Neurology

Clinical & Research Subspecialty for Neuro-Rehabilitation

Neurologic Rehabilitation and Neural Repair Program

Steven C. Cramer, MD, Program Director
Ahmet Arac, MD, PhD
S. T. Carmichael, MD, PhD
Bruce Dobkin, MD
Jason Hinman, MD, PhD
Michael Su, MD
Neurorehabilitation fellow


Primary Clinical and Teaching Services

Inpatient service at the California Rehabilitation Institute (Cal Rehab) in nearby Century City.  This is a 138-bed inpatient rehabilitation facility that sees patients in the early subacute phase with conditions that include stroke, TBI, SCI and general neurology.  Attendings are based in our department and in the Dept. PM&R at Cedars-Sinai.

Two- and 4-week elective rotations at Cal Rehab are offered, with a focus on either [1] clinical activities, with Dr. Michael Su and the neurorehabilitation fellow; or clinical research, with Dr. Steven Cramer.

  • We also provide neurorehabilitation consultations for inpatients at the Ronald Reagan Medical Center at UCLA in Westwood, on topics that include neurology, neurosurgery, geriatrics, medicine, and orthopedics and extend to rehabilitation treatment and prognosis.

Outpatient service in the Neurology Clinic in Westwood.  Attendings include Drs. Bruce Dobkin, Ahmet Arac, and the neurorehabilitation fellow in a weekly clinic that emphasizes strategies to manage loss of motor control, language, mobility, and specific cognitive abilities, as well as their functional consequences.


Steven C. Cramer, MD

Teaching:
Teach neurology residents and fellows when attending on inpatient service  Teach post-doctoral fellows in research lab

Clinical Care:
Attends on inpatient stroke service

Research:
Studies stroke recovery in human patients, with a focus on clinical trials and biomarker development.

Screenshot of title ("Efficacy of Home-Based Telerehabilitation vs In-Clinic Therapy in Adults After Stroke") and list of authors for a science journal, including Dr. Steven Cramer
Cramer et al. JAMA Neurology. 2019; 76:1079-1087
An illustration of a human head cross section with a part of the brain visible, mostly monochrome but with one section of brain showing green, yellow, and a column of red
Riley et al, Stroke. 2011; 42:421-426
A colorful abstract of a human head facing down from the top, the colors indicating a condition (but no text indicating what)
Wu et al. Brain. 2015; 138:2359-2369

Ahmet Arac, MD, PhD

Teaching:
Neurorehab fellows, residents, and students in the outpatient clinic and courses.

Clinical:
Neurorehabilitation clinic

Research:
Applications of machine learning and deep behavior to automated  kinematics and neural recordings.
Simultaneously examines neurons with silicon probes at multiple CNS levels  in the motor network during reach-and–grasp behavior.


S. Thomas (Tom) Carmichael, M.D., Ph.D.

Teaching:
Teach neurology residents and fellows when attending on inpatient service
Teach graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in research lab

Clinical Care:
Attends on inpatient general neurology service
Infrequent outpatient clinic

Research:
Studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms of neural repair after stroke, using mouse models.  Several findings have made their way into clinical trials.


Bruce Dobkin, MD

Teaching and clinical: Neurorehab clinic

Research:

  • Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials, trial designs, pilot studies
  • Maraviroc controlled trial: Compare placebo to CCR5 blockade to enhance recovery by mechanisms of regeneration, learning, and drug plus training-induced plasticity.
  • Remote tele-rehabilitation: Test a more rigorous clinical trial design for neural repair studies that optimizes training and practice, using home-based tele-rehabilitation, virtual reality, and behavioral management.
  • 3-D kinematics: With Dr. Arac, test new monitoring and outcome kinematic measurements during real-life tasks that may offer more sensitive measures of  motor changes than traditional clinical scales.

Jason Hinman, MD, PhD

Teaching:
Residents and stroke fellows

Clinical:
Acute and subacute stroke in clinic and Stroke Service.

Research:
Microvascular disease mechanisms and repair in stroke and  neurodegenerative disease.
White matter vascular lesion mechanisms and repair.


Michael Su, MD

Associate Medical Director, California Rehabilitation Institute
Director of the Stroke Rehabilitation Program, California Rehabilitation Institute

Teaching:
Residents and fellows at Cal Rehab in stroke / neurorehabilitation, neurocritical care.

Clinical:
Inpatient service at California Rehabilitation Institute

Research:
Clinical trials