History

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Training Programs through 2026
Steven Kirshblum, MD

Welcome to Our PM&R Training Program
Welcome to our Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) training program. We hope this overview provides a meaningful introduction to who we are and what we offer, and encourages you to explore our program further.
Our program has a long and proud history, grounded in a commitment to individualized training. We recognize that each trainee brings unique strengths and goals, and we are dedicated to helping every resident and fellow reach their full potential.
The primary goals of our training programs are to develop physicians who excel in clinical care, contribute to research and scholarship, and emerge as future leaders in the field.
A central philosophy of our Department is to cultivate physicians who are strong advocates for individuals with disabilities and who actively contribute to advancing PM&R. We strive to be leaders in training both academic and clinical physiatrists and to remain actively engaged in graduate medical education at both the local and national levels.
We look forward to connecting with you.

Why Consider Our Program

Our PM&R training program offers a unique combination of clinical depth, academic rigor, and individualized mentorship within a collaborative and supportive environment. Residents train across a broad spectrum of rehabilitation settings, gaining experience with complex patient populations while developing strong diagnostic and procedural skills.
What distinguishes our program is our commitment to individualized growth; each resident is supported in pursuing their specific interests, whether in clinical practice, research, education, or leadership. With a long-standing tradition of innovation in education, strong faculty mentorship, and extensive opportunities for teaching and scholarly activity, our program prepares graduates to excel in any career path within PM&R.
We are equally committed to developing physicians who are not only clinically excellent, but also compassionate advocates for individuals with disabilities and leaders in advancing the field.
Residency Leadership
Program Director
Monifa Brooks, MD completed her residency at the National Rehabilitation Hospital and her Spinal Cord Injury Medicine fellowship at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS)/Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation. She was appointed Associate Program Director in 2006 and became Program Director in 2013. Dr. Brooks also serves as the Director of Spinal Cord Services and the Senior Medical Officer at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation.
Associate Program Directors
Roger Luo, MD completed his residency at Rutgers NJMS/Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, where he served as Chief Resident, followed by a fellowship in Interventional Spine and Sports Medicine at Hospital for Special Surgery. He returned to the faculty in 2019 and specializes in musculoskeletal and spine care across University Hospital, Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, and Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation. He also serves as the Director of the Spine Program and the Clinical Lead, Musculoskeletal and Integumentary Systems (MIS) Course for first year medical students.
Arline Edmond, MD completed her residency at Rutgers NJMS/Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, where she also served as Chief Resident, followed by a Brain Injury Medicine fellowship at Rutgers NJMS. She joined the faculty in 2022 and is actively involved in trauma consultations as well as outpatient brain injury and spasticity management programs.
Chair
Steven Kirshblum, MD completed his residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center and joined Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and Rutgers NJMS in 1990. He served as Co-Director and Director of the residency program throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. He is currently a Professor and Chair of the Department, a position he has held since 2017. Dr. Kirshblum has served as Spinal Cord Injury Fellowship Director since 1996 and is Chief Medical Officer of both Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and the Kessler Foundation.

For a list of past residency program training directors please click this link: “Residency Training Directors”.  

Residency: At present there are 26 residents in the three-year program allocated to the following sites:
University Hospital in Newark                                   -      3
Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation                             -    11
New Jersey Veterans Affairs Health Care System     -    10
Children’s Specialized Hospital                                 -      2
26

For the list of >250 graduates from 1974 through 2026, please click this link : “Resident Alumni”.

