MossRehab Research Chief Wins National Award

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--John Whyte MD, PhD., Director of Albert Einstein Healthcare Network's Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, will receive the Robert L. Moody Prize during the eighth annual Galveston Brain Injury Conference May 14-16, 2008, at the Moody Gardens Hotel and Conference Center on Galveston Island, Texas.

“It’s a tremendous honor to have been selected by a panel of brain injury experts with their own impressive records of achievement”

The Moody prize recognizes distinguished contributions in acquired brain injury rehabilitation and research. In selecting Dr. Whyte, the Moody prize board cited Dr. Whyte’s sustained achievement in brain injury research and clinical care, and his advocacy efforts on behalf of persons who are most severely injured.

His impact on the field also is demonstrated by his teaching, mentoring and publications; his influential work on basic treatment mechanisms for arousal and attention disorders; and his determined efforts to stimulate and improve the “state of the art and science” in brain injury and rehabilitation research.

“It’s a tremendous honor to have been selected by a panel of brain injury experts with their own impressive records of achievement,” said Dr. Whyte. “I’m lucky to be able to work every day on problems that fascinate me and that, I hope, make a difference in the lives of individuals with brain injury and their families.”

As a young physician at the Greenery Rehabilitation Center and later as an Attending Physician at MossRehab’s Drucker Brain Injury Center, Dr. Whyte was one of the first to take a special interest in persons with severe disorders of consciousness due to brain injury. He conducted innovative research on minimally conscious/vegetative states (MCS/ VS) that led to a successful clinical program at MossRehab, which he still directs. The Responsiveness Program has provided state-of-the-art care for hundreds of patients with persistent disturbances of consciousness and has attended to the special needs of their families.

The novel methods introduced by Dr. Whyte have had a broad impact on clinical care, having been disseminated internationally in professional and lay media. In recent years, Dr. Whyte led and published the results of a large, multi-center study of the natural history of MCS/VS. This research laid the groundwork for the ongoing multi-center randomized controlled trial examining the effects of amantadine hydrochloride on MCS/VS recovery, with Dr. Joseph Giacino as principal investigator and Dr. Whyte as co-principal investigator.

For many years, Dr. Whyte has made contributions to the field of brain injury research and care. The Brain Injury Association of America and the 2005 Pioneer Award by the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania honored him with the 2002 William Fields Caveness Award. Dr. Whyte was named Distinguished Member of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM) in 2005 and was the ACRM’s Coulter Lecturer in 2007.

The invitation-only Galveston conference brings together the top scientists and experts in brain injury from around the world to engage in intense discussions and examination of the most advanced aspects of their field. This year’s focus will be on how rehabilitation care and outcomes differ for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) when occurring in the elderly. The School of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Texas Medical Branch and the Transitional Learning Center at Galveston sponsor the event and prize.

His colleague Tessa Hart, PhD, nominated Dr. Whyte for the Moody prize. The Moody prize consists of an honorarium of $10,000, a plaque, a crystal pyramid that commemorates the award, and a framed certificate signed by members of the governing board.

About Albert Einstein Healthcare Network

Albert Einstein Healthcare Network is a 1,200 bed integrated delivery network serving the communities of North Philadelphia and Montgomery County, PA. A founding member of the Jefferson Health System, Einstein combines the best of academic medicine and community service, employing nearly 7,000 people, and offering training programs for physician residents and fellows, nurses and other health professionals. The Network provides healthcare services through the Albert Einstein Medical Center and Einstein at Elkins Park hospitals, its MossRehab and Belmont Behavioral Health divisions, Germantown Community Health Services, Willow Terrace (a nursing home), Willowcrest (a center for subacute care), outpatient facilities such as Center One and Einstein Neighborhood Healthcare, network of primary care and specialist practices throughout the community. For more information, visit www.einstein.edu or call 1-800-EINSTEIN.