Drew Redepenning, M.D. ATP, a Resident Physician at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, has received the 2024 DeVivo Mentored Research Award. This one-year, $3,000 research award is for trainees who are interested in conducting a research project using data from the National Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems (SCIMS) Database, which is managed by UAB’s National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC).

The National SCIMS Database has been in existence since 1975 and has data on over 53,000 people with spinal cord injury (SCI) who have now been followed for 50 years after injury. This makes it the world's largest and longest active SCI research database and the world’s most extensive source of available information about the characteristics and life course of individuals with SCI.

Dr. Redepenning received this year’s DeVivo Mentored Research Award for his research on how depression during inpatient rehabilitation may affect outcomes for people with SCI after discharge.

“I would like to thank the NSCISC for their generous support of our research endeavors to improve care and resources for individuals living with spinal cord injury," says Redepenning. “I hope that our research supported by the DeVivo Award will provide a valuable contribution to the understanding of how depression during inpatient rehabilitation may impact post-discharge outcomes for individuals with spinal cord injury.”

The DeVivo Mentored Research Award was created in honor of Michael DeVivo, Dr.P.H. who served as the Director of NSCISC until his retirement in 2005 as a professor in the department. However, he still serves as Director Emeritus, database expert, and valued consultant.

“To date, the National SCIMS Database has been used to advance knowledge in research through at over 300 scientific publications,” says Professor Yuying Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Vice Chair of PMR Research and the NSCISC Director since Dr. DeVivo’s retirement. “Dr. DeVivo remains one of the most Highly Ranked Scholars for his lifetime of research with over 190 listed research publications. We are very proud to offer this training award in his namesake and promote the efforts of our next generation of researchers,” adds Chen.

Dr. Redepenning becomes the 12th to receive the DeVivo Mentored Research Award since 2009. His mentors are Lynn Worobey, Ph.D., DPT, ATP and Gina McKernan Ph.D. from University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation as well as Jeanne Hoffman Ph.D. University of Washington Department of Rehabilitation Medicine.

NSCISC funds this award through a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90SIMS0016). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).