Alison Cernich, Ph.D.The University of Alabama at Birmingham Center for Exercise Medicine will host Alison Cernich, Ph.D., director of the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, on Wednesday, March 20.
The symposium will feature a “State of the Field Address” from Cernich and will be held from noon to 3:45 p.m.
The event includes three sessions — Cernich’s lecture, a poster session on rehabilitation research, and a Q&A session. These sessions are open to anyone interested in rehabilitation research. The event is free, but registration is required.
Program highlights:
- Cernich will deliver a lecture on “Rehabilitation Research at NIH: Programs and Opportunities” from 12-1 p.m. at the UAB Wallace Tumor Institute, Room 101. Lunch will be provided for those who register.
- There will also be a poster viewing session from 1-2:30 p.m. that highlights informative posters of UAB research programs relevant to medical rehabilitation, and research of NCMRR T32-funded trainees.
- Following the poster session, there will be a Q&A session from 2:45-3:45 p.m. with medical rehabilitation researchers, prospective NCMRR applicants and Cernich.
Cernich is a board-certified neuropsychologist who is known for her work in traumatic brain injury and computerized neuropsychological assessment. She provides oversight for the portfolio of NCMRR and works within the NIH to coordinate rehabilitation research. Cernich serves on multiple interagency strategic planning committees and government oversight committees for major research initiatives in the federal government relevant to disability and rehabilitation research.
The Center for Exercise Medicine is a universitywide interdisciplinary research center that serves the UAB exercise and rehabilitation medicine community. UCEM’s mission is to promote the health and well-being of children and adults of all ages by: fostering interdisciplinary research to optimize exercise treatment strategies for chronic conditions, disease prevention, and injury prevention and rehabilitation using a dose-response approach to exercise prescription; establishing prescription guidelines for health and fitness across the age span; training and educating the next wave of scientists and health care professionals on the physiology and clinical applicability of exercise treatments; recruiting established scientists and clinicians into exercise-based research programs; and promoting community outreach and education based on findings through clinical exercise trials.