International Brain Research Foundation
Scientific Advisors

Dr. Philip A. De Fina, Ph.D. - Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer

As Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of the International Brain Research Foundation, Inc., Dr. Philip A. DeFina will be spearheading the collaborations among top neuroscientists and research facilities around the world by facilitating and coordinating cutting-edge research. Under his leadership, IBRF is in a position to accelerate the scientific findings that are key to solving the complex issues in the area of brain health.

Dr. DeFina is a well-known author, lecturer, and clinician. He was a Guest Researcher at the National Institutes of Health and was a member of the international neuroscience subcommittee of The World Health Organization. He has been a pioneer in developing and directing national clinical training programs in the cognitive neurosciences. His numerous collaborative efforts with prestigious research centers throughout the world has evolved into the creation of the framework which led to the formation of the IBRF.

The IBRF areas of interest include major psychiatric disorders; movement disorders; disorders of consciousness; autism spectrum disorders; learning disabilities; chronic pain syndromes; and biometrics. A multimodal model utilizing neuroimaging, neurophysiology, neuropsychology, genetic mapping, and nanotechnology will be combined with neuropsychopharmacology, stereotactic neurosurgery, transcranial electromagnetic stimulation, and neurofeedback. Lastly, a model will be developed for normal and pathological brain aging and neuroplasticity throughout the age spectrum and advances in computational neuroscience to develop intelligent machines and novel generation of IT science.

Julian E. Bailes, MD

Julian E. Bailes, MD, is the chair of West Virginia University's Department of Neurosurgery and a specialist in the surgical management of complex aneurysms. "The brain is a fascinating, complex organ, and we are learning more about its structure and function every day," says Bailes. "Neurosurgery is an exciting field, with new discoveries and new treatments being developed at a rapid pace."

Dr. Bailes' research includes a study sponsored by the National Football League Players Association on head injuries among professional football players. Team physicians frequently consult him for his expertise in this area. He has also researched the effects of hypothermia and shock, and has been honored for his work in telemedicine. He serves on the editorial board of several prominent publications.

Prior to joining the faculty of WVU, Dr. Bailes served as medical director for the EMS of Osceola County and the Greater Orlando Metropolitan Area in Florida from 1998-2000. He also led the cerebrovascular surgery program at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh from 1988 to 1997.

Dr. Bailes received his medical degree from Louisiana State University and completed his residency and advanced training at Northwestern University in Chicago and the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.

Gary S. Belkin, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.

Dr. Belkin is a psychiatrist who currently serves as Deputy Director of Psychiatry at Bellevue Hospital and as Associate Professor, New York University School of Medicine. He joins this experience with a doctorate in history in an interest in the factors that shape how knowledge about the brain, mind, and consciousness evolves, is used, and is socially contexted. He has published work on the nature of ethics in medicine, the uses and contexts of mind-brain constructions in medicine and society, the impact and meanings of the idea of social psychiatry, and is completing a book manuscript exploring the history of the idea of brain-death and mid-20th century management of severe coma.

Over the years, he has held several leadership positions overseeing public psychiatry and forensic services and he routinely testifies in forensic cases. He has particular experience in the historical context of medical patents, mental health theories, and ethical issues. His residency was at Massachusetts General Hospital and he has held an appointment at Harvard Medical School for many years. Dr. Belkin also works with the United Nations on international mental health rights.

In addition to serving as a scientific advisor for IBRF, Dr. Belkin is the foundation’s official historian as well.

Niels Birbaumer, Ph.D.

Prof. Niels Birbaumer, born 1945, Ph.D. 1969, University of Vienna, Austria: Ph.D. in Biological Psychology, Art History and Statistics. 1975-1993 Full Professor of Clinical and Physiological Psychology, University of Tübingen, Germany. 1986-1988 Full Professor of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, USA. Since 1993 Professor of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Tübingen and Professor of Clinical Psychophysiology, University of Padova, Italy. Since 2002 Director of the Center of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Trento, Italy.

Research topics: Neuronal basis of learning and plasticity. Neurophysiology & Psychophysiology of pain. Neuroprosthetics, Neurorehabilitation. More than 450 publications in peer-reviewed journals. 12 books.

Among many awards: Leibniz-Award of the German Research Society (DFG), member of the German Academy of Science and Literature, President of the European Association of Behavior Therapy, Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine and the American Association of Applied Psychophysiology. Award for Research in Neuromuscular Diseases, Wilhelm-Wundt-Medal of the German Society of Psychology, and the Albert Einstein Award of the World Cultural Council.

Ralph Cancro, Ph.D.

Dr. Ralph Cancro received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University in New York City, N.Y. He has practiced in this area of psychology for fifty three years. At the Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains, N.Y. he served as Director of Psychological Services for 23 years, and as Co-Director of Mental Health Services for a similar period of time. While at the Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, in addition to clinical and supervisory responsibilities, he initiated and participated in research projects, lectured in seminars, and conducted workshops at colleges and universities in the tri-state area. Following his tenure at the Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, he was an attending psychologist at St. Agnes Hospital and Medical Center in White Plains, New York.

