Our Team

Director

Dr. Giacino is Director of Spaulding Rehabilitation Disorders of Consciousness (DoC) Program, Director of Rehabilitation Neuropsychology, and Associate Professor in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. He directs the Spaulding Rehabilitation Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, which develops assessment and treatment methods for severe acquired brain injury and DoC. In addition to serving as Project Director of the SH-TBIMS, Dr. Giacino is Co-PI on several federally-funded projects, including “Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in TBI (TRACK-TBI)” (NIH-NINDS), “TBI Endpoint Development (TED)” (DoD), and “Central Thalamic Stimulation for Traumatic Brain Injury” (NIH-NINDS).

Laboratory Manager

 Dr. Michael Bergin completed postdoctoral research at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard University and graduate work at the University of Queensland in Australia where his research investigated the influence of pain on human movement. At Spaulding, Dr. Bergin’s research focused on the development of an evidence-based platform to advance the identification and validation of clinical assessment tools for traumatic brain injury. As Program Manager of the SH-TBIMS, Dr. Michael Bergin is responsible for the day-to-day operations of all SH-TBIMS activities under the direction of Dr. Giacino (Project Director).

Research Scientist

Dr. Yelena G Bodien completed her graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where her research focused on using multimodal brain imaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation to probe the underlying neurobiology of psychiatric illness. She is currently a Research Scientist in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Bodien’s research activities include designing and validating standardized behavioral assessments of consciousness, and investigating the utility of advanced neuroimaging paradigms for improving diagnosis and prognostic precision of disorders of consciousness.

Postdoctoral Fellow

 Dr. Christopher Malone is a Post-Doctoral Fellow with a dual research and clinical appointment at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. He completed his doctoral degree, Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Neuropsychology, at William James College. He completed an APA-approved clinical psychology internship, neuropsychology track, at Massachusetts Mental Health Center/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School. Past graduate research includes work related to: false memory due to Alzheimer’s disease, measurement of semantic memory, and psychological burden of chronic migraine. At Spaulding, Dr. Malone contributes to clinical activities through the Neurobehavioral Clinic and to a variety of prospective and retrospective research projects, including validation of a consciousness rating instrument for use in Intensive Care Units.

Research Coordinator

Rebecca graduated with a B.S. in Biopsychology from Tufts University in 2017, where she discovered her love of the brain while conducting guided research in language processing and prediction. At Spaulding, she coordinates the TRACK-TBI study, and also assists with recruitment for the TBIMS National Database. In the future, she hopes to practice as a speech-language pathologist and eventually pursue a PhD in communication sciences and disorders.

Research Coordinator

 Amber Thomas coordinates recruitment and data collection for the TBI Model System National Database study for the SH-TBIMS. She earned her B.S. from Bryant University majoring in biology and psychology. Her undergraduate studies and research experience helped solidify her interest in psychology, neuroscience, and brain injury. In the future she plans on applying to clinical psychology PhD programs with a focus on neuropsychology.