Dates, Events, & News
In the News
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Shigaki on her recent accomplishment below:
March 1, 2012 - The University of Missouri Office of Student Affairs has awarded Cheryl Shigaki, PhD, ABPP, Associate Professor of Health Psychology, one of the inaugural 2012 MU Faculty Achievement Awards in Diversity. This is an endowed award to be given annually to faculty members whose work elevates diversity and inclusion on the MU campus. Dr. Shigaki has long-standing personal and professional interest in diversity issues in general and disability advocacy. Shigaki serves on the Chancellor’s Committee for Persons with Disabilities and is in her second year as the committee’s chair. Shigaki also currently serves on the University of Missouri Health System Diversity Advisory Council and is the current president of the American Psychological Association (APA), Division of Rehabilitation Psychology’s Section on Women’s Issues. Shigaki has served as member and chair of the APA Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology, and the Missouri Health Sciences Psychology Consortium Diversity Committee.
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As a board certified Clinical Neuropsychologist and Rehabilitation Psychologist, Dr. Tom Martin’s involvement in the University of Missouri’s Epilepsy Program has contributed to its recent designation as a Level 4 epilepsy center:
Epilepsy program receives top care designation
The Missouri Epilepsy Program at University of Missouri Health Care has been designated a Level 4 epilepsy center by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC). Level 4 epilepsy centers provide the highest levels of medical and surgical evaluation and treatment for patients with complex epilepsy.
Levels of epilepsy care have been developed by the NAEC as a tool for evaluating the appropriateness and quality of specialized programs. A fourth-level center must provide the more complex forms of intensive neuro-diagnostic monitoring, as well as more extensive medical, neuropsychological and psychosocial treatments. Fourth-level centers also offer complete evaluation and treatment programs for epilepsy, including intracranial electrodes for detecting the exact location of epilepsy in the brain. They also provide a broad range of options for treating epilepsy such as medical and surgical procedures.
“We’re honored that our center is being recognized for the care we provide our patients,” said David Lardizabal, MD, a neurologist and director of the Missouri Epilepsy Program. “Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological conditions, affecting approximately three million Americans. Yet many myths and misconceptions hinder understanding, diagnosis and treatment of the disease. To be recognized as a leader in epilepsy care is a great distinction.”
Epilepsy is a seizure disorder characterized by abnormal electrical activity in the brain that affects how a person feels or acts for a short period of time. Seizures are a symptom of epilepsy. The Missouri Epilepsy Program includes a multidisciplinary team comprised of neurologists, a psychiatrist, a neuropsychologist, a social worker and several diagnostic specialists. It offers patients convenience and accessibility in diagnosing and treating the disease.
“Having this interdisciplinary group of specialists working together allows us to diagnose and manage the patient holistically,” said Lardizabal. “And now, as a Level 4 center, we have achieved a ranking equal to that of the top academic medical centers in the country for our epilepsy program.”
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Please join me in congratulating Dr. Thomas Martin, who has been selected to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Brain Injury Association of Missouri.
Below is the blurb for this honor:
MRC Wins Honors for Brain Injury Program
Missouri Rehabilitation Center’s traumatic brain injury program has been selected to receive the 2011 Service Excellence Award for Public Relations from the Brain Injury Association of Missouri. The award honors an individual or organization for exceptional service within the brain injury community.
The award is being presented in recognition of the traumatic brain injury team members’ efforts to exceed their required work duties to advocate for the patients and families they serve. Their accomplishments include earning brain injury specialist certification through the Brain Injury Association of America, presenting information to child and adult classrooms, as well as local and state-wide conferences, and working to maintain public education programs for families and survivors of brain injury.
The University of Missouri Health System will be well represented in the awards as Tom Martin, PhD, will receive the association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Martin, an associate professor of health psychology in the MU School of Health Professions, is being recognized for significant contributions and long-term impact to the brain injury community. Martin has more than 10 years of board service and has made countless professional contributions in the area of traumatic brain injury research and care. The Lifetime Achievement Award is the brain injury association’s highest honor bestowed on individuals.
The awards will be presented at the association’s awards luncheon and annual meeting Saturday, Oct. 22, in St. Charles.
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Dr. Eric Hart recently presented a talk entitled "Understanding and Improving Vocational Outcomes following Traumatic Brain Injury." Click the link below and scroll to the bottom of the page to see Dr. Hart in action:
Understanding and Improving Vocational Outcomes following TBI
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Dr. Stephanie Reid-Arndt has launched The Brain Injury Guide and Resources website to provide a resource for people to understand brain injuries. Please visit the links below for more information:
MU News Bureau
Brain Injury Education
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Dr. Brick Johnstone is currently working with the Missouri Foundation for Health to better educate health professional students about the health literacy of the individuals we serve right here in Missouri. For more information, please visit the link below:
Dean's Certificate in Health Literacy
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Dr. Micah Mazurek recently shared some results of her work that focused on the developmental course of social and communicative symptoms of autism spectrum disorders. at the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR). For more information, please click the link below and scroll to the bottom:
Solutions