His professional affiliations include the American Psychological Association, the Westchester Psychological Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Honorary Society in Psychology, and the Association of Rehabilitation Facilities of New York State, an organization in which he served as President in 1965-1966. The rank of Professor Emeritus in Psychology was conferred by Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York. Dr. Cancro is a veteran of World War II, having served in the Air Transport Command of the United States Army Air Corp.

Dr. Cancro’s published and unpublished papers range from Psychological Disabilities of Cerebral Palsy, Psychotherapeutic Approaches in Cerebral Palsy, Learning Disabilities, to Laterality of Brain Lesion and Intellectual Dysfunction.

Mukund S. Chorghade, Ph.D.

Dr. Mukund Chorghade is currently President of Chorghade Enterprises / CP Consulting, Inc. in Natick, MA, and Chief Scientific Officer of D & O Pharmachem. Dr. Chorghade provides consultation to major American and European pharmaceutical companies on collaborations with worldwide academic, government, and industrial laboratories.

He earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Poona in India; and earned his Ph. D. in organic chemistry from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He has had postdoctoral and visiting scientist appointments at the University of Virginia, Harvard University, University of British Columbia, and College de France/Universite’ Louis Pasteur. He has also directed research groups at Dow Chemicals, Abbott Laboratories, and CytoMed. Currently, he is an adjunct faculty member at Harvard University, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, University of Pune, Wellesley College, and Tufts University.

Dr. Chorghade is the recipient of several “Scientist of the Year” awards, has been a featured speaker at national and international symposiums, and is a member of the American Chemical Society, Maharashtra Academy of Sciences, Royal Society of Chemistry, New York Academy of Sciences, American Institute of Chemists, Indian Society of Bio-Organic Chemists, AAAS, and Sigma Xi.

Joseph Colombo, Ph.D.

Dr. Colombo is currently the Medical Director and Executive Vice-President at Ansar, Inc. where his specialty is in the neurosciences and his clinical interest is in the autonomic nervous system. He has authored, co-authored and published over 40 abstracts and papers for a number of publications over the years, including AHA abstract, Critical Care Medicine, and Fourth Annual Diabetes Technology Meeting.

He is a professor of Science and Technology at Bucks County Community College, a researcher and a lecturer. For over 17 years he did consulting research for the military and NASA in the areas of life support systems, physiologic measurement devices, signal processing and telemetry systems, data compression systems, and communications and control systems. Medical Societies he is associated with include The Acoustical Society of America, The American Heart Association, The Society of Critical Care Medicine, The American Institute of Physics, The Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, and The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.

Dr. Colombo obtained his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology, M.S. in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester, Medical Center, and his Ph. D. in Neuroscience (specialty in Bio Medical Engineering) from the University of Rochester, Medical Center.

Edwin B. Cooper, Jr., M.D., P.A.

Dr. Cooper is currently an Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Consultant at Lenoir Memorial Hospital in Kinston, North Carolina. He assists on total joint operations and lumbar spine fusions. He has been a practicing orthopaedic specialist for over 30 years, and is a known speaker and researcher throughout the United States and internationally. Past research activities include the SCANS Projects, VECTOR Project, COAST Project, VOQUEST Project, Quadriplegic Stimulation Project, and Paraplegic Electrical Stimulation Project.

He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Duke University and Duke University School of Medicine. He maintains membership in the following organizations: Eastern Orthopaedic Association, John Jane Neurosurgery Society, Research Society of Neurological Surgeons, Advisory Board to the Academy for Multidisciplinary Neurotraumatology, University and Medical Center Institutional Review Board of East Carolina University, and American Society for Engineering Education.

Dr. Cooper has also authored and co-authored articles and papers in several publications and periodicals dealing with nerve stimulation and electrical treatment. Dr. Cooper has also received numerous awards for his service and research from National Association of Superintendents of Public Residential Facilities for MR, Outstanding Physician of the Year, National Health Care Professional of the year, to name a few.

James B. Cooper, MD

Dr. Cooper is currently an Associate Professor at East Carolina University, Department of Neurology. He is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at Pitt County Memorial Hospital University Health System and Virginia Commonwealth University Health System - specializing in Internal Medicine and Neurology respectively.

He has authored and co-authored articles and papers for publications, lectured at conferences and seminars, and researched topics from coma treatment to headache management and stroke imaging to synaptic facilitation and actin. Dr. Cooper has received numerous honors and awards for his work in neurology and internal medicine.

Dr. Cooper is a member of several organizations including American Academy of Neurology, American Medical Association, and American Society of Neuroimaging. He received his B.A. in Honors Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, M. S. in Cell Biology of the Neuron from East Carolina University, and M.D. from Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.

