Nathan D. Zasler, MD, DABPM&R, FAAPM&R, FACRM, BIM-C, CBIST
Dr. Nathan Zasler has been an ever present force in the rehabilitation community since the beginning of his career in PM&R. Dr. Zasler entered a four-year integrated program at the Medical College of Virginia in 1985 and became involved early in his career in education and research. After completion of his four-year residency program, he completed a one-year fellowship in brain injury rehabilitation. He remained in academia for several years and was involved with numerous grant projects and clinical program development. He then moved on to private practice opportunities while maintaining a unique balance between entrepreneurship, clinical care and ongoing academic involvement and achievement. Dr. Zasler has pursued several additional certifications given his interests in neurosexuality, impairment and disability evaluation and management, post-trauma pain, brain injury, as well as medicolegal aspects of neurotrauma. He has given hundreds of lectures worldwide mainly focused on topics related to brain injury medicine and rehabilitation.
He became involved early on in his medical career in grant supported research and has remained involved as a peer reviewer of scientific programs, grants and books. He remains involved in federally funded research projects mainly focused on brain injury outcomes and disorders of consciousness.
He is a sought after speaker due to the great depth of his knowledge and diversity of the topics he is willing and able to speak on and has an international reputation of excellence in his field practice. Since his training at Medical College of Virginia, Dr. Zasler has exemplified what it is to be an educator and has trained many students, fellows and clinicians both “hands-on”, as well as in the context of his writing and lecturing about topics involving neurorehabilitative and neuromedical issues in acquired brain injury, post-traumatic pain and neurosexuality. He has been quite prolific with his writing serving as an editor of numerous special issues in multiple journals, authoring or co-authoring well over 180 peer reviewed publications. Dr. Zasler serves as a peer reviewer or ad hoc reviewer for close to 20 different publications. Additionally, Dr. Zasler has served as co-chief editor of the international, peer reviewed journal “NeuroRehabilitation” since 1991 and also as co-chief editor of the official scientific journal of the International Brain Injury Association, “Brain Injury”, since 2002. Dr. Zasler's commitment to education and dissemination is also evident in the many chapters (over 60) and books (8 – either as chief editor, coeditor or associate editor) he has been responsible for.
Dr. Zasler is a member of numerous scientific, honorary and professional societies dealing with his work as a physician focusing on impairment and disability evaluation and treatment, and more specifically, brain injury medicine. These organizations are both scientific and advocacy related. He has held numerous medical directorships over the years and currently serves as the CEO and Medical Director of the Concussion Care Centre of Virginia, LTD., as well as Tree of Life Services, Inc., both successful brain injury related healthcare practices which he started. Tree of Life Services is one of the few highly regarded neurotransitional and long term care programs in the nation (see www.tree-of-life.com).
He has been an ACRM member since 1986 and served as the Chairperson for the Task Force on Sexuality and Disability from 1988 to 1993. He has directed and/or participated in innumerable educational courses at ACRM over the years and has been involved with the ACRM head injury/brain injury interest group since the early 1990s with particular focus on MTBI and DOC. He was named as a Fellow of the Congress in 2016.
Dr. Zasler has received multiple awards including most notably the first Young Investigator Award given out by the National Head Injury Foundation (now Brain Injury Association of America) in 1989. He received the Clinical Service Award at the annual Williamsburg conference in 1992, the Weinstock award from the Virginia Brain Injury Association in 2008 and the Shelton Berrol M.D. clinical service award for outstanding contributions to improving clinical services in brain injury from the Brain Injury Association of America in 2011. He has regularly been ranked as a top doctor by “Best Doctors”. He is also involved with international health care consultation and frequently is asked to serve as a medicolegal expert on brain injury cases.
Dr. Zasler has also served on innumerable committees over the years starting early in his career as a PM&R resident for organizations such as the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, the National Head Injury Foundation (subsequently the Brain Injury Association of America), the Brain Injury Association of Virginia, the International Brain injury Association, and the American Society of Neurorehabilitation, among other organizations.
Dr. Zasler along with Dr. Donald Lemkuhl were responsible for encouraging the National Head Injury Foundation to change its name to the Brain Injury Association of America. He was also instrumental in the merger of the International Association for the Study of Traumatic Brain Injury with the International Brain Injury Association. Dr. Zasler served for nearly a decade as chairperson of the International Brain Injury Association bringing it from the verge of extinction to a thriving international organization. He subsequently served as vice chairperson of that organization. Dr. Zasler was one of the earliest proponents of advocating for thorough cervical examination as part of the concussion work-up given the overlap of symptoms of cervical whiplash with concussive brain injury. He was also very staunchly opposed to the phraseology of “PCS” in the context of labeling concussive symptoms as part of a “syndrome”.
Dr. Zasler has a historical record of pro bono service to numerous agencies and has served on numerous advisory boards, scientific and otherwise. As one example of his commitment to supporting survivors of brain injury and their families, he has served as the Camp Bruce McCoy Medical Director since 1990 for the Virginia Brain Injury Association. He is also a sought after expert witness in both mild and severe brain injury in medical malpractice, personal injury and worker’s compensation cases.
Dr. Zasler has contributed substantively to the field in so many different ways over his nearly 40-year career relative to disability advocacy, lay and professional education (nationally and internationally), support for survivors of ABI and their families, as well as research and dissemination. He is a true example of a clinician who has shown a career long dedication to advancing the field on many different levels and has become an international leader in the subspecialty area of brain injury medicine and neurorehabilitation.