Joel A. DeLisa, M.D., M.S., Founding Director of the Kessler Foundation Research Center (1987-2010) and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, is an experienced senior investigator, administrator, and medical educator. From July 1 through December 31, 2000, he served as Interim Dean of UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. His bibliography comprises 135 published articles, 59 abstracts and 42 chapters and books. His leading textbook, "Rehabilitation Medicine: Principles and Practice", was translated into Chinese in 2003. The fourth edition was released in September 2004 and has been translated into Italian. The fifth edition was released November 2010. He was the Editor of the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine from 1999 to 2005. His research interests include spinal cord injury, health delivery systems outcomes and the evaluation of physician clinical competencies, as well as undergraduate and graduate medical education. An active member of numerous professional organizations, he has had wide-ranging experience as chairman, board member and committee member. He was Chairman of the Board of the American Physiatric Education Council. He is a past president of the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine, the Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP), and the American Paraplegia Society (APS). He served on the Special Medical Advisory Group for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs from 1992 to 2005. He was a Director of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation from 1987 to 1999, served as its Chairman from 1993 through 1998, and was an emeritus member for an additional three years. He was Chair of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), 2008-2010. He also served on the Board of the Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates from 1999 to 2007, which he chaired from 2005 to 2006. He was Chair of the Council of Academic Societies of the Association of American Medical Colleges (2008). He was the President of the International Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ISPMR 2008-2010). Dr. DeLisa has received numerous awards for his service to the medical community. Among them are the 2000 Distinguished Academician's Award and the Outstanding Service Award from the AAP, the 2001 Distinguished Member Award from the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the Excellence Award from the APS, and the Gold Key Award from the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. He was a 2008 Gold Foundation Humanism Honor Society National Honoree. Most recently, Dr. DeLisa was the recipient of the Edward Ill Award for his outstanding leadership in medical education. Widely recognized as a leader in physical medicine and rehabilitation, Dr. DeLisa has been an invited speaker and a keynote speaker for these and numerous other national and international organizations. In 2007 he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO). The Kessler Foundation's Joel A. DeLisa, MD Award for Excellence in Research and Education in the Field of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation was announced in 2010. This award will be presented annually for the next 20 years to a physician and/or scientist who has demonstrated a significant impact on the field of PM&R, particularly as it related to the translation of research and education to patient care. One annual award will be presented in the amount of $50,000. In October 2011, Dr. DeLisa was elected into membership of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies.
