News & Press
“During medical school in the 70s, I was told that in my professional career I might see two children with autism because autism was so rare. Since the mid 90s something drastically changed because from then until now I have examined thousands of such children. What happened and why? Together, as parents, clinicians, and scientists join hands with IBRF, we will discover the obvious answers that will lead us down the road to recovery.”
- James A. Neubrander, M.D., Director Comprehensive Neuroscience Center
“International Brain Research Foundation scientists stretch the boundaries of our knowledge about the brain, in order to help heal those who suffer from the most severe forms of brain injury.”
- Catherine A. Mazzola, MD, Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Atlantic Health Systems, Goryeb Children’s Hospital.
“IBRF has generated ground breaking, cutting edge brain research and novel, advanced care algorithims that demonstrate great promise for arousing patients who are in vegetative states.”
- Charles J. Prestigiacomo, MD, FACS, Associate Professor and Director of the Cerebrovascular Center, Dept. of Neurological Surgery and Radiology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
“IBRF is one of the few clinical research groups in the country that is committed to tackling the most severe types of brain injury.”
- Gerald Voelbel, PhD, Neuroscientist, New York University.
“The International Brain Research Foundation is bringing hope to those who are often forgotten: our young injured military veterans who lie in coma.”
- Jonathan Fellus, MD, Director of the Brain Injury Program, Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation.
“The International Brain Research Foundation cares about our wounded soldiers, their families, and their futures.”
- Joanne Brennan, mother of wounded warrior, First Lieutenant Brian Brennan.
The Domalewski Family Fund, An Update on Steven & A Thank You For Your Support...
Steven Domalewski was in a coma at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson, N.J., for months after his resuscitation in early 2006 after a line drive to the chest off a metal bat stopped his heart.
On June 6, 2006, Steven was hit by a line drive during a Police Athletic League baseball game in Wayne, N.J. He sustained commotio cordis, a rare and often fatal disruption of the heart's electrical system caused by a sharp impact to the chest at a precise moment between heartbeats.
Steven Yabek, a pediatric cardiologist in Albuquerque who has written extensively about commotio cordis, said that of almost 140 cases reported... about 15 percent of the patients survived.
DeFina, whose teenage daughter piqued his interest when she showed him a newspaper article about Steven, said Thursday that Steven was still in a persistent vegetative state, but that he was slowly improving.
The International Brain Research Foundation, which works with Bellevue Hospital Center, is a privately financed organization of doctors and researchers. They are treating Steven at no charge, DeFina said.
In 2008, the IBRF hosted a series of intimate gatherings for families of patients who have benefited from IBRF protocols in clinical settings, as well as foundation donors at the New York Association of the Bar and other locations in New Jersey and Washington, DC. IBRF delivered updates about federal grants, as well as institutional and private endowments identified for the foundation in the coming fiscal year. The IBRF participated in a major medical research conference in October 2008 in Patterson, NJ.
In December 2007, the IBRF hosted a fundraiser at The Harvard Club of New York to honor the patient families that have benefited from IBRF provided protocols to present both defining goals for the immediate future as well as expanding the mission of the organization to educate the public about resources available.
Current Industry News:
- Popular Science — Frontiers of Medicine, Radical Cures: Waking up the Braid-Dead By: Corey Binns, Popular Science. March 2, 2010.
- The Washington Times — "Citizen Journalism: Brain Recovery Making Strides," By Aaron Marcus, Special to the Washington Times, July 30, 2009.
- Newsday.com — "Injured Nassau Cop Takes A Stand But Does Not Speak," By Ann Givens, June 9, 2009.
- Newsday.com — "Simple Justice: As Blatant As It Gets," A New York Criminal Defense Blog, June 10, 2009.
- RedOrbit.com — "Dr. Philip A. DeFina of International Brain Research Foundation Joins Montgomery Academy Board of Trustees," June 11, 2009.
- Military.com — “Brain-injured GIs Could Number 360,000,” from the Associated Press, published March 2009.