Clinical Experience and Accreditation
Our program offers a rich and diverse clinical experience, ensuring exposure to the full spectrum of patient populations required by the ACGME PM&R Residency Review Committee (RRC). Residents train in a high-volume, academically driven environment that supports both breadth and depth of learning. The program is fully accredited by the ACGME, with strong administrative oversight through the Department’s Graduate Medical Education Committee.
Rotations
We provide a comprehensive and well-balanced rotation experience across inpatient, outpatient, and consultative settings. Inpatient training includes spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, amputee rehabilitation, and general medical/neurological rehabilitation, offering residents exposure to complex cases and interdisciplinary care models. Outpatient rotations span musculoskeletal, spine, sports and pain medicine, as well as cancer rehabilitation and urologic care in rehabilitation populations. Residents develop strong procedural skills through hands-on experience in musculoskeletal ultrasound, electrodiagnosis, motor point and nerve block injections, and image-guided procedures (ultrasound and fluoroscopy), including peripheral joint and neuraxial injections. Training also includes intrathecal baclofen management.
Residents participate in consult services across general medical, neurological, and acute trauma settings as part of a Level I trauma team, gaining valuable experience in acute care decision-making.
Specialty clinics include spasticity management, sports and musculoskeletal medicine (including concussion care), cancer rehabilitation, and pain management. Additional opportunities are available in interventional spine, sports medicine, and regenerative medicine, allowing residents to tailor experiences to their interests.
Education
Our program is committed to innovative, high-quality education. We have a longstanding tradition of educational leadership in PM&R, including emphasis on interactive, skills-based learning. Residents benefit from a structured and engaging didactic curriculum, including weekly sessions with four hours of protected time, complemented by a dedicated monthly half-day for Grand Rounds, journal club, and board-style review.
Hands-on learning is a key strength of our program, with multiple workshop series and cadaver-based training in anatomy and procedural techniques. In addition, the Department hosts the nation’s largest Annual Board Review Course, reflecting our commitment to educational excellence and board preparation.
Teaching and Mentorship
Teaching is a core strength of our program and a defining part of the resident experience. Residents are actively involved in medical student education across all four years of the curriculum and receive formal instruction in teaching skills to support their development as educators.
Our residents and faculty play a key role in foundational medical education, including teaching musculoskeletal physical examination skills to first-year students, leading clinical correlations in the anatomy cadaver lab, and participating in disability-focused training early in medical school.
As one of the few medical schools in the country with a required PM&R clerkship, our program provides residents with consistent and meaningful opportunities to develop their teaching abilities. Residents also serve as instructors at our annual Medical Student Fair, showcasing various subspecialty areas within PM&R.
For trainees interested in teaching and academic leadership, we offer a dedicated Education Track to support the development of skills in medical education and leadership.
Mentorship is another important component of our culture. Residents actively mentor students through the PM&R Special Interest Group (established in 2007), fostering early engagement in the field. Excellence in teaching is recognized annually through a resident teaching award based on medical student feedback. The Department also presents an Annual Medical Student PM&R Award to an outstanding graduating fourth-year student.
Quality Improvement
Residents actively participate in an annual Quality Improvement (QI) program, gaining experience in patient safety, systems-based practice, and clinical innovation. Opportunities for research and scholarly activity are strongly supported, helping residents build a foundation for academic and leadership roles in PM&R.
Research and Scholarly Activity
Our program is strongly committed to developing residents’ skills in research and scholarship. A structured research curriculum, including a yearly Research Course led by our Vice-Chair of Trainees Research – Amanda Botticello PhD, provides comprehensive training in critical appraisal of the literature, research design, data collection, analysis, and manuscript preparation. This course as well as follow up meetings, also introduces our research scientists to our trainees to engage them in potential projects and help develop new ones.
Residents have the opportunity to dedicate protected time to research, including up to a half-day per week for a defined period, with additional opportunities for more intensive research experiences based on approval and clinical performance. Seed funding is available to support resident-led projects.
All residents, fellows, and postdoctoral trainees present a completed research project at graduation. Excellence in research is recognized through annual awards, and our residents have a strong track record of presenting at national meetings and publishing in peer-reviewed journals.
Fellowship Opportunities
We offer a wide range of fellowship and postdoctoral training opportunities across multiple subspecialties, allowing graduates to further specialize and advance their careers in both clinical and academic pathways. These include Brain Injury Medicine, Cancer Rehabilitation, Pediatric Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury Medicine, and Sports Medicine.
Recognition and Achievements
Excellence in education and scholarship is a hallmark of our program. Faculty teaching is recognized through an annual PM&R Faculty Teaching Award, underscoring our commitment to high-quality mentorship.
Our trainees have received numerous national awards and recognitions. Notably, many of our graduates earned the prestigious Elkins Award, recognizing the highest score on the PM&R board certification examination,– this award has now been discontinued. In addition, several of our postdoctoral fellows have received early career awards for outstanding contributions to rehabilitation research.
Faculty and Academic Environment
Our Department includes over 110 faculty members, creating a dynamic and diverse academic environment. Faculty are highly productive, contributing ~70 peer-reviewed publications annually, and are actively engaged in education, mentorship, and national leadership. Faculty members also serve as advisors to medical students and participate in the admissions process, reflecting our deep integration within the broader academic mission of the medical school.

RESIDENCY HISTORY: Please click on this “link for a comprehensive history”.
In October 1952, the Veterans Administration Hospital in East Orange, New Jersey was opened with Dr. Charles Brooke, who was one of the charter diplomates at the formation of the American Board of Physical Medicine in 1947, as the Chief of Service. The American College of Graduate Medical Education first officially recognized the residency training program on September 19, 1955, and in 1958, the first three-year PM&R residency program in the State of New Jersey was approved by the American Board of PM&R. The initial program was affiliated with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York and the Kessler Institute in West Orange, New Jersey. Dr. Charles Brooke served as the first residency training director.
  
When Dr. Brooke retired in 1969, Dr. Luba Stefaniwsky, who in 1958 had been the first resident accepted into this training program in New Jersey (at an annual salary of $2,840), became the next Chief of Service and Residency Program Director. The Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit was organized in 1973 under the leadership of Dr. Angeles Flores.

The State of New Jersey took over the Seton Hall Charter in 1965 and it became the New Jersey College of Medicine. While Seton Hall had the charter, it never enrolled any students. Dr. Richard Sullivan was appointed as the Acting Chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine on September 15, 1975, and served until 1987. Dr. Sullivan was the Medical Director of the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation (KIR) from 1969 to 1987 and in July 1982, the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey took over the responsibility for this residency program. Dr. Sullivan also assumed the role of Residency Program Director, and the number of trainees was expanded to nine residents. Rotations included at KIR, College Hospital (now University Hospital), the VA Hospital in East Orange, and Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside.

Dr. Joel A. DeLisa was recruited as the department Chairman of PM&R in 1987 with 50% of his time allocated to UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School and the University Hospital, and 50% of his time allocated to the KIR as its Medical Director. The residency program then increased to 14 residents. Dr. DeLisa served as the Chair until June 2012 when he retired after an amazing and very productive 25 years. Dr. DeLisa was truly a pioneer in the field serving in leadership roles in numerous organizations and publishing many textbooks. After his retirement, Patrick Foye, MD, a Professor in the Department, and a full-time Newark based physician, assumed the role of Interim Chair. On July 1, 2013, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, merged with Rutgers, and since then has been called Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS). Dr. Foye continued his role as Interim Chair until January 2017, when Steven Kirshblum MD, was selected as the Chair. In October of 2017, Dr. Peter Yonclas, as Associate Professor in the Departments of PM&R and Surgery was named the Vice-Chair of Clinical Affairs.

The history of this training program is filled with many great moments and leaders. Our faculty have in the past and continue to serve as leaders locally and nationally in organizations that encompass every aspect of the field.

As we look back with pride over its accomplishments, we also look forward with a renewed sense of determination to offer the best possible training to our students, and all trainees within a rapidly changing health care environment. We believe the quality of our trainees and our research in concert with our clinical programs will dictate our future place in the specialty.

Additional links for each of the following aspects of our program.