Stuart Lawrence Cutler, ABSNP

Stuart Cutler is a Diplomate in School Neuropsychology and is employed as a school neuropsychologist with the New York City Department of Education. He is a graduate of City University of New York - Brooklyn College's School Psychology program, and he completed advanced training in School Neuropsychology at Texas Women's University. He previously served on the NYC Department of Education's Chancellor's Task Force for Autistic Spectrum Disorders and has been committed to the study of autism for the past 20 years. In addition to working within New York City, Mr. Cutler was also a school psychologist and consultant for autistic spectrum disorders for the Clark County School District in Nevada.

In addition to his clinical work, Mr. Cutler has worked as an educator for children with autism and has appeared as a guest lecturer for various higher learning institutions and parent groups. Mr. Cutler has currently been focusing on developing specific educational initiatives for students diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, including a middle school program specifically designed to provide educational support to ensure students' success within the general education environment. Mr. Cutler is a frequent lecturer on Autistic Spectrum Disorders. He is developing a resource center for parents, educators, and professionals to further their knowledge on autism.

John DeLuca, PhD, ABPP

John DeLuca, Ph.D. is the Director of Neuroscience Research and Vice President for Research Training at the Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research and Education Corporation (KMRREC), a Professor in the Departments of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R), and Neurology and Neuroscience at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School (UMDNJ-NJMS), and a licensed psychologist in the states of New Jersey and New York.

Dr. DeLuca devotes 100% of his time to research and training. He is currently studying disorders of memory and information processing in a variety of clinical populations, including Multiple Sclerosis, aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Traumatic Brain Injury. Dr. DeLuca has published more than 275 articles, abstracts, and chapters in these areas. He is on the editorial board of several journals and served as the editor for the special issue of the journal NeuroRehabilitation on Multiple Sclerosis and a special issue on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for the journal Applied Neuropsychology. Dr. DeLuca is listed in “Who Is Who in Science and Engineering, 1994-1995.”

Dr. DeLuca is the recipient of early career awards for his research from both the American Psychological Association (Division 40: Clinical Neuropsychology) and the National Academy of Neuropsychology. He also received the Distinguished Researcher Award in 2005 from the New Jersey Psychological Association. He is a member of, and chair of the Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellowship Committee in the Department of PM&R at UMDNJ-NJMS and directs the post-doctoral fellowship program in Neuropsychology in the Department. He is also a member, and past Chair of the IRB at KMRREC. Dr. DeLuca serves on numerous committees for both national and international societies associated with Neuropsychology.

Dr. DeLuca received his B.A. in Psychology from William Paterson University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology (Behavioral Neuroscience) from State University of New York at Binghamton.

Ralph DePalo, Ph.D.

Dr. Ralph DePalo received his B.A. in Gerontology from Iona College. He went on to receive his Master’s Degree from Fordham University and received a full scholarship from the National Institute of Mental Health in Gerontological Community Mental Health. He received his analytic post-graduate certificate in psychoanalytic training from The Alfred Adler Institute in New York City. He obtained his Ph.D. in Clinical Social Work from New York University’s Ehrenkranz School of Social Work.

Dr. DePalo currently is an adjunct associate professor at New York University. He teaches advanced Clinical Practice with Individuals and Families in the Graduate School of Clinical Social Work and psychology in the undergraduate School of Continuing Professional Studies liberal arts program. His courses in psychology include Abnormal Psychology, Death, Dying, and Bereavement from a Developmental perspective and special topics in the Psychology of Spirituality.

His professional affiliations include the National Association of Social Workers and the Academy of Certified Social Workers. He is a Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work. His areas of expertise include working with the frail older adult and the chronically and terminally ill. He is a Board member of the Inter Agency Council on Aging of lower Manhattan. His research interests include grief, bereavement, and brain function in eating disorders.

Wlodzislaw Duch, Ph.D.

Currently, Dr. Duch is the Head of the Department of Informatics at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland. He received his Bachelor of Science in Physics, his Master of Science in Theoretical Physics, and his Doctoral degree in Quantum Chemistry from Nicolaus Copernicus University. His post-doctoral work was done at the University of Southern California. He has been a lecturer and visiting professor/scientist throughout Europe, Japan, and the United States.

Dr. Duch’s area of research interest is child and infant development and care. He is currently working on a project in this area. His published works on this subject and others have appeared in journals and magazines and been presented at many conferences and meetings.

His professional memberships are widespread but include Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Polish Physical Society, International Neural Network Society, and Polish Academy of Sciences.

Kamran Fallahpour, Ph.D.

Dr. Fallahpour received a doctoral in clinical psychology from the Fielding Graduate Institute and completed his training at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital. He is currently the director of Brain Resource Assessment and Treatment Center of New York, and a department of psychiatry faculty member at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. He is also a co-founder of the Institute of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Performance (INCP).

