Office of Research & Development |
  |
Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
An official website of the United States government
View: Recent Awards || All Awards
Dr. Robert Kirsch
Dr. Robert Kirsch, senior research career scientist and executive director of the Center for Functional Electrical Stimulation at the Cleveland VA, is the winner of the Paul B. Magnuson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rehabilitation Research and Development.
Dr. Kirsch is an internationally recognized leader in rehabilitation and neural engineering research who is at the forefront of technology that seems like something out of a science-fiction novel. During his 30-plus years with VA, he has focused on restoring function to people with profound upper-limb paralysis by using a mix of functional electrical stimulation, called FES, and brain-computer interfaces.
FES is a rehabilitation and therapeutic technology that uses electrical impulses to activate muscles and improve motor function, while brain-computer interfaces involve implanted devices that interpret brain signals and allow patients to directly control devices with only their thoughts. Dr. Kirsch’s research focuses on enabling Veterans to achieve independence even after disability, developing “first-in-human” applications to restore arm movement.
One of his most impressive accomplishments is called the ReHAB system, short for Reconnecting the Hand and Arm to the Brain. This system involves implanting electrodes in the brain that control movement and sensation and combining those with electrodes in the upper arm and shoulder to re-activate paralyzed muscles. Dr. Kirsch and his team were the first to use this technology to restore arm and hand function to individuals paralyzed by spinal cord injuries.
Dr. Kirsch has led the FES Center at Cleveland for more than 13 years. During his time at the helm, he has helped develop ground-breaking technologies to restore function to Veterans with spinal cord injury, stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, amputation, chronic pain, psychiatric disorders, and a range of other neurological and neuromuscular disorders.
Dr. Kirsch has also provided strong leadership for other VA Research programs, such as the Translational Education Mentoring Center, the advisory board for the Center for Neuro-restoration and Neurotechnology, and many review panels. He has been a prolific mentor throughout his career, serving as an advisor to more than 30 students and 85 rehabilitation research scientists at the FES Center.