National Teaching Awards link
Resident as Teacher Award link
Joel A DeLisa MD, MS Medical Student Award link
Resident and Fellow Research Awards link
Musculoskeletal and Sports Medicine Fellow graduates link
Spinal Cord Injury Medicine Fellows link
Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine Fellows link
Traumatic Brain Injury Fellows link
Stroke Fellows link
Post Doctoral Research Fellowships link
Annual Teaching Award link
Elkins Award Winners link
Ernest Bors Award Winners link
AMA/Glaxo Welcome Leadership Award for Outstanding Community Service link
Elected Alpha Omega Alpha as a resident link
Distinguished Alumni Award link
Distinguished Faculty Awards link
Special Other Awards link

TABLE 1
            RESIDENCY TRAINING DIRECTORS
            Monifa Brooks M.D.              2013 - present
Susan V. Garstang, M.D.        2005 - 2013
Joel A. DeLisa, M.D., M.S.    1999 - 2005
Steven Kirshblum, M.D.         1996 - 1999
Joel A. DeLisa, M.D., M.S.    1987 - 1996
Richard Sullivan, M.D.           1982 - 1987
Luba Stefaniwsky, M.D.         1969 - 1982
Charles Brooke, M.D.             1958 - 1969

TABLE 2:      DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION
RESIDENT GRADUATING CLASS BY YEAR
*  Deceased
** Chief Resident

1988
William Kuiper, MD
Daniel Rosenberg, MD

1989
Elliot Bodofsky, MD**
Joseph Doerr, MD
Henry Wroblewski, MD

1990
Brian Fellechner, DO**
Herman Jimenez-Medina MD
Roger Klima, MD**
Joel Meer, MD
Judy Price, DO
Dennis Rosato, MD
DiLip Shah, MD
Richard Zaniewski, DO

1991
William Bockenek, MD**
Michael Harris, MD
Daniel Lyons, MD
Thomas Rugino, MD
Michael Shramowait, MD
James Sullivan, DO
Stuart Yablon, MD**

1992
Mike Armento, MD
Denise Campagnolo, MD**
Alan Davis, MD
Wayne Dubov, MD
Edward Gangemi, MD
Joel Joslewitz, MD
Gerard Malanga, MD*/**

1993
Wing Chau, MD
Richard Day, MD
Kathleen Francis, MD
Barry Gendron, DO**
Irving Haber, DO
Michael Hennigan, MD
Joseph Peters, MD
Marc Reiskind, MD
Margaret Tilton, MD
Ronald Tolchin, DO**

1994
John Chae, MD**
Gerard Francisco, MD**
David Idank, DO
Chang Lee, MD, PhD
Scott Nadler, DO*, **
Kevin O’Connor, MD
Vipul Shah, MD
Warren Slaten, MD
Todd Stitik, MD

1995
Mary Ellen Brady, MD
Elinor Cohen, MD
Jeffrey Fossati, MD
Robert Klecz, MD
Yekyung Kong, MD
Lisa Krivickas, MD*, **
Nancy Murphy, MD
Robert Vrablick, MD**

1996
Barbara Benevento, MD
Harmeen Chawla, MD
Brian Davis, MD
Sandra Dean, MD**
Evander Duck, Jr., MD
Mohan Gulati, MD
Glen Kaye, MD
Lauri Orbach, MD
John Shumko, MD, PhD**
Joseph Valenza, MD

1997
Peiti Sam Cai, MD *
Andrea Cheville, MD**
Donna DePhillips, MD
Ted Freeman, DO
John Horton, III, MD
Cristin Jouve, MD
Supriya Massood, DO
Anju Rustagi, MD**
Ilana Zablozski, MD

1998
Phillippe Chemaly, DO
Boqing Chen, MD, PhD
Joseph Cheu, DO, PhD*
Lucy Juvan, MD **
Heakyung Kim, MD
Alex Lee, MD
Jason Lipetz, MD**
Mary Powell-St. Louis, MD
Albert Tomaio, MD

1999
Alice Chen, MD
Paul Cooke, MD**
Michelle Fantasia, MD
Nancy Feiwel, MD
Alan Friedman, MD
Linda Graves, MD
Brian Greenwald, MD**

2000
Richard Bach, MD
Lisa Bartoli, DO, M.S.**
James Girardy, MD
Rohit Keswani, MD
Steven Lim, MD
Christopher Lutz, MD
Sheryl Movsas, DO
Yong Park, MD**
Nicholas Potochny, DO
Jodi Thomas, MD
Patricia Young, MD

2001
Norman Haueisen, DO**
Li Li, MD
Peter Moley, MD**
Deborah Oranchak, DO
Vinit Pande, MD
Tie Qian, MD
Rachel Smith, DO

2002
Uri Adler, MD
Nancy Kim, MD**
Rex Ma, MD
Pietro Memmo, MD**
Chris Perez, MD
Stephen Roman, MD
Mariam Rubbani, MD
Qing Tai, MD, PhD

2003
Iran Alladin, MD
Jen Fu Cheng, MD
Raymond Esquiere, MD **
Karen Kepler, DO, PhD
Daniel Kim, MD
Elena Napolitano, MD
Robert Savarese, DO**
Jennifer Solomon, MD
Alice Tzeng, MD
Peter Yonclas, MD

2004
Danielle Aufiero, MD
Elaine Aufiero, MD
Wah Lee, DO, M.S. 
Saira Chaudhny Lee, MD
Michele Miller, DO**
Luke Rigolosi, MD**

2005
Aryang Abbasu, DO**
Helen Chung, MD
Rae Davis, MD
Gautam Malhotra, MD
Bradley Marcus, DO
Sunny Kim, MD**
John Riggs, MD
Aleya Salam, MD

2006
Charles Buttaci, DO, P.T.**
Gary Chimes, MD, PhD
Stephen Cohen, MD
Michael Mehnert, MD
James McLean, MD**
Casey O’Donnell, DO
Michael Romello, MD
Askhat Shah, MD
Adam Schindelheim, MD
Kyle Stier, MD

2007
Michael Eisenberg, MD
Kelly Heath, MD**
Neil Jasey, MD
Cristin McKenna, MD, PhD
Ariz Mehta, MD**
Jeremiah Nieves, MD
Nigel Shenoy, MD

