| OPTT-RERC Leadership |
Carolee J. Winstein, PhD, PT (OPTT- RERC Director)
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Dr. Winstein is Professor, Director of the Motor Behavior and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, and Director of Research in the Department of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy at USC. She is known nationally and internationally for her work on the functional neural and behavioral basis of motor control and learning and its relationship to neurorehabilitation, and has published broadly on scientifically derived neurorehabilitation approaches to enhance upper extremity recovery after hemiparetic stroke. She has considerable experience in leading and administering large multidisciplinary clinical research programs. Dr. Winstein is Director of OPTT-RERC. |
Francisco Valero-Cuevas, PhD (Project 1 & Training and Education)
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Dr. Valero-Cuevas is Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Associate Professor of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy. Dr. Valero-Cuevas has been funded by NIH, NSF and the Whitaker Foundation to elucidate the fundamental principles of neuromuscular versatility in the control of dexterous manipulation of the human finger. Dr. Valero-Cuevas is principal investigator of the “Dexterous Manipulation with the Fingertips” project and Director of Training and Education. |
Albert 'Skip' Rizzo, PhD (Project 2)
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Dr. Rizzo is a Research Scientist at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), Director of the VRPSYCH laboratory, and Research Assistant Professor in the USC School of Gerontology. Dr. Rizzo is a pioneer in the development and deployment of virtual reality (VR) technologies in the diagnosis, assessment and rehabilitation of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Dr. Rizzo is principal investigator of the “Virtual Reality and Gaming for Home-Based Motor Assessment and Training” project. |
Philip Requejo, PhD (Project 3 & OPTT-RERC Co-Director)
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Dr. Requejo is Director of Rehabilitation Engineering Program at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Department of Kinesiology and Biomedical Engineering at USC. Dr. Requejo focuses on engineering solutions to enhance mobility in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and was co-Director of the NIDRR funded RERC on Spinal Cord Injury. Dr. Requejo is principal investigator of the “Optimizing Mobility in the Home and Community for Manual Wheelchair Users” project and co-Director of OPTT-RERC. |
Lucinda Baker, PhD, PT (Project 4)
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Dr. Baker is Associate Professor and Director of the Clinical Electrophysiology Laboratory in the Department of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy at USC. Her research focus is on the electrophysiology and neurophysiology of the human central nervous system (CNS), specifically the assessing the state of motorneuron and interneuron excitability at the level of the spinal cord. Dr. Baker is principal investigator of the "Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) for Mobility" project. |
Florence Clark, PhD, OT (Clinical Translation) |
Dr. Clark is a widely published and noted scholar in the following areas: development and dysfunction of sensory integration in children; maternal role behavior; the acquisition of independent living skills among adolescents with disabilities; and health promotion in the elderly and spinal cord injury and occupational science. Appointed as a charter member of the Academy of Research of the American Occupational Therapy Association AOTA), she received the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship, the highest academic honor of the AOTA. She is currently the President of AOTA. Dr. Clark is Director of Clinical Translation. |
Gisele Ragusa, PhD (Assessment & Evaluation)
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Dr. Ragusa is an Associate Professor in USC's Rossier School of Education and USC's Viterbi School of Engineering in the Division of Engineering Education. Her extensive evaluation research experience with both process and product foci enable her to engage in this comprehensive evaluation effort.
She is the Director of the Rossier School of Education, Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE) and the Associate Director of Educational and Outreach Assessment and Evaluation for USC's NSF funded BioMimetic Microelectronic Systems Engineering Research Center (BMES ERC). Dr. Ragusa is OPTT-RERC Director for Assessment and Evaluation. |
Eileen Crimmins, PhD (Gerontology/Policy) |
Dr. Crimmins is Associate Dean of Davis School of Gerontology, and Edna M. Jones Professor of Gerontology and Sociology. She is a world-renowned expert on the demography of aging, and is actively engaged in large-scale research projects that examine the link between aging and biological markers (e.g., blood pressure, immune function), as well as how the pace of change in these markers is related to education and income. She is Director for Multidisciplinary Research Training in Gerontology and Director of the USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health. She OPTT-RERC Director for Gerontology and Policy. |
Carl Kesselman, PhD (Dissemination & Technical Assistance)
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Dr. Kesselman is the Director of the Center for Grid Technologies at USC ISI and a Research Professor of Computer Science at USC. Dr. Kesselman's current research interests are all aspects of grid computing, including basic infrastructure, security, resource management, high-level services and grid applications. He was named one of the top 10 innovators of 2002 by InfoWorld Magazine. In 2003, he was named by MIT Technology Review as co-creator of one of the "10 technologies that will change the world." Dr. Kesselman is the Director for Dissemination and Technical Assistance for OPTT-RERC. |
Richard Nelson (Dissemination & Technical Assistance) |
Mr. Nelson is Director of Computing at USC's internationally recognized engineering and computer science research facility, Information Sciences Institute. Mr. Nelson's interests include web services and accessibility, and is assisting Dr. Kesselman with Dissemination and Technical Assistance for OPTT-RERC. |
Steven Cen, PhD Data Management
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Dr. Cen is Assistant Professor of Research in the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, with a joint appointment in Preventive Medicine. He has been actively involved in data cores for multi-centered studies and has extensive experience in monitoring and managing complex clinical studies. Dr. Cen is Director of Data Management |
USC Stevens Institute (Technology Transfer)
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USC Stevens Institute for Innovation is pioneering a new approach to innovation university-wide, by blending two very important strategic goals: effectively transferring USC ideas and intellectual property into society, and developing the next generation of innovators. USC Stevens staff is diversely qualified, with expertise in engineering, technology licensing and patent law. |