Dr. Fallahpour specializes in assessment and treatment of neurophysiological and psychological disorders using advanced neurophysiological monitoring systems including neurofeedback, and other forms of brain computer interface. His clinical work includes the use of these modalities in assessment and treatment of various clinical disorders including traumatic brain injury (TBI), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Autism, mood disorders, and learning disabilities.

Dr. Fallahpour has also been active in the design and implementation of various applications of physiological monitoring systems and brain computer interface for research, clinical practice, and cognitive assessment and training. He also collaborated in the development and establishment of standardized benchmark in qEEG databases for the first integrative international database of brain and autonomic functions. In addition to his clinical practice and research activities, he remains active in design and refinement of physiological and cognitive monitoring systems and human-computer interface.

Jonathan Fellus, M.D.

Dr. Fellus is currently the Director of Brain Injury Services and Director of the Spasticity Clinic at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation. He completed his medical internship at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and completed neurology training at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. He also completed a Neurorehabilitation Fellowship at University of Maryland Medical System’s Kernan Rehabilitation Hospital, with a focus on brain injury rehabilitation.

He is a frequent lecturer on brain injury topics and is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosciences at UMDNJ. He sits on the Board of Directors for the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey, the Physician’s Advisory Board of the Epilepsy Foundation of New Jersey, and the American Society of Neurorehabilitation; and has been appointed to the Governor’s panel on brain injury research.

Dr. Fellus has been named by his peers as among the Best Doctors in New Jersey/New York Metro area. Publication topics that he has contributed to are neurorehabilitation and brain injury rehabilitation. He supports research in these areas with a particular interest in neuropsychopharmacological management of posttraumatic cognitive, behavioural and mood/emotional disorders as well as promoting motor and functional recover through the use of pharmacologic agents.

He has assisted in establishing the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation’s Severe Disorders of Consciousness Program which has led to a significant increase in the number of patients being referred regionally and nationally.

Elkhonon Goldberg, Ph.D.

Dr. Goldberg is an author, scientist, educator, and clinician, internationally known for his clinical work, research writings and teaching in neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience. He is a Clinical Professor of Neurology at New York University School of Medicine, Diplomate of The American Board of Professional Psychology in Clinical Neuropsychology, and Director of The East-West Science and Education Foundation.

In addition, Dr. Goldberg serves on the faculties of Columbia University, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, The City University of New York, and the Fielding Institute.

Dr. Goldberg has over 20 years of experience in cognitive rehabilitation, neuropsychological diagnosis, and forensic neuropsychology; and has contributed to many cases throughout the United States. His specific areas of expertise are executive deficit, memory disorders, attention deficit disorder, dementia, and traumatic brain injury. A student and close associate of the great neuropsychologist Alexandr Luria, Elkhonon Goldberg has continued and advanced his scientific and clinical tradition.

Giacinto Grieco, MD

Dr. Grieco currently works as a Drug & Medical Device Development Consultant to a wide variety of companies throughout the United States. In addition, he is an Associate Professor of Neurology at New York University School of Medicine. Dr. Grieco received his Bachelor of Arts from New York University, in New York City, his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin, and performed his medical residency in New York City at Cabrini Medical Center.

Dr. Grieco is a teacher and researcher specializing in quantitative investigation in neurology, and is called upon to lecture around the world. He has been appointed to the American Academy of Neurology, Stroke Council of the American Heart Association, International Association for the Study of Pain, and the American Society for Experimental Neuro Therapeutics.

Dr. Grieco has authored and co-authored many articles and papers in the neurology field in published magazines and journals.

James B. Hale, Ph.D.

Dr. James B. Hale is Associate Professor and Associate Director of Clinical Training in the Department of Psychology at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Hale has taught undergraduates, graduate students, and medical residents/fellows in departments of psychology, pediatrics, neurology, and neuroscience, and has served children and families in a variety of school, hospital, and residential settings.

He has a M.Ed. in Special Education with teaching endorsements in Learning Disabilities and Behavior Disorders from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a Ph.D. in School Psychology with specialties in Neuropsychology and Research Methodology from Loyola University Chicago. Dr. Hale attended the Ohio State University School of Medicine and Columbus Children’s Hospital for postdoctoral training where he continued to explore brain-behavior relationships in children with traumatic brain injury and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Dr. Hale has had more than 100 professional presentations and 35 publications in the neuropsychology of child learning and behavior disorders, including his critically-acclaimed book, School Neuropsychology: A Practitioner’s Handbook. Dr. Hale has pursued multiple lines of research, including studies that examine language and psychosocial functions associated with right hemisphere dysfunction, challenge assumptions about standardized cognitive assessment and the validity of global IQ scores for children with disabilities, and explore frontal-subcortical circuit dysfunction in ADHD and medication response. His Cognitive Hypothesis Testing model (with Dr. Fiorello of Temple University) serves practitioners with a method for linking assessment results to meaningful interventions within the context of a problem-solving paradigm.