 2008
Andrew Ankamah, MD
Jessica Bloomgarden, MD
Richard Dentico, MD
Kristina Hicks, MD
Roseanna Jackson-Parekh, MD**
Ronald Karnaugh, MD
Stacy Miller-Smith, MD
Christopher Visco, MD**

2009
Steve Aydin, DO
Gina Benaquista, DO
Jennifer Epperlein, DO**
Maya Evans, MD
Jonathan Kirschner, MD**
Chiawen (Lucy) Liang, MD
Arik Mizrachi, MD
John Reimer, MD
Michael Rhee, MD
Elizabeth Varghese-Knoll, MD
David Tung, MD
Brian White, DO

2010
Neeti A. Bathia, MD
Miguel A. Coba, MD
Margaret M. Donlon, MD
Brett A. Gerstman, MD**
Richard P. Hoppe, MD
Stephanie K. Liu, MD
Janel Solano, DO
James F. Wyss, MD, P.T.**

2011
Katherine Bentley, MD
Santiago Campos, MD
Anupama Ganga, MD
Kelly Scollon-Grieve, MD
Benjamin Levy, MD**
Bethany Lipa, MD
Amrish Patel, MD, P.T.**

2012 
SuAnn Chen, MD
Eduardo Cruz-Colon, MD**
Amanda Farag, MD
Debra Ibrahim, DO**
Monika Krzyzek, DO
Anthony Lee, MD
Kirk Lercher, MD
Christine Pfisterer, DO
Christine Roque, DO
Mark Sison, MD

2013
Melissa Fleming, MD
Christine Greiss, MD**
Jay Jani, MD
Joslyn John, MD
Jong Kim, MD
Shounuck Patel, DO
Sara Salim, MD
Jiaxin Tran, MD
Ian Wendel, DO**

2014
Adam Bartlett, MD**
Alice Hon, MD
Gwen Lacerda, MD
Pooja Mundrati, DO
Steven Neuman, MD
Rana Rand, DO
Miranda Smith, MD**
Justin Waltrous, MD

2015
Patrick Buchanan, MD
Ummais Khan, MD
Lawrence Lai, MD**
Victoria Lin, MD**
Leroy Lindsay, MD
Yan Liu, MD
Michael Monfett, MD
Ravi Patel, MD*
Wesley San, MD
2016
Raisa Bakshiyev, MD
Priya Bolikal, MD
Michelle Didesch, MD**
Stephen Hampton, MD**
Milagros Lull-Vera, MD
Gabriel Mattei, MD
Tory Speert, DO
Rui Zhang, MD

2017
Abdelshahed, Dena, MD**
Berry, Kevin, MD
Demian, Pavli, DO**
Hon, Beverly, MD
McKay, Ondrea, MD
Nakamura, Reina, DO
Shupper, Peter, MD
Wagaman, Nicole, DO

2018
Ariana Brooks-James, MD
Paul Chirichella, MD
Laurie Dabaghian, MD
Roger Luo, MD**
Natasha Mehta, MD
Zev Nevo, DO
Gary Panagiotakis, DO**

2019
Jack Annunziato, DO
Sharon Bushi, MD**
Chris Cherian, MD**
Christina Kline Quiroz, DO **
Shean Huey Ng, MD
Jay Panchal, MD
Varun Patibanda, MD
Theodore Yip, MD

2020
Kathryne Bartolo, MD
Jason Bitterman, MD **
George Chen, MD
Nicole Diaz-Segarra, MD**
Nabela Enam, MD **
Anita Garg, DO
Shelly Hsieh, MD
Jamie Ott, MD
Peter Tumminelli, MD

2021
Kathy Chou, DO**
Jennifer Chui, MD
Arline Edmond, MD**
Michael Gallagher, MD
Courtney Gilbert , MD
Timothy O’Sullivan, MD
Daniel Pierce, MD**
Krina Vyas, MD

2022
Kirk Bonner, MD **
Mark Decotiis, MD
Caitlin Hartsgrove, MD**
Jamila Kendall, MD
Tulsi Pandat, MD
Radhika Sharma, MD
Paul So, MD**
Monica Zirolli, DO

2023
Nicole Angelo, DO**
Christopher Bo, MD **
Oscar Dimant, MD
Gregory DeGruchy, MD
Noble Jones, MD
Nova Hou, MD
Sharon Ong, MD
Kevin Pineda, DO*
Rick Schneider, DO **

2024
Evan Chung, MD **
Matthew Delbert, MD **
Sabrina Dieffenbach, MD
Hwajin Lee, MD
Tom Lin, MD **
Kenneth Peyser, DO
Grace Suttle, MD
Tabinda Syed, DO

2025
Pirapon Chaidarun, MD
Jenieve Guevarra, MD
Sara Lis Herzberg, MD
Rachel Murray, MD **
Janay Parrish, MD
Lena Sheorey, MD
Saarang Singh, MD**
Marcel Souffrant, MD**

2026
Gabriel Berenbeim, DO
Adrien Glocovsky, MD
Sharon Hsu, MD**
Syed (Raza) Husain, DO
Isaac Kim, DO**
Pablo Ortiz, MD**
Linda Phung, MD
Ilona Schwarz, MD
Moshe Spatz, MD

*  Deceased
** Chief Resident

TABLE 3: RESIDENT DOUBLE BOARDING PROGRAMS (1993-2003)

Uri Adler MD                IM/PMR
Irfan Alladin MD           IM/PMR
Michelle Fantasia MD   Peds/PMR
Heakyung Kim MD       Peds/PMR
Nancy Murphy MD       Peds/PMR
Stephen Roman MD      IM/PMR

