Mission of the Burke Medical Research Institute

Stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer’s disease are leading causes of disability in the United States. The Burke Medical Research Institute is a research enterprise that works in partnership with the Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and the Weill Cornell Medical College to develop new therapeutic approaches to a host of impairments that cause disability including paralysis, sensory loss, language problems and dementia. These impairments do not spontaneously reverse because of the poor ability of the nervous system to repair itself. We seek to harness the best in contemporary neuroscience to advance interventions to improve brain repair and recovery of function in all neurological diseases. This advancement is actively advanced by frequent and lively interchange between scientists working on novel pharmacological, biological and robotic approaches to repair the damaged brain in the Burke Medical Research Institute and clinicians in the Burke Rehabilitation Hospital expert in the rehabilitation of neurological diseases who are committed to help translate these approaches to the bedside. Indeed, a number of important clinical trials have been completed and are ongoing on the wards of the Burke Rehabilitation Hospital. However, we are far from reaching our clinical goals and potential, and lack of brain repair and consequent disability remains a large and almost silent epidemic. There is a desperate need for new approaches. By using an integrated, project-oriented, “translational” approach that unifies efforts in the Research Institute and Hospital, we intend to fill this need. As prevention is also an important part of the rehabilitation process, the Burke Medical Research Institute and Burke Rehabilitation Hospital are also focused on prevention of stroke, spinal cord injury and Alzheimer’s disease.

Fostering the development of the next generation of scientists and clinicians to advance “Brain Protection and Repair”

In addition to our clinical goals, one of the mandates of the Burke Medical Research Institute is the training of scientists and clinician-scientists in clinically applicable research related to brain protection and repair. We are attempting to accomplish this goal in a number of ways. First, there are few Institutes in the country with the synergistic collection and single focus that Burke has on neurological protection and recovery. All of our principal investigators (13 and growing) study some aspect of acute or chronic neurodegeneration or brain repair in the context of these diseases. This concentrated focus at Burke in conjunction with the superb investigative efforts in neurological injury in the Department of Neurology and Neuroscience at Cornell headed by Flint Beal has helped to create an unmatched training environment for clinical neuroscience. Second, we have created a Seminar Series to bring to Burke each week a nationally or internationally recognized expert in brain protection or repair. Third, we are attempting to create a number of funding mechanisms (internal and external) that facilitate the transition of deserving post-doctoral fellows into independent investigators. We believe that these funding mechanisms will support and encourage junior scientists to take new approaches to old problems. Finally, Burke is an environment where free exchange of ideas is paramount; a team approach to solving problems is encouraged and nutured; and mutual respect for others is highly valued. Together, these priorities reflect our desire to continue to be a leading environment for training in prevention and recovery research.

Public Education: What is rehabilitation research?

The advancement of treatments for disability associated with neurological diseases is a challenging problem. Rehabilitation research focuses on reducing disabilities and handicaps associated with a host of impairments including paralysis, sensory loss, and language function. Our ability to conquer the multiple obstacles we face requires the participation and support of patients, families and others in the surrounding community. This participation can take the form of participating in clinical trials; the donation of expertise that allows the research or clinical engine to function more efficiently at Burke; or fundraising to enhance the number of approaches that we can take to solving problems associated with brain protection and repair. To enlist this needed participation we consider it our responsibility to educate about the risks of stroke, spinal cord injury and other neurological diseases and how to avoid these risks; to inform the public about available, proven approaches to enhance rehabilitation in neurological diseases; and to provide information on the research endeavors at Burke that seek to directly improve our ability to reduce disability. Educational forums, Symposia and small patient focus groups are planned to accommodate these goals.