Currently, he is Principal Investigator for the Student Neuropsychological Assessment Profiles for Innovative Teaching (SNAP-FIT) project, which provides neuropsychological assessment and intervention services to inner-city children in the Philadelphia schools.

Max J. Hilz, M.D.

Dr. Hilz is Professor of Neurology, Director of Neurocritical Care and Vice-Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. He is also Professor of Neurology, Medicine and Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York.

He received his medical degree at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, and holds German Boards in Neurology, Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Neurological Intensive Care Medicine. His main research focus is on disorders of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and its control by the central nervous system. The ANS is that widespread and important part of our nervous system that assures adequate function, interaction, and adjustment of all organs and bodily functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, organ perfusion, bladder, bowel, reproductive function, temperature control, sleep or wakefulness, etc. While we have no volitional control over the ANS, it interacts with many different centers of our brain including those that control and process emotions.

Dr. Hilz has conducted numerous clinical and research studies to better understand the mechanisms of the ANS. Many of his studies show the critical influence of brain lesions on cardiovascular function, the effects of brain surgery on cardiac and blood pressure control, the influence of emotional stimuli, such as pictures or music of varying emotional valence, on patients with brain lesions due to trauma or stroke. His worldwide collaborations include many of the leading experts and centers of autonomic nervous system research.

To date, Dr. Hilz has published more than 230 research articles and book chapters and gave several hundred scientific presentations. He is a sought after lecturer and speaker who has presented his research results to the leading national / international research societies and universities as well as public institutions such as the United Nations.

His research focuses on better understanding the clinical mechanisms leading to dysfunction of the central ANS and to subsequent life-threatening complications such as the so-called sudden unexplained death, a fatal secondary complication occurring in a large number of patients with brain lesions of various causes. The goal of his work is to better understand the principle of autonomic dysfunction and to improve therapy options, quality of life, and life expectancy of patients with autonomic disorders due to brain lesions and dysfunction.

Dr. Hilz is the President of the European Federation of Autonomic Societies, the Chair-Elect of the Autonomic Section of the American Academy of Neurology, and President of the German Autonomic Society. In addition, he is a board member of many scientific societies.

Clark S. Homan, MD, MBA, FACEP

Dr. Homan graduated from the Sophie Davis Center for Biomedical Education and received his medical degree from Howard Medical School in Washington, D.C. He also received an MBA from Dowling College. Board certified in Emergency Medicine, Dr. Homan has served as Associate Professor in the school of medicine at Stony Brook, New York, and has been an invited lecturer and presenter around the country.

Dr. Homan has written several medical textbook chapters and published many original research articles. He has presented original research at numerous national scientific meetings. His works have appeared in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, the Academic Emergency Medicine, the Yearbook of Emergency Medicine, and the American College of Emergency Physicians Empire State EPIC.

Currently, Dr. Homan practices in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Mercy Medical Center in New York. He has a special interest in traumatic brain injury, coma, and learning disabilities.

Wlodzimierz Klonowski, Ph.D., D.Sc.

Dr. Klonowski is the Head of the Lab of Biosignal Analysis Fundamentals at the Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering located at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland. He holds a Master of Science (M.S.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and a Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) degree from the University of Warsaw, the Polish Academy of Sciences, and Humboldt University in Berlin, respectively.

In addition to being a researcher, a professor, an author, a lecturer, and a Fellow, he is a distinguished member of several organizations including New York Academy of Sciences, American Association of University Professors, Polish Physical Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Currently, he is involved in the research of a new method for monitoring the depth of anesthesia and a new method for drivers’ vigilance monitoring.

Joel F. Lubar, Ph.D.

Dr. Joel Lubar received his B.S. and Ph.D. from the Division of the Biological Sciences and Department of Biopsychology at the University of Chicago. He has published more than 85 papers, numerous book chapters, as well as eight books in the areas of Neuroscience and Applied Psychophysiology. Also, he has served as an editor for several professional journals.

He has held the position of Assistant Professor at the University of Rochester. Leaving behind his Associate Professorship, he is currently Full Professor at the University of Tennessee.

Dr. Lubar is the past president of AABP (Association for Applied Psychophysiology). He has been the president of the Academy of Certified Neurotherapists, which now offers specialty certifications in EEG Biofeedback as part of the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America (BCIA). He has also been the president of the EEG Division of the AAPB. He has served on the BCIA Board of Directors, and as a member of the executive board of the AAPB. He was previously an officer on the board of the Biofeedback Research Society. He was the first President of the Biofeedback Society of Tennessee. Since 1979, he has been co-director of the Southeastern Biofeedback and Neurobehavioral Institute, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Dr. Lubar has presented his research at many workshops in Europe, South America, Canada, Israel, Australia, and to many State and National meetings of Biofeedback Organizations.

