Leighton Chan, MD, MPH
Dr. Leighton Chan, the Chief of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the NIH Clinical Center, is a Diplomate of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Chan received his B.A. degree from Dartmouth College with a major in political science. He graduated from the UCLA School of Medicine in 1990. Dr. Chan then completed postgraduate training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Washington. Subsequently, he completed a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar Fellowship, earned a master of public health degree at the University of Washington School of Public Health and was a Congressional Fellow for the Honorable Jim McDermott (Washington). From 1994 to 2006, Dr. Chan was on the faculty of the University of Washington's Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. His research interests include traumatic brain injury, pulmonary rehabilitation and disability assessment.
Dr. Chan's awards include the Young Academician and Distinguished Academician Awards, from the Association of Academic Physiatrists, the Debbra Flomenhoft Humanitarian Award from the American Physical Therapy Association, the Distinguished Public Service Award from the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and the Daniel Webster Award for Distinguished Public Service from the Dartmouth Club of Washington, D.C.
Galen O. Joe, MD
Dr. Galen O. Joe, is the Deputy Chief of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department and Director of the Rehabilitation Medicine Consult Service at the NIH Clinical Center. He earned his undergraduate education at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA; M.D. at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, NJ; and dual residency training in Internal Medicine and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. A Diplomate of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dr. Joe completed senior staff fellowship training in musculoskeletal rehabilitation medicine in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the NIH Clinical Center. He is currently involved in research protocols looking at evaluation, conservative management and monitoring of patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1, avascular necrosis of the hip in HIV disease and assessment of impairments and function in inflammatory myopathies. His research interests are general, musculoskeletal, rheumatologic, and cardiopulmonary rehabilitation medicine. He currently collaborates on research protocols with the National Human Genome Research Institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the National Institute of Nursing Research, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Afua Asante, MD
Dr. Afua Asante, a staff physiatrist in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the NIH Clinical Center, is a Diplomate of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation with subspecialty certification in Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Georgia. Dr. Asante earned her medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan. She completed her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. She then went on to complete a Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine fellowship at New York University. Dr. Asante is currently involved in research involving children and adults with cerebral palsy, spina bifida and other neurologic disorders affecting gait, mobility and functional abilities. She is also involved with gait studies in the Functional Applied Biomechanics section of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department. Dr. Asante is also involved in research using musculoskeletal ultrasound on patients affected by COVID-19.
Scott M. Paul, MD
Dr. Scott M. Paul, a senior staff physiatrist in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the NIH Clinical Center, is a Diplomate of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation with subspecialty certification in Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine. He received his Bachelor of Engineering Science in bioengineering from the Johns Hopkins University in 1980. Dr. Paul attended the New York State Student's Program at the Sackler School of Medicine of the Tel Aviv University in Israel and received his medical degree in 1985. Dr. Paul began his post-graduate medical training at Washington University in St Louis and completed residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY. He continued at Albert Einstein to complete a fellowship in Pediatric Rehabilitation at the Rose F. Kennedy Center. Prior to joining the NIH in 2001, Dr. Paul was in private practice in Montgomery County, Maryland with Rehabilitation Medical Director responsibilities at number of local hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. He previously served as Chief of Physical Medicine at Dayton Children's Medical Center and Director of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Dr. Paul is the Research Coordinator for the Medical Staff Section of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department. He is the principal investigator of a protocol investigating the use of computerized, three dimensional surface imaging to study persons with scoliosis and other trunk deformities. In addition, he serves as an associate investigator in a number of NIH institute and center protocols including research on osteogenesis imperfecta, polyostotic fibrous dysplasia, neonatal onset multisystem inflammatory disease, proteus syndrome, and neurofibromatosis type I. He has authored a number of abstracts, articles and book chapters relating to childhood onset disabilities. He is an associate editor for PM&R: The journal of injury, function and rehabilitation and served as the inaugural pediatric editorial board leader of the AAPM&R's online knowledge base, PM&R KnowledgeNOW. Dr. Paul is also an adjunct assistant professor in the departments of Biomedical Engineering and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he developed and directs a series of courses on Rehabilitation Engineering.
