Dr. Binkley worked with NSCA-LTAD and included concussion and mental health. He is interested in educating coaches regarding concussion research. He is currently a U-M Concussion Center participant with the U-M Center for Academic Innovation (CAI) collaborating with the XR initiative to pioneer training modules utilizing reality (VR) headsets for comprehensive concussion education.
Dr. Mark Roberts specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases or impaired function of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, muscles, autonomic nervous system, and blood vessels that relate to these structures.
Dr. Mignano is interested in the psychosocial aspects of return-to-play protocols.
Dr. Van Tubbergen joined the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation after completing a post-doctoral fellowship and a period of research projects in this same department. Dr. Van Tubbergen completed her graduate training at Central Michigan University in Clinical Psychology and completed her internship training at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in the Counseling and Assessment center. Clinical interests focus on the ongoing development and growth of the Pediatric NeuroRehabilitation Program with an emphasis on the outpatient, multi-disciplinary rehabilitation team. Previous research includes the development of adapted techniques and accessible measures for use in neuropsychological assessment. Current interests include development of a concussion management clinic to examine treatment and intervention strategies targeting prolonged post-concussive symptoms. She provides supervision to fellows on the inpatient unit and on intervention rotations through the neurorehabilitation day treatment program.
Kanagaraj Palsamy, PhD (Dr.rer.nat), is a Research Investigator in the Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Palsamy began as a Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan in 2015. He was promoted to the Research Investigator position in 2021.
Dr. Palsamy earned a Bachelor of Sciences in Agricultural sciences and Master of Science in Biotechnology from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU). He received his doctoral degree in Developmental biochemistry from Georg August University of Göttingen, Germany in 2015 in disease modeling in zebrafish. He completed his postdoctoral training in the lab of Dr. Jack Parent at the University of Michigan in 2021 studying the mechanisms of brain injury, neuroinflammation, brain regeneration and epilepsy disease modeling in zebrafish.
Palsamy’s current research focuses on understanding injury/TBI induced brain regeneration and how immune cells, especially microglia regulate inflammation and inflammation resolution during regeneration. He is also studying epilepsy disease using the zebrafish model for understanding the pathology and for drug screening, aiming to find the differential regulation that promotes regeneration in zebrafish compared to mammalian brain to develop a strategy to improve brain regeneration in human brain. He uses genetic mutants, CRISPR knock-ins, imaging, and behavioral techniques to understand the mechanisms behind regeneration and epilepsy. Dr. Palsamy’s long-term goal is to find the molecules and mechanisms that can promote brain regeneration/repair in humans.
Dr. Claflin is the Associate Medical Director of Inpatient Rehabilitation and Director of the Stroke Rehabilitation Program. Dr. Claflin joined the University of Michigan faculty in 2013 and has been working to build inpatient and outpatient stroke rehabilitation programming, including leading an effort to achieve Joint Commission certification for the Inpatient Stroke Rehabilitation Program in 2017. As Associate Medical Director, he acts as a liaison to consulting services, works to ensure high-quality resident education during inpatient rotations, and assists with the administration of the inpatient rehabilitation unit.
Dr. Carol Persad is a Clinical Professor in Psychiatry with an Adjunct Professor appointment in Psychology. She is the Director of the Neuropsychology Program in the Department of Psychiatry and the Director of the University Center for Language and Literacy in the Mary A. Rackham Institute.
Dr. Persad trained as a Clinical Psychologist with a specialization in Neuropsychology and has focused both her clinical and research work on understanding cognitive changes that are associated with neurological disorders across the lifespan and the underlying neural pathways. Dr. Persad’s research interests focus more specifically on cognitive changes associated with aging and neurodegenerative disorders. She is currently a co-investigator on a number of grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Dr. Persad has published numerous scientific papers and given dozens of conference presentations. In addition, she is involved in the training of Postdoctoral Fellows in Neuropsychology, as well as interns, practicum students, and undergraduates in both clinical placements and research projects.