TABLE 4: NATIONAL TEACHING AWARD IN PM&R

Year    Recipient                                            Affiliation
1988    Justus Lehmann, MD                          University of Washington
1989    Frederic Kottke, MD, PhD                 University of Minnesota
1990    Gerald Herbison, MD                         Thomas Jefferson University
1991    Rene Calliet, MD                                University of Southern California
1992    Barbara deLateur, MD                        Johns Hopkins University
1993    George Kraft, MD                              University of Washington
1994    Ernie Johnson, MD                             Ohio State University
1995    Mehrsheed Sinaki, MD                       Mayo Clinic
1996    Diane Cardenas, MD                          University of Washington
1997    Stanley Herring, MD                          University of Washington
1998    Daniel Dumitru, MD                          University of Texas – San Antonio
1999    James Sliwa, DO                                Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago / Northwestern University
2000    Andrew Haig, MD                              University of Michigan
2001    Lawrence Robinson, MD                   University of Washington
2002    Kristjan Ragnarsson, MD                   Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University
2003    Elliot Roth, MD                                  Northwestern University
2004    Ross Zafonte, DO                               University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
2005    Teresa L. Massagli, MD                     University of Washington
2006    William F. Micheo, MD                     University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine
2007    Jacqueline J. Werstch, MD                 Medical College of Wisconsin
2008    John Whyte, MD, PhD                       Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute
2009    Steven Flanagan, MD                         New York University School of Medicine
2010    Walter R. Frontera, MD, PhD            University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine
2011    Michael L. Boninger, MD                  University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
2012    Adam B. Stein, MD                            Hofstra School of Medicine/Northwell Health
2013    Michael D. Stubblefield, MD             Columbia/Cornell, Hospital for Special Surgery
2014    Gregory Lutz, MD                              Columbia/Cornell, Hospital for Special Surgery
2015    Matthew N. Bartels, MD, MPH         Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore
2016    Alberto Esquenazi, MD                      Einstein/MossRehab
2017    Joel Press MD                                     Columbia/Cornell, Hospital for Special Surgery
2018    Heidi Prather, DO                               Washington University/Barnes Jewish Ortho Center            
2019    Gerard Francisco, MD                        McGovern Medical School
2020 – This award was discontinued due to the Covid pandemic

TABLE 5: RESIDENT AS TEACHER AWARD
            Recipient                                   Year
Pietro A. Memmo, MD               2000
Raymond Esquires, MD             2001
Robert Saverese, DO                  2002
Gautam Malhotra, MD               2003
Helen Chung, MD                      2004
Ariz Mehta, MD                         2005
Gary P. Chimes, MD, PhD         2006
Nigel Shenoy, MD                      2007
Maya C. Evans, MD                   2008
Jennifer I. Epperlein, DO            2009
Benjamin Levy, MD                   2010
Jiaxin Tran, MD                          2011
Justin Waltrous, MD                   2012
Shounuck Patel, DO                   2013
Miranda Smith, MD                   2014
Ummais Khan, MD                    2015
Dena Abdelshahed, MD             2016
Kevin Berry, MD                       2017
Roger Luo, MD                          2018
Sharon Bushi, MD                      2019           
Peter Tumminelli, MD               2020
Krina Vyas, MD                         2021
Paul So, MD                               2022
Nicole Angelo, DO                     2023
Pablo Ortiz, MD                          2024
Ilona Schwarz, MD                     2025

Table 6: Medical Student Awards: Joel A. DeLisa MD, MS Award (named for Dr DeLisa in May 2017)
1996       Yong Park
             1997       Thomas Agesen
             1998       Jonathan Shin
             1999       JenFu Cheng
             2000       Luke Rigolosi
             2001       Shariq M. Ali
             2002       Kyle Stier
             2003       Cristin McKenna
             2004       Christopher Visco
             2005       Joshua B. Reimer
             2006       Miguel Antonio Coba
             2007       Katherine Saltstein-Bentley
             2008       SuAnn S. Chen
             2009       Dana Clark
             2010       Alice Hon
             2011       Samuel Chu
             2012       Uvieoghene Ughwanagho
             2013       Dena Abdelshahed
             2014       Paul Chirichella
             2015       Jay Panchal
             2016       Dana Branch
             2017       Michael Gallagher
2018       Paul So
2019       Christopher Bo
2020       Min Chen
2021       Rachel Murray       
2022       Jenny Xu
2023       Jennifer Su
2024       Hyunah Jang
2025       John Palmieri
2026       Aleksandra Kosti

Table 7: Resident/Fellow Research Awards

MITCHELL ROSENTHAL, PHD, POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW RESEARCH AWARD:
1.    Heath Demaree, PhD                                         1999
2.    Trevor Dyson-Hudson, MD                           2000
3.    Maria Schultheis, PhD                                      2001
4.    Frank Hillary, PhD                                             2002
5.    Gail Forrest, PhD                                                 2003
6.    Jessica Kalmar, PhD                                2004 
7.    Amanda O’Brien, PhD                            2006
8.    Margaret Schmitt, PhD                            2008
9.    James Sumowski, PhD                            2009
10.  Sarah Dubowsky, PhD                            2010
11.  Victoria Leavitt, PhD                                        2011   
12   Ekaterina Dobryakova, PhD                        2014
13.  Starla Weaver PhD (PD)                                  2015
14.  Silvana Costa, PhD                                         2016
15.  Erica Weber, PhD                                    2017
16.  Pei Pei Liu, PhD                                      2018   
17.  Joman Natsheh, MD, PhD                       2019
18.  Katie Lancaster, PhD                               2020
19.  Michelle Chen, PhD                                2021
20. Tim Rich, PhD/OTRL                              2022
21. Carly Wender, PhD                                  2023
22. Yu Lu Chen, PhD                                     2023
23.  Xiangli Chen, PhD, MPH                        2024
24   Christophe Canga, PhD                           2025

