Gerard E. Francisco
Gerard E. Francisco, M.D., is the Wulfe Family Chair in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), and chairman and professor in the Department of PM&R at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). Concurrently, he is the Chief Medical Officer of TIRR (The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research) Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he also directs the NeuroRecovery Research Center. Dr. Francisco is a leading expert in brain injury medicine, stroke rehabilitation, spasticity management and technology-assisted rehabilitation. He was inducted into the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) in 2017. Prior to that, he was the AAPMR Walter J. Zeiter Lecturer in 2011 and the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM) Sidney Licht Lecturer in 2016. Dr. Francisco received the AAPMR Distinguished Member Award in 2015. He was past president of the Association of Academic Physiatrists from 2015-2017 and was the recipient of its Distinguished Academician Award in 2020. Dr Francisco is president-elect of the ISPRM, chair of the Brain Injury Medicine committee of the American Board of PM&R, founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of ISPRM and past chair of the Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (2014-2017). He has received funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation for his research in rehabilitation robotics and neuromodulation.