Dr. Lubar was responsible for developing the use of EEG Biofeedback (Neurofeedback) as a treatment modality for children, adolescents, and adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, starting with his controlled studies in the mid-1970's. This application of Neurofeedback is now becoming widespread in clinics and schools throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Israel, Europe and Mexico. Currently, more than 1500 health care organizations are using the EEG biofeedback protocols that Dr. Lubar has developed.

Allen Maniker, M.D.

Dr. Allen Maniker is a Professor of Neurological Surgery at the New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey, where he is also the director of Neurotrauma for University Hospital, one of the largest level I trauma centers in the Northeastern United States.

Dr. Maniker received his M.D. degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, his hometown. He completed his residency in Neurological Surgery at the New Jersey Medical School in 1993 and remained on as faculty. He completed a fellowship in Neurotrauma at the Medical College of Virginia under Dr. Anthony Marmarou and Peripheral Nerve Fellowship at the University of Louisianna under Dr. David Kline. He did additional fellowship work with Dr. Michel Kliot at the University of Washington.

He has published extensively in the fields of Neurotrauma and Peripheral Nerve and as co-investigator holds several NIH grants in these areas.

Joseph T. Morandi, D.O.

Dr. Morandi received his medical degree from New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his internship and residency within the St. Barnabas Healthcare System in Livingston, New Jersey. He is an experienced family practice physician committed to establishing a private practice rooted in the neighborhood medical traditions of his childhood in Brooklyn.

Dr. Morandi believes that modern medicine should be guided purely by individual patient need, not the cost-cutting requirements of managed health care — and he has found a way to return to that valued tradition. He established Private Physician Services where patients experience old-fashioned service that enables the doctor to be what he should be: a health care advocate who can utilize the best that modern medicine can offer for each of his patients.

Dr. Morandi is board certified in Family Practice by the American Osteopathic Association, and maintains hospital affiliations with Morristown Memorial Hospital in Morristown, New Jersey, JFK Memorial Hospital in Edison, New Jersey, and Somerset Medical Center in Somerset, New Jersey.

Michael T. Murray, N.D.

Michael T. Murray is widely regarded as one of the world's leading authorities on natural medicine. Dr. Murray is a graduate, faculty member, and serves on the Board of Regents of Bastyr University in Seattle, WA. He is co-author of A Textbook of Natural Medicine, the definitive textbook on naturopathic medicine for physicians, as well as the consumer version - the Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. He has also written more than 20 other books including Dr. Murray’s Total Body Tune-Up, The Pill Book Guide to Natural Medicines, and The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. Dr. Murray is Director of Product Development and Education for Natural Factors, a major manufacturer of nutritional and herbal supplements.

Dr. Murray has been instrumental in bringing many effective natural products to America, including Glucosamine sulfate, St. John’s wort extract, Gingko biloba extract, Saw palmetto berry extract, and others.

For the past 20 years, Dr. Murray has been compiling a massive database of original scientific studies from medical literature. He has personally collected more than 50,000 articles from scientific literature that provide strong evidence on the effectiveness of diet, vitamins, minerals, glandular extracts, herbs, and other natural measures in the maintenance of health and the treatment of disease. It is from this constantly expanding database that Dr. Murray provides the answers on health and healing.

Dr. Murray has dedicated his life to educating physicians, patients, and the general public on the tremendous healing power of nature. In addition to his books which have cumulative sales of over two million copies sold, Dr. Murray has written numerous articles for major publications, appeared on hundreds of radio and TV programs, and lectured to hundreds of thousands of people nationwide.

James A. Neubrander, M.D.

Dr. Neubrander received his M.D. degree from Loma Linda University in 1975, after which he completed his residency in pathology at the University of South Florida. Currently he is in private practice in New Jersey where he dedicates the majority of his time treating children with autism, ADD, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental and learning disorders. He travels extensively and speaks at national and international conferences and symposiums based on his expertise in effectively helping these children with new treatments or modifications of established protocols in order to enhance clinical outcomes beyond the results that are classically reported by parents, teachers, and therapists.

Dr. Neubrander is known as “The Father of Methyl-B12.” In 2002, his career changed dramatically after he accidentally discovered the incredible power that the methyl form of the common B12 vitamin exhibited in children with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders by eliciting significantly increased executive function, speech and language, as well as socialization and emotion. Since that time, a large percentage of his research efforts have been directed at perfecting various protocols in order to improve the delivery and effectiveness of this therapy. The impact of his discovery of methylcobalamin is currently being realized worldwide by tens of thousands of children and adults, not only for neurodevelopmental disorders but also for numerous acute and chronic diseases that affect the brain, either directly or indirectly.

