The Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation (CPIRF) is pleased to announce the appointment of James A. Blackman, M.D., M.P.H. on August 1st, 2011 as our new Medical Director. In conjunction with our Scientific Advisory Council (SAC), Dr. Blackman will be developing CPIRF’s research and educational strategies in addition to coordinating the research grant peer review process with the Scientific Review Committee (SRC). He will be working closely with leaders from within the scientific, governmental, and CP/disabilities communities to facilitate and enhance our domestic and global research and educational partnerships.
“The CPIRF Board of Directors and I are thrilled that Jim has agreed to join us as Medical Director of the Foundation. I am confident his passion for research and extensive experience will accelerate the pace of discovery for our research investments going forward” stated Glenn R. Tringali, CEO & President.
Dr. Blackman is Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at the University of Virginia, where he served over twenty years, most recently as Head, Division of Developmental Pediatrics and Medical Director of the Kluge Children’s Rehabilitation Center. He is also past president of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine. Among his research interests, he has received funding from the NIH to study the role of the Apolipoprotein E gene in cerebral palsy with collaborators from Australia and Norway. He received his MD degree at the Ohio State University, completed pediatrics residency at the University of Michigan and Fellowship in Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics at Harvard University (Children’s Hospital, Boston).
In commenting upon his new role, Dr. Blackman stated, “To me, becoming the CPIRF Medical Director is the perfect culmination of over 30 years experience in education, research and, most importantly, clinical work with individuals with cerebral palsy and their families. I would like to use this experience to continue the outstanding work of the Foundation in promoting new knowledge into the causes, treatments and quality of life issues of cerebral palsy. However, an important aspect of my job is to explore new research directions for the Foundation in collaboration with national and international partners, the Board of Directors, UCP affiliates, and persons with cerebral palsy and their families. I welcome ideas and advice from any source and look forward to a very exciting and productive association with CPIRF.”
Dr. Blackman lives in Charlottesville, Virginia and is married to Susan Blackman, a former English teacher who currently works for the Ron Brown Scholars Foundation. Jim is also the proud father of two sons (one an asset manager in Austin and one an information technology specialist in San Diego) and one daughter (a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in Philadelphia).
Most treatments for cerebral palsy (CP) are initially directed toward children. What is not clearly established is the long- term effects of such treatments. Many appear helpful in the short term but prove to be disadvantageous in the long run. Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) is a permanent, irreversible neurosurgical procedure for reducing spasticity in cerebral palsy. Parents contemplating SDR for their child would like assurance that that there will not be harmful complications from it as the child ages into adolescence and adulthood. We now have new evidence...
congratulations sir
I am a doctor from Sri Lanka, interested in doing a research to find out aetiological factors contributing to cerebral palsy in Sri Lanka
could you please advice on a research design!
Thank you
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