RIC Patient Stories

Eric Edmundson

Eric Edumundson

Eric, a military veteran, received a complex combination of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and anoxic brain injury (ABI) due to a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq.

Read Eric's patient story

Michele Lee

Michele Lee

Michele Lee found a career and an aptitude for art through RIC's Second Look program.

Read Michele's patient story.

Eric Weil

Eric Weil

Eric, a pediatrician working in Chicago, participated in RIC's prime-of-life program to recover the abilities that drive his life.

Read Eric's story

Natalie Davis

Natalie Davis

Natalie Davis took part in rehabilitation including robot-assisted therapy to advance her ability.

Read Natalie's story.

Omar Al-Dhafiri

Omar and his father traveled from Kuwait to Chicago for Omar's care after he sustained a traumatic brain injury.

Read Omar's patient story

Photograph of Assaf Y. Dvorkin

Assaf Y. Dvorkin, PhD

  • Research Scientist, SMPP, RIC
  • Research Assistant Professor in PM&R, NU

Locations

Research Interests

Assaf Y. Dvorkin, PhD is currently researching perception and action in spatial neglect following stroke; Spatial perception and control of movement and posture in healthy individuals and in traumatic brain injury and stroke survivors; Using virtual reality and robotics technologies for rehabilitation.

Awards & Recognition

2004 – 2005 Rothschild Fellowship, University of Haifa, Israel.
2006 – 2008 Postdoctoral fellowship, funded by Michael Starnes Stroke foundation.
2007 Sarah Baskin Award for Excellence in Research, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
2008 Sarah Baskin Award for Excellence in Research, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
2008-2009 NIDRR Switzer Research Fellowship, US Dept. of Education

Recent Publications & Presentations

Dvorkin A.Y., Kenyon R.V. & Keshner E.A. (2009) Effects of roll visual motion on online control of arm movement: Reaching within a dynamic virtual environment. Exp Brain Res 193: 95-107.

Dvorkin A.Y., Rymer W.Z., Harvey R.L., Bogey R.A. & Patton J.L. Assessment and monitoring of recovery of spatial neglect within a virtual environment, Proceedings of the IEEE Virtual Rehabilitation 2008. p. 88-92, Vancouver, Canada, Aug. 2008.

Dvorkin A.Y., Rymer W.Z., Settle K. & Patton J.L. (2007) Perceptual
assessment of spatial neglect within a virtual environment. In: IEEE
Virtual Rehabilitation. p. 175-179, Venice, Italy, September 2007.

Dvorkin A.Y., Kenyon R.V. & Keshner E.A. (2007). Reaching within a dynamic virtual environment. Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation 4:23.

Rosenblum S., Dvorkin A.Y. & Weiss P.L. (2006). Automatic segmentation as a tool for examining the handwriting process of children with dysgraphic and proficient handwriting. Human Movement Science 25(4-5): 608-621.

Dvorkin A.Y., Shahar M. & Weiss P.L. (2006). Reaching within video-capture virtual reality: Using VR as a motor control paradigm. CyberPsychology & Behavior 9(2): 133-136.

Research Studies

Education & Training

Education

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Ph.D., Neuroscience , 2004
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
M.Sc., Atmospheric Sciences , 1996
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
B.Sc., Physics & Atmospheric Sciences , 1993

Fellowships

Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Northwestern University, IL, USA
Post-Doc, Neuroscience , 2008
University of Haifa, Israel
Post-Doc, Neuroscience , 2005