and serves on the Veterans Administration Neurology Merit Board.

Laurie Gerken Redd

Ms. Redd directs activities of project T4 and supervises the management of the SCI Resource Network, to include technical assistance delivered via forum activities. Ms. Redd has been with ILRU since its inception in 1977, and over the years, she has developed and implemented innovative methods of delivering technical assistance for independent living using a variety of delivery methods. Ms. Redd has long been active in wheelchair sports, and in the last few years, she has taken up exercise via community-based fitness programs.

Marcie Roth

Ms. Roth is the principal investigator of project T3, the national RRTC conference. Ms. Roth is currently the executive director of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA) and previously spent several years as the director of advocacy and public policy for the National Council on Independent Living. She has been active as a local, state, and national leader and has been involved in senior management activities for several national and international non-profit disability organizations over the past 20 years. The current chair of the Maryland Statewide Independent Living Council, Ms. Roth also currently serves on the board of directors of the National Coalition for Disability Rights, the Spinal Cord Injury Network of the Greater Washington Area, and Access Information. She is also a commissioner on the Montgomery County Maryland Commission on Disability Issues. Ms. Roth has personal experience living with a disability and is the parent of two children with disabilities.

Miriam Spungen, BS

Ms. Spungen started at NRH in June of 2007 as a Research Assistant. She received her BS degree in Psychology from Syracuse University in 2007. She has a strong interest in conflict management and resolution. Ms. Spungen thoroughly enjoys working with people. For the RRTC, she has assumed the daily operation responsibilities of project R5, the longitudinal national survey on exercise and secondary conditions in adults with SCI, which includes data collection, tracking, entry and quality assurance. She will also aid in the operation of the Spinal Cord Disease database which includes patient recruitment and data extraction as well as assist in the tracking and entry for project R4, the comparison of exercise training formats in individuals with SCI.

Steve Towle

(February 14, 1952 – October 5, 2005)

It is with great sadness that we were informed the death of Steve Towle, President of the SCI Network, on October 5, 2005. Mr. Towle was active with our RRTC and Peer Mentor Program, working with Research Project R4 and Training Projects T1 and T2. He was a wonderful partner in our efforts to improve the lives of people with SCI. An enthusiastic collaborator and friend with a dry and witty sense of humor, Mr. Towle will be missed by not only the RRTC staff, but also the greater Washington, DC disability community.