CLINICAL FELLOW RESEARCH AWARD

• Heather Walker, MD                                    2007
• Jessica Bloomgarden, MD                        2008
• Margaret Schmitt, PhD                          2008
• Gina Benaquista, DO                                   2009
• James Sumowski, PhD                            2009
• Stephanie K. Liu, MD                                 2010
• Benjamin Levy, MD                                     2011
• Amanda Farag, MD                                  2012
• Catherine Bentley, MD                               2013
• Jong Kim, MD                                                 2013
• Rana Rand, DO                                               2014
• Christine Greiss, DO                                    2014
• Jayne Donovan, MD                                     2015
• Benjamin Seidel, MD                                  2016
• Michelle Didesch, MD                                2016
• Reina Nakamura, MD                                  2017
• Stephen Hampton, MD                               2017
• Ryan Solinsky, MD                                      2017
• Ondrea McKay, MD                              2018
• Jonathan Thomas, MD                           2019
• Brittany Snider, DO                               2020
• Nicole Diaz-Segarra MD                       2021
• Vera Staley MD                                     2022
• Caitlin Hartsgrove, MD                         2023
• Shane Stone, MD                                   2024
•  Grace Suttle,  MD                                 2025

           RESIDENT RESEARCH AWARD  

• Gerard Francisco, MD                            1992
• Yekyung Kong, MD                               1993
• John Chae, DO, MD                               1994
• Brian Davis, MD                                             1995

5    Mohan Gulati, MD                                         1996
6.   Sam Cai, MD                                                    1997
7.   Boqing Chen, MD, PhD                          1998
8.   Alice Chen, MD                                     1999
9.    Vinit Pande, MD                                             2001
10.  Qing Tai, MD, PhD                                      2002
11. William Scelza, MD                                      2003
12. Elaine Aufiero, MD                                       2004
13. C. Michele Miller, DO                                 2005
14. James P. McLean, MD                                 2006
15. Heather Walker, MD                                     2007
16. Jessica Bloomgarden, MD                      2008
17. Gina Benaquista-DeSipio, DO               2009
18. Stephanie Liu, MD                                 2010
19. Benjamin Levy, MD                               2011
20. Amanda Farag, MD                                2012
21. Jong Kim, MD                                        2013
22. Rana Rand, DO                                       2014
23. Michael Monfett, MD                             2015
24. Michelle Didesch, MD                           2016
25. Reina Nakamura, MD                             2017
26. Laurie Dabaghian, MD                           2018
27. Cristina Kline-Quiroz, DO                     2019
28. Nicole Diaz-Segarra, MD                       2020
29. Kathy Chou, DO                                     2021
30. Kirk Bonner, MD                                     2022
31. Nova Hou, MD                                        2023
32. Evan Chung, MD                                    2024
33. Rachel Murray, MD                               2025
TABLE 8: SPORTS MEDICINE / MUSCULOSKELETAL FELLOWS

Training Year            Fellow                                     Residency Program
1995 - 1996                 Scott Nadler, DO                    New Jersey Medical School
1996 - 1997                 Brian Davis, MD                    New Jersey Medical School
1997 - 1998                 Ilana Zabloski-Amir, MD       New Jersey Medical School
1998 - 1999                 Jay Bowen, DO                      Tufts University
1999 - 2000                 John Wrightson, MD              University of Pittsburgh
2000 - 2001                 Stephen Andrus, MD              Cornell University
Phillip Landes, MD                Walter Reed Army Med Center
2001 - 2002                 Thomas Agesen, MD              Cornell-NY Presbyterian
Garrett S. Hyman, MD           University of Washington
2005 - 2006                 Joshua Levy, DO                    New York College of Osteopathic Medicine
2006 - 2007                 Christopher Castro, DO          New York College of Osteopathic Medicine
Michael Mehnert, MD            New Jersey Medical School
2007 - 2008                 Jonas Sokolof, MD                 Harvard Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation
Jacob Strong, MD                   Emory University
2008 - 2009                 Stacey Franz, DO                   New York Presbyterian Hospital
Priti Vohra, DO                      Nassau University Medical Center
2009 - 2010                 Jeffrey Chacko, MD               Albert Einstein Montefiore Med Center
Joseph Mejia, DO                   New York Univ/Rusk Institute of Rehab
Pinella Holder, DO                 Univ of Rochester Medical Center
2010 - 2011                 James Chang, MD                  NYU Medical Center
Fernando Gonzalez, MD        Montefiore Medical Center
Janel Solano, DO                   New Jersey Medical School
2011 - 2012                 Mohammed Dorri, MD           Upstate Medical School
Benjamin Levy, MD               New Jersey Medical School
Salvador Portugal, MD           Rusk University Medical School
2012 - 2013                 Justin Mendoza, MD              Rusk University Medical School
Susan DiStasio, MD               NYU/Rusk Institute
Christine Roque-Dang, DO    Rutgers NJMS
Michael Goldin, MD              Stanford University
2013 - 2014                 Renee Enriquez MD               Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Nora Taha MD                        St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine
2014 - 2015                 Steven Neuman MD               Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Miranda Smith DO                 New York Medical College
Tamer Katamesh MD             University of Cairo
2015 - 2016                 Wesley San DO                      St. George’s University School of Medicine
Kevin Tabajie DO                  New York Institute of Technology
Ajai Sambasivan                     George Washington School of Medicine
2016 - 2017                 Madouna Hanna DO               Rowan University School of Medicine         
Ashley Zakhary DO               Nassau University Medical School,
Raisa Bakshiyev MD              Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
2017 - 2018                 Chris Thomas MD                  Ross University School of Medicine
Robert Andrews MD              New York Institute of Technology
2018 - 2019                 Paul Chirichella, MD             Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Sarah Yang, MD                    University of Chicago
2019 - 2020                 Raphael Jaramillo, DO           New York University
2020 - 2021                 Gloria Hwang, MD                Albert Einstein Medical School
2021 – This fellowship was discontinued