- AARP — “When Wounded Vets Come Home,” by Barry Yeoman, published July & August 2008.
- The New York Times — “Doctors Say Medication Is Overused in Dementia,” by Laurie Tarkan, published June 24, 2008.
- The New York Times — “Vital Signs Aging: Cue the Lights and Help Dementia,” by Eric Nagourney, published June 17, 2008.
- The New York Times — “Weighing Nondrug Options for A.D.H.D.,” by Tara Parker-Pope, published June 17, 2008.
- The New York Times — “Holding On to Hope,” by Michael Winerip, published February 10, 2008.
- American Legion article — Dr. Philip DeFina Interview.
- Newsweek — “Welcome to Max's World,” cover story by Mary Carmichael, published May 26, 2008.
- New York Magazine — “The Autism Rights Movement,” by Andrew Solomon, published June 2, 2008.
- The New York Times — “Empathy for the Brain, After Insult and Injury,” by William Grimes, published April 2, 2008.
- The New York Times — “Hit in Chest by Line Drive, a 12-Year-Old Player Remains in a Coma,” by Nate Schweber, published July 16, 2006.
- The New York Times — “The Sergeant Lost Within,” by Daniel Bergener, published May 25, 2008.
- USA Today Nation — “Sago Survivor Appears to Be Coming Out of Coma.”
- USA Today Nation — “Sago Mine Survivor Set to Head Home,” by Emily Bazar.
- U.S. News & World Report — “Keeping Your Brain Fit,” by Christine Larson, published February 11, 2008.
- Wall Street Journal — “Doctors Use Estrogen to Treat Memory Loss in Older Women,” by Melinda Beck, published March 18, 2008.
- Wall Street Journal — “Shape of Things to Come,” by David Orozco and James Conley, published May 12, 2008.
- 59 WVNS — “Randal McCloy's Doctors Also in the National Spotlight.”
Archived IBRF News
- Best Practices in School Neuropsychology: Guidelines for Effective Practice, Assessment, and Evidence-Based Intervention — Chapter 7, "The Application of Neuroscience to the Practice of School Neuropsychology," by Daniel C. Miller & Philip A. DeFina, published Nov 2, 2009.
- Developmental Neuropsychology — "Autism and EEG Phase Reset: Deficient GABA Mediated Inhibition in Thalamo-Cortical Circuits" with Philip A. DeFina, published 2009.
- The Clinical Neuropsychologist — Special Issue: "Proceedings of the International Conference on Behavioral Health and Traumatic Brain Injury," published 2009.
- The Clinical Neuropsychologist — "The New Neuroscience Frontier: Promoting Neuroplasticity and Brain Repair in Traumatic Brain Injury," with Philip A. DeFina, published 2009.
- Martial Artists Fundraiser — “Day of a Thousand Punches,” Atlantic City, NJ, published January 6, 2007.
- Exceptional Parent — PDF Magazine article on “The International Brain Research Foundation,” published September 2006.
- The Bergen Record — “The Presents Are Waiting for the Day He Wakes Up,” by Margaret K. Collins, published August 1, 2006.
- The New York Times — “Hit in Chest by Line Drive, a 12-Year-Old Player Remains in a Coma,” by Nate Schweber, published July 16, 2006.
- The Bergen Record — “Doctor: Boy Still in Coma, But 'Definitely Improved,'” by Margaret K. Collins, published July 16, 2006.
- Daily Record — “Seeking a Way to Counter Autism,” by Jake Remaly, published June 11, 2006.
- Recorder Newspapers — “Chester Township Scientist Battles Autism,” by Phil Garber, published May 25, 2006.
- MassMutual Financial Group/Exceptional Parent — “Summit Financial Resources/Mass Mutual to Sponsor Disability Awareness Night at New York Yankees Game,” by Kathleen Gilroy and Patrick Collins, published May 2006.
Dr. Philip A. DeFina (center) was recently nominated at a New Jersey Monthly magazine event in Montclair, NJ for next year's list of “Top Doctors in New Jersey.”
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