2012 Keynote Presenters
ALBERT J. BANES, PHD
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Dr. Albert Banes is the President of Flexcell International Corporation in Hillsborough, NC, and Professor in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University. Dr. Banes has published 109 scientific articles and has 39 patents in his name. In 2007, Dr. Banes was elected as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical Biological Engineering. Prior to joining the Biomedical Engineering faculty, Dr. Banes was a Professor in the Department of Orthopaedics at UNC for 10 years. Dr. Banes has worked in the field of Cytomechanics for over 20 years where he has developed enabling technology for research to mechanically stimulate cells in two- and three-dimensional culture via application of tensile strain, compression, and fluid shear stress.
He received his Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University in Molecular Virology, his M.S. from the University of Richmond in Developmental Biology, and his B.A. from Lehigh University in Biology.
MARY F. BARBE, PHD
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Dr. Mary Barbe received her B.A. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and then a PhD in Anatomy from Wake Forest University in North Carolina, USA. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in developmental neuroscience research at Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1990. She is currently a Professor with tenure in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at Temple University School of Medicine, in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Barbe has received four teaching awards during her years at Temple University, including the Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2008. Dr. Barbe, in collaboration with Dr. Ann E Barr, developed a rat model of cumulative trauma disorder in which rats perform repetitive, forceful upper limb tasks. This model is used to examine the exposure-response relationship between motor task repetition rate and force and physiological and behavioral indicators of injury. Her findings have lead to studies examining biomarkers of inflammation in serum and synovial fluids of patients with overuse injuries. Dr. Barbe is currently funded by CDC-NIOSH, NIH-NIAMS, NIH- NINDS, and Foundation for Cerebral Palsy.
GERALD H. POLLACK, PHD
University of Washington, USA
Gerald Pollack received his doctorate in biomedical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. He then joined the University of Washington faculty and is now professor of Bioengineering.
His interests have ranged broadly, from biological motion and cell biology to the interaction of biological surfaces with aqueous solutions. His 1990 book, Muscles and Molecules: Uncovering the Principles of Biological Motion, won an Excellence Award from the Society for Technical Communication; his more recent book, Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life, won that Society‘s Distinguished Award.
Pollack received an honorary doctorate in 2002 from Ural State University in Ekaterinburg, Russia, and was more recently named an Honorary Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He received the Biomedical Engineering Society‘s Distinguished Lecturer Award in 2002. More recently, in 2008, he was selected to receive the University of Washington‘s highest singular distinction: the Annual Faculty Lecturer Award. Pollack is a Founding Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and a Fellow of both the American Heart Association and the Biomedical Engineering Society. He is also Founding Editor-in-Chief of the journal, WATER, and has recently received an NIH Transformative R01 Award.
MICHAEL KJAER, MD, DMSC
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Dr. Kjaer was educated as a Medical doctor from University of Copenhagen in 1984, and became a Specialist in Rheumatology in 1995. He is Head of Institute of Sports Medicine, Dept of Orthopedic Surgery, Bispebjerg Hospital in Copenhagen and Clinical Professor in Sports Medicine at University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Dr. Kjaer‘s research group focuses on adaptation of tendon and skeletal muscle to mechanical loading and physical training, with special emphasize on physiological-pathological adaptation to overloading and regeneration of tissue. He has published more that 250 original papers and supervised more than 20 PhD students and 5 post doctoral students.
ROLF K. REED, PHD
University of Bergen, Norway
Professor Reed holds and MD and a PhD and his research area is microcirculatory exchange with a particular focus on inflammatory processes and how the loose connective tissues can modify this exchange. Together with researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden he has demonstrated that the loose connective tissues during inflammatory edema contribute markedly to the rapid edema development and that this edema process can be manipulated pharmacologically.
Professor Reed is currently Head of Department of Department of Biomedicine, Norway since 2005. He has been Chairman of the Board of Medicine and Health in the Research Council of Norway and has participated in several national and international review panels and boards.
JAY P. SHAH, MD
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Dr. Shah is a senior staff physiatrist and investigator in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland USA. His clinical research interests include the pathophysiology of myofascial pain and the integration of physical medicine techniques with promising complementary approaches in the management of neuro-musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. Dr. Shah is a well-known lecturer on the mechanisms of chronic pain, myofascial pain, acupuncture techniques and other related topics. Dr. Shah and his co-investigators at the NIH are utilizing novel microanalytical and ultrasound imaging techniques to study the unique biochemical milieu and viscoelastic properties of myofascial trigger points and surrounding soft tissue. His research has been published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. Dr. Shah also teaches hands-on workshops for physicians, dentists and physical therapists among others. His workshops integrate emerging knowledge from the clinical pain sciences in order to improve evaluation and management approaches to musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. Dr. Shah was selected by the American Academy of Pain Management as the 2010 recipient of the Janet Travell Clinical Pain Management Award.
KAREN J. SHERMAN, PHD, MPH
Group Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
Dr. Sherman is an epidemiologist and Senior Investigator at the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle and holds an affiliate appointment at the University of Washington. Since 1996, her research has focused on evaluating complementary and alternative treatments for musculoskeletal conditions and other common health problems. Dr. Sherman has lead or collaborated on over a dozen NIH funded randomized clinical trials of complementary medical (CAM) therapies, including six clinical trials of massage. She has published widely in the area of CAM and is well known as an expert on the design and conduct of clinical trials of CAM. Dr. Sherman regularly lectures nationally and internationally to scientific and CAM audiences on her research and on the methods for studying CAM therapies. She acts as a reviewer for dozens of medical journals and sits on the editorial board for International Journal of Yoga Therapy and Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies and is a Methodology Editor for Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. Dr. Sherman recently chaired the Scientific Advisory Board for the conference Highlighting Massage Therapy in CIM Research.
CARLA STECCO, MD
University of Padova, Italy
Dr. Stecco is currently Assistant Professor of Human Anatomy and Movement Sciences at the University of Padova, Italy. She is a founding member of the Fascial Manipulation Association and a member of the Italian Society of Anatomy and Histology and of the Association Française des Morphologistes. Dr. Stecco‘s scientific activity is devoted to the study of the anatomy of the human fasciae from a macroscopical, histological and physiopathological point of view. She personally made over 100 dissections of fresh cadavers for research. From 2000, Dr. Stecco organizes and personally holds theoretical-practical courses on the Fascial Manipulation technique both in Italy and in other countries. She is the author of more than forty in extenso papers on fascial anatomy, all indexed in PubMed. She is also the author of Manipolazione Fasciale, Piccin, 2007, translated into English, Fascial Manipulation: practical part. Piccin, 2009