In addition to his work with methylcobalamin, Dr. Neubrander has pioneered the use of hyperbaric oxygen for children on the autistic spectrum. While his protocols have incorporated the standard principles of hyperbaric therapy that have been used for years, he has expanded them to include other mechanisms of action previously unknown or little discussed. By using advanced hyperbaric treatment protocols, he has been able to produce speech very quickly in many children who previously had minimal to no language, to increase socialization that at times approaches that seen in neurotypical children, to augment awareness by twofold or more, and have children not infrequently lose their diagnosis and become virtually indistinguishable from their peers.

The goal of his life work is to combine evidence-based medicine with innovative treatments that integrate the best of all worlds for the common goal he believes we all share - that is, to treat each patient as an individual in order to find the most effective and safe treatments to help those patients today.

Theresa Louise-Bender Pape, Dr. PH

Dr. Pape is a Clinical Neuroscientist with the Veterans Administration's (VA) Rehabilitation Research and Development (RR&D) Service, an Assistant Professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and a Clinical Research Associate with Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton, Illinois.

Dr. Pape earned her master of arts (MA) degree in speech-language pathology from Western Michigan University in 1986. She provided speech-language services to persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) for several years. Dr. Pape then completed a pre-doctoral fellowship with the VA Health Services Research and Development Service in 1999 as well as earning her doctorate of public health (Dr. PH) from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1999. Dr. Pape completed a post-doctoral fellowship in 2001 at Northwestern's Institute for Health Services Research and Policy Studies (IHSRPS), which is an Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training Program co-sponsored by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) and the National Research Service Awards (NRSA). Dr. Pape was also awarded a Merit Switzer fellowship through NIDRR. After completing this fellowship in 2001 Dr. Pape went on to receive three consecutive career development awards with the VA RR&D service to study: rehabilitation measurement and outcomes post severe TBI; to study advanced neurosciences and neural plasticity; and neural plasticity in neurorehabilitation after TBI.

Dr. Pape's pre- and post-doctoral training cut across the traditional boundaries of medical rehabilitation research, and this training builds on her clinical experiences in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Dr. Pape applies and synthesizes her advanced training in neurosciences, neural plasticity, CNS repair mechanisms, measurement/psychometrics, outcomes, statistical analyses and research design to enable examinations of the efficacy and effectiveness of neurorehabilitation after TBI. Dr. Pape's research career objective is to conceptualize and develop rehabilitation interventions according to derived evidence to shape and guide CNS repair to ultimately lead to functional recovery after severe TBI. Dr. Pape has also provided her expertise to research projects examining TBI of all severities as well as projects examining assistive technology and spinal cord injury.

Gert Pfurtscheller, Ph.D.

Dr. Pfurtscheller is Professor for Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) at the University of Technology in Graz, Austria, and Director of the Institute for Knowledge Discovery and Head of the Laboratory of Brain-Computer Interfaces. He is a graduate of the Graz University of Technology and was Visiting Professor at Cape Town University and Vancouver University.

He is author of more than 400 scientific articles, 4 books, and is a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Gert Pfurtscheller is/was partner/co-investigator of the following international research projects in the field of BCI research:

• Co-Investigator on the project “EEG-based Brain Computer-Interface” supported by the “National Institutes of Health” (Grant HD30146), Albany, New York, USA.

• Co-Investigator on the project “Direct Brain Interface” supported by the “National Institutes of Health” (1R01 NS40681-01) in cooperation with the University of Michigan.

• Partner of the EU-projects “SIESTA” – A new standard for integrating polygraphic sleep recordings into a comprehensive model of human sleep and its validation in sleep disorders (BMH4-CT97-204) and “PRESENCIA” Presence: Research Encompassing Sensory Enhancement, Neuroscience and Cognition, with Interactive Applications (IST-2001-37927).

• Starting in January 2006, partner of the EU-project “PRESENCCIA2” Presence: Research Encompassing Sensory Enhancement, Neuroscience, Cerebral-Computer Interfaces and Applications ( No.27731) (2006 – 2009).

• Starting in 2006, partner of the EU-project EYE-to-IT: Development of Human-Computer Monitoring and Feedback Systems for the Purposes of Studying Cognition and Translation (No. 517590) (2006)

Charles J. Prestigiacomo, MD

A 1993 graduate of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Prestigiacomo completed his residency in Neurological Surgery at The Neurological Institute of New York, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. He then went on to complete a fellowship in Endovascular Neurosurgery at Beth Israel Medical Center, NY, Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Center for Endovascular Surgery.