TABLE 9: SPINAL CORD INJURY FELLOWS

Training Year            Fellow                                     Residency Program
1995 - 1996                 Donna Ferraro, MD                Kingsbrook Jewish
1996 - 1997                 Barbara Benevento, MD         New Jersey Medical School
1997 - 1998                 John Horton, MD                    New Jersey Medical School
1998 - 1999                 Susan V. Garstang, MD          Baylor College of Medicine
Marianne I. Grew, MD           University of Utah
1999 - 2000                 Chester H. Ho, MD                 Harvard/Spaulding
Mylan N. Lam, MD                Tufts
2000 - 2001                 Rosemarie Filart, MD             Baylor College of Medicine
J. Glen House, MD                 Baylor College of Medicine
Yong Park, MD                      New Jersey Medical School
2001 - 2002                 Stacey Harris, MD                  NYU
Ki Alex Kim, MD                   Northwestern/RIC
2002 - 2003                 William Scelza, MD               University of Michigan
Matthew Shatzer, DO             Sinai-Johns Hopkins
2003 - 2004                 Karen Kepler, DO, PhD         New Jersey Medical School
Maya Therattil, MD                Montefiore
2004 - 2005                 Monifa Brooks, MD               National Rehab Hospital
Gary Galang, MD                   University of Pittsburgh
2005 - 2006                 Vidya Sreenivasan                  University of Ottawa, Canada
2006 - 2007                 Akshat Shah, MD                   New Jersey Medical School
Heather Walker, MD              University of Pittsburgh
2007 - 2008                 Jeremiah Nieves, MD             New Jersey Medical School
2008 - 2009                 Jessica Bloomgarden, MD      New Jersey Medical School
2009 - 2010                 Gina Benaquista, DO              New Jersey Medical School
2010 - 2011                 Miguel Coba, MD                   New Jersey Medical School
2011 - 2012                 Wesley Chae, MD                  Emory University
2012 - 2013                 Amanda Farag MD                 New Jersey Medical School
2013 - 2014                 Dana Clark MD                      Harvard/Spaulding
2014 - 2015                 Alice Hon MD                        Rutgers NJMS
Jayne Donovan MD                Harvard/Spaulding
2015 - 2016                 Olivia Park MD                      Northwestern/RIC
Margaret Jones                       University of Washington
2016 - 2017                 Ryan Solinsky MD                 University of Washington
Michelle Didesch MD            Rutgers NJMS
2017 - 2018                 Beverly Hon MD                    Rutgers NJMS
Jing Wang MD                       University of Michigan          
2018 - 2019                 Katharine Tam, MD               Northwestern McGraw
Kathryn Gibbs, DO                Hofstra
2019 - 2020                 Amanda Miller, DO                Western Univ. COM
Brittany Snider, DO                Mayo Clinic
2020 - 2021                 Shelly Hsieh, MD                   Rutgers NJMS
                                    John Lopez, DO                      University of Kentucky
2021 - 2022                 Courtney Gilbert, MD            Rutgers NJMS
Very Staley, MD                     University of Colorado
2022 - 2023                 Dhruvil Brahmbhatt, MD       Emory University
Lindy Gunawan, DO              Casa Colina
2023 - 2024                 Oscar Dimant,  MD                Rutgers NJMS
Shane Stone, MD                    Northwestern McGaw/Chicago
2024 - 2025                 Alyssa Cook, MD                   University of Michigan
Taylor Johnson, MD               University of PA
2025 - 2026                Sara Lis Herzberg, MD           Rutgers NJMS

TABLE 10: PEDIATRIC REHABILITATION MEDICINE FELLOWS
Training Year            Fellow                                     Residency Program
1992 - 1993                 Michael Armento, MD       New Jersey Medical School
1995 - 1996                 Robert Vrablik                        New Jersey Medical School
2003 - 2005                 JenFu Cheng, MD                   New Jersey Medical School
2009 - 2011                 Maya Evans, MD                    New Jersey Medical School
2011 - 2013                 Katherine Bentley, MD          New Jersey Medical School
2014 - 2016                 Adam Bartlett, MD                 New Jersey Medical School
2017 - 2019                 Brian Lee, MD                        Montefiore Medical Center
2022 - 2024                 Kendall Hulk, DO                  University of Texas Health Science Center
2023 - 2025                 David Issever, DO                  Larkin Community Hospital
2024 - 2026                 Sabrina Dieffenbach, MD       Rutgers NJMS

TABLE 11: TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY FELLOWS
Training Year            Fellow                                     Residency Program
2001 - 2002                 Ramon Lansang, MD              University of Pittsburgh
Yali Li, MD, PhD                   SUNY Upstate
2002 – 2003                Jayarathne Kottage, MD         University of Missouri
2003 - 2004                 Nino Dobrovic, MD, MPH     National Rehab Hospital
2004 - 2005                 Michelle Miller, DO               New Jersey Medical School
2005 - 2006                 Gary Galang, MD                   University of Pittsburgh
2006 - 2007                 Adam Schindelheim, MD       New Jersey Medical School
2007 - 2008                 Michal Eisenberg, MD           New Jersey Medical School
Neil Jasey, MD                       New Jersey Medical School
2008 - 2009                 Omar Gomez Medina, MD     University of Puerto Rico Medical School
2010 - 2011                 Michael Rhee, MD                 New Jersey Medical School
2012 - 2013                 Emerald Lin, MD                   Mt Sinai Medical School
2013 - 2014                 Christine Greiss, DO              New Jersey Medical School
2014 - 2015                 Giselle Vivaldi, MD               New York University
2015 - 2016                 Benjamin Seidel DO               Temple/Moss
2016 - 2017                 Stephen Hampton MD            Rutgers NJMS
2017 - 2018                 Ondrea McKay MD                Rutgers NJMS
2018 - 2019                 Laurie Dabaghian, MD           Rutgers NJMS
2019 - 2020                 Sharon Bushi, MD                  Rutgers NJMS
2020 - 2021                 Nicole Diaz-Segarra, MD       Rutgers NJMS
2021 - 2022                 Arline Edmond MD                Rutgers NJMS
2022 - 2023                 Caitlin Hartsgrove, MD          Rutgers NJMS
2023 – 2024                Jing Lin, MD                          NYU Grossman School of Medicine
2024 - 2025                 Grace Suttle, MD                    Rutgers NJMS
2025 - 2026                 Palak Patel, MD                      University of PA
Rachel Murray MD                Rutgers NJMS