Monique B. Perry, MD
Dr. Monique B. Perry, a senior staff physiatrist in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the NIH Clinical Center, is a Diplomate of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Perry received her Bachelor of Science degree from Howard University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society. She graduated from Howard University College of Medicine. Dr. Perry completed her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C. She completed a fellowship in Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at the Portner Orthopedic Rehabilitation Inc. in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dr. Perry completed a musculoskeletal medicine senior staff fellowship in Rehabilitation Medicine at the NIH Clinical Center. Dr. Perry is the Quality Assurance Coordinator for the medical staff for Rehabilitation Medicine. She is currently involved in research involving impairment, functional performance and disability in the treatment of alkaptonuria, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, progeria, Smith Magenis Syndrome, and obesity. Dr. Perry has research interests in general rehabilitation, musculoskeletal medicine, arthritis, orthopedic medicine, and electrodiagnostic medicine. She has authored a number of abstracts, articles and a book chapter. Dr. Perry currently collaborates on research protocols with the National Human Genome Research Institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Jay P. Shah, MD
Dr. Jay P. Shah is a senior staff physiatrist and clinical investigator in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the NIH Clinical Center. He completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at New York Medical College in Valhalla, N.Y. and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He also completed the UCLA Medical Acupuncture Training Program and a Bravewell Fellowship at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. He is education coordinator for the medical section. He is an affiliate professor in the Department of Bioengineering at George Mason University. Dr. Shah’s interests include the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) and the integration of physical medicine techniques with promising integrative approaches to the management of myofascial pain and dysfunction. He and his co-investigators at the NIH and George Mason University have utilized novel microanalytical and ultrasound imaging techniques that have uncovered the unique biochemical milieu, viscoelastic properties and blood flow abnormalities of active (i.e., spontaneously painful) MTrPs and surrounding soft tissue. They have published many papers on these topics. In addition, he serves as an associate investigator in the NIH’s Chronic Pelvic Pain protocol and Fanconi’s Anemia protocol. Dr. Shah is a well-known lecturer on the evaluation and treatment of chronic myofascial and musculoskeletal pain and the application of non-pharmacologic techniques including dry needling, electrical stimulation and acupuncture. He is intrigued by the likely roles that neurogenic inflammation, sensitization, somato-visceral and viscero-somatic reflexes, limbic system dysfunction, and neuroplasticity play in the initiation, amplification and perpetuation of Myofascial Pain Syndrome. He has given many invited lectures and hands-on courses nationally and internationally for physicians, physiotherapists, dentists, chiropractors, massage therapists, and acupuncturists among other professional groups. His presentations integrate the fascinating knowledge emerging from the basic and clinical pain sciences in order to improve evaluation and management approaches to neuro-musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. Dr. Shah was selected by the American Academy of Pain Management as the 2010 recipient of the Janet Travell Clinical Pain Management Award for excellence in clinical care and by the National Association of Myofascial Trigger Point Therapists as the 2012 recipient of the David G. Simons Award for excellence in clinical research.
Simge Yonter, MD
Dr. Simge Yonter is a senior staff physiatrist in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the NIH Clinical Center. Dr. Yonter earned her medical degree at the Ankara University Medical School in Ankara/Turkey. She completed ophthalmology residency at Baskent University followed by research retina fellowship at UIC Eye and Ear Infirmary. She completed her physical medicine and rehabilitation residency at Marianjoy Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, American Board Electrodiagnostic Medicine, American Board of Wound Management and Board Certified for Brain Injury Medicine. Prior to joining the NIH in 2018, Dr. Yonter was in private practice with Medical Director responsibilities at a number of local hospitals and rehabilitation facilities in Chicago Illinois and Knoxville Tennessee. She has extensive clinical experience in areas of Traumatic brain injury (TBI), Stroke and neuromuscular diseases rehabilitation, botulinum toxin chemodenervation procedures and electrodiagnostic medicine. Her research interests are TBI, ultrasound imaging techniques for diagnostic purposes and procedural guidance and cardiopulmonary rehabilitation medicine. She has authored a number of abstracts, articles and a book chapter. Her current research projects include long term clinical phenotyping of traumatic brain injury, botulinum toxin chemodenervation procedures, COVID-19, Chronic Adaptation and Response to Exercise and the development of ultrasound imaging techniques for myofascial pain syndrome.