Dr. Prestigiacomo holds dual appointments as an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Neurological Surgery and Radiology at the New Jersey Medical School. He is Director of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery at University Hospital, serves as co-director of the Division of Neurological Surgery at Jersey City Medical Center and is a Research Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

His specialties include cerebrovascular microsurgery (aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, cavernous malformations, carotid endarterectomy and bypass), endovascular surgery for the treatment of all brain, spinal cord and head/neck pathology (aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, stroke, tumor, vessel occlusion) and stereotactic radiosurgery for vascular lesions.

In addition to his clinical and teaching responsibilities, Dr. Prestigiacomo is currently involved in several research efforts, including biophysical studies on aneurysm formation and growth, clinical outcomes studies on patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and other forms of cerebrovascular disease, and the expanding role of EMS in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disease and trauma.

Ljubisav Rakic, Ph.D.

Dr. Rakic is currently Chairman of the Board for the Committee for Biomedical Research at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. He completed his studies in Physiology at the University of Belgrade’s School of Medicine being awarded his Ph.D. His areas of interest are physiology and biochemistry. Past research instructor activities have been in these areas along with biochemistry, neurophysiology, and neurobiology.

Based on his research and findings, he is a member of several scientific societies and academies — Serbian, Montenegrin, Kosovo Academies of Sciences and Arts, Russian and Euro-Asian Academies of Sciences, International Brain Research Organization of UNESCO, Royal Society of Medicine, and British Brain and Behavior Society, to name a few.

In addition, Dr. Rakic is a well-known lecturer and past visiting professor at universities and scientific institutions throughout Eastern and Western Europe and the United States. He is co-author of five textbooks and has published more than 400 papers and six monographs.

Urs Ribary, Prof.Dr.sc.nat.ETH

Urs Ribary was elected as the “Endowed BC Leadership Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience in Childhood Health and Development” within the Province of British Columbia, Canada in 2007. He is also a Professor in Psychology at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver since 2007. The goal of this position is to set up a coherent and internationally recognized brain imaging program in cognitive neuroscience, reaching out across different universities, the large BC’s Children’s Hospital, and the private sector.

Dr. Ribary received his doctorate degree in Neuropharmacology and Neuroscience at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland in 1985. During a visiting professorship at Simon Fraser University in Canada (1986-88), he was further trained in functional human brain imaging technologies using EEG and MEG (Electro- and Magnetoencephalography). Urs Ribary was holding a Professor faculty position in Physiology and Neuroscience at New York University Medical Center from 1988-2007, and he was the former Director of the Center for Neuromagnetism (CNM), a functional brain imaging center from 1989-2005.

Dr. Ribary’s main research area is brain network dynamics and functional connectivity underlying normal and altered cognitive functions. His interests relate to non-invasive structural and functional brain imaging for studying sensory-motor and cognitive processing in children and adults. The main focus has been on the analysis of the brain’s network oscillation dynamics and functional connectivity within and among distributed networks and the development of underlying neuronal diagnostic markers for cognitive alterations and clinical symptoms in relation to therapeutic interventions. The long-term goal is to relate perception and cognition to underlying quantified brain network connectivity using non-invasive brain imaging technologies in healthy subjects, cognitive abnormalities, and in neurological and psychiatric patients.

Dr. Ribary has extensively published in many scientific/medical journals and lectured all over the world. He is also a member of numerous organizations, has served as an adhoc reviewer for several journals and funding agencies, and has been an advisor to several companies and organizations. He is also co-founder and chairman of the Samanta S. Ribary Foundation Inc., a nonprofit organization to support orphans and children in need.

Barry Sears, Ph.D.

Dr. Barry Sears is a leading authority on the dietary control of hormonal response. A former research scientist at the Boston University School of Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Sears has dedicated his research efforts over the past 30 years to the study of lipids. He holds 13 U.S. Patents in the areas of intravenous drug delivery systems and hormonal regulation for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

A turning point in his research occurred in 1982. That year, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded for discoveries of the role that specialized hormones, known as eicosanoids, play in the development of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, auto-immune diseases, and cancer. Since eicosanoids are only generated from dietary fat, Dr. Sears reasoned that one could apply intravenous drug delivery principles to nutrition in order to control these exceptionally powerful hormonal responses with laser-like precision. In essence, his approach treats food as if it were a drug.

This area of his research led to various patents in the area of hormonal control by essentially using food as an oral drug delivery system to modulate eicosanoids especially for cardiovascular, diabetic, and neurological patients.

The impact of Dr. Sears’ revolutionary work in the dietary control of hormonal response began with the publication of his landmark book, The Zone. Since its publication in June 1995, The Zone has sold more than 2,000,000 hardcover copies, and became a #1 bestseller on the New York Times book list. Dr. Sears has published numerous other books, and has been a frequent guest on many national programs such as 20/20, Today, Good Morning America, CBS Morning News, CNN, and MSNBC.

Dr. Sears continues his ongoing research as President of Zone Labs, a biotechnology company in Danvers, MA as well as the President of the non-profit Inflammation Research Foundation in Marblehead, MA.