TABLE 12: STROKE FELLOWS
Training Year            Fellow                                     Residency Program
2004 - 2005                 Sylvia John, MD                     LI Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY
2005 - 2006                 Jun Zyhang, MD                     Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY
2008 - 2009                 Kimberly Heckert, MD           Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
2013 - 2014                 Vahid Behravan, MD             University of Kansas (Neurology)
2014 - 2015                 Mosunmola Oyawusi, MD     Howard University (Neurology)
2017 - 2019                 Jonathan Oen Thomas, MD    Brooks Army Medical Center (Neurology)
2020 – This fellowship was discontinued

TABLE 13: POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWS (Funded Primarily by NIH or NIDRR Grants)

TABLE 14:  ANNUAL TEACHING AWARD SINCE 1988
            1988 - 1989     Martin Diamond, MD
1989 - 1990     Angeles Flores, MD
1990 - 1991     Richard Katz, MD
1991 - 1992     Steven Kirshblum, MD
1992 - 1993     Elizabeth Narcessian, MD
1993 - 1994     Ronald Tolchin, DO
1994 - 1995     Denise Campagnolo, MD, MS
1995 - 1996     Todd Stitik, MD
1996 - 1997     Chae Im, MD
1997 - 1998     Kevin O’Connor, MD
1998 - 1999     Bruce Pomeranz, MD
1999 - 2000     Barbara Benevento, MD
2000 - 2001     Steven Kirshblum, MD
2001 - 2002     Boqing Chen, MD, PhD
2002 - 2003     Steven Kirshblum, MD
2003 - 2004     Chae Im, MD
2004 - 2005     Rex Ma, MD
2005 - 2006     Peter Yonclas, MD
2006 - 2007     Barbara Benevento, MD
2007 - 2008     Peter Yonclas, MD
2008 - 2009     Mylan Lam, MD
2009 - 2010     Chae Im, MD
2010 - 2011     Nigel Shenoy, MD
2011 - 2012     Gerard Malanga, MD
2012 - 2013     Mooyeon Oh-Park, MD
2013 - 2014     Rex Ma, MD
2014 - 2015     Peter Yonclas, MD
2015 - 2016     Mooyeon Oh-Park, MD
2016 - 2017     Nigel Shenoy, MD
2017 - 2018     Gautam Malhotra, MD
2018 - 2019     Rex Ma, MD
2019 - 2020     Benjamin Levy, MD
2020 - 2021     Roger Luo MD
2021 – 2022    Jeremiah Nieves, MD
2022 - 2023     Roger Luo, MD
2023 - 2024    Nigel Shenoy, MD
2024 - 2025    Brittany Snider, DO

  TABLE 15: Elkins Award: Highest Score on Part I (Written Examination). This was no longer awarded after the year 2015.
1. William Bockeneck, MD    1991
2. Joe Peters, MD                   1993
3. Lisa Krivickas, MD            1995
4. Elaine Aufiero, MD            2004
5. Akshat Shah, MD               2006
6. Jessica Bloomgarden, MD  2008
7. Jonathan Kirschner, MD     2009
8. Jong Kim, MD                    2013

Ernest Bors Award
Best Research Article by a resident or fellow in in the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine
1. Andrea Cheville, MD         1995
2. Jason Lipetz, MD               1997
3. Alfred Tomaio, MD            1998
4. John Horton III, MD          1999
5. Chester Ho, MB, Chair       2001
6. Qing Tai, MD, PhD            2003
7. Ryan Solinsky                     2016
8. Beverly Hon MD                2020

AMA/Glaxo Wellcome Leadership Award for Outstanding Community Service
1. Brian Davis, MD                1998

Elected Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) as a resident
1. John Shumko, MD, PhD     1996
2. Andrea Cheville, MD         1997
3. Alice Chen, MD                 1998
4. Yong Park, MD                  2001
5. Nancy Kim, MD                 2002
6. Jason Bitterman, MD.         2020

 TABLE 16: DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

1999     Denise Campagnolo, MD
2000     William L. Bockenek, MD
2001     Joseph W. Cheu, DO, RPh, PhD
2002     John Chae, MD
2003     Scott Nadler, DO
2004     Stuart Yablon, MD
2005     Lisa Krivickas, MD
2006     Jeffrey J. Fossati, MD
2007     Todd P. Stitik, MD
2008     Gerard Francisco, MD
2009     Gerard Malanga, MD
2010     Andrea L. Cheville, MD
2011     Brian A. Davis, M.D
2012     Kevin O’Connor, MD
2013     Christopher Visco, MD
2014    Boqing Chen, MD, PhD
2015     Jonathan S. Kirschner, MD
2016     Gautam Malhotra, MD
2017     Hekyung Kim MD
2018    Kathleen Francis, MD
2019     Edward Bodofsky, MD
2020-2021 - no award given
2022     Jason Lipetz, MD Nancy Murphy, MD Joseph Valenza, MD
2023    Katherine Bentley, MD
2024     John Shumko, MD
James Wyss, MD
2025     Yekyung Kong, MD

TABLE 17: DISTINGUISHED FACULTY AWARDS

            2021    Thomas Findley, MD, PhD
Bruce Gans, MD
Shailesh Parikh, MD
2022    Hannah Aura Shoval, MD
Gautam Malhotra, MD
2023    Todd Linsenmeyer, MD
2023    Joseph Valenza, MD

SPECIAL AWARDS -(NEW 2023)

Advocate of Medical Education for Disability Inclusion Award
Trevor Dyson-Hudson MD - Sept 2022-May 2023
(for promoting disability awareness and education among medical students at Rutgers NJMS )                        

Advocate of Medical Education for Disability Inclusion Award
Diane Feldman - Sept 2022-May 2023
(for promoting disability awareness and education among medical students at Rutgers NJMS) 

Appreciation Award
Roger L DeRose – June 2024