MossRehab Research Chief Wins National Award
Galveston Brain Injury Conference Cites Achievements, Advocacy by John Whyte
Philadelphia, PA, May 12, 2008 ─ John Whyte MD, PhD., Director of Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, will receive the Robert L. Moody Prize during the eighth annual Galveston
Brain Injury Conference May 14-16, 2008, at the Moody Gardens Hotel and Conference Center on Galveston Island, Texas.
The Moody prize recognizes distinguished contributions in acquired brain injury rehabilitation and research. In
selecting Dr. Whyte, the Moody prize board cited Dr. Whyte’s sustained achievement in brain injury research and clinical care,
and his advocacy efforts on behalf of persons who are most severely injured.
His impact on the field also is demonstrated by his teaching, mentoring and publications; his influential work
on basic treatment mechanisms for arousal and attention disorders; and his determined efforts to stimulate and improve the
“state of the art and science” in brain injury and rehabilitation research.
“It’s a tremendous honor to have been selected by a panel of brain injury experts with their own impressive records
of achievement,” said Dr. Whyte. “I’m lucky to be able to work every day on problems that fascinate me and that, I hope, make
a difference in the lives of individuals with brain injury and their families.”
As a young physician at the Greenery Rehabilitation Center and later as an Attending Physician at MossRehab’s
Drucker Brain Injury Center, Dr. Whyte was one of the first to take a special interest in persons with severe disorders of
consciousness due to brain injury. He conducted innovative research on minimally conscious/vegetative states (MCS/ VS) that
led to a successful clinical program at MossRehab, which he still directs. The Responsiveness Program has provided state-of-the-art
care for hundreds of patients with persistent disturbances of consciousness and has attended to the special needs of their
families.
The novel methods introduced by Dr. Whyte have had a broad impact on clinical care, having been disseminated
internationally in professional and lay media. In recent years, Dr. Whyte led and published the results of a large, multi-center
study of the natural history of MCS/VS. This research laid the groundwork for the ongoing multi-center randomized controlled
trial examining the effects of amantadine hydrochloride on MCS/VS recovery, with Dr. Joseph Giacino as principal investigator
and Dr. Whyte as co-principal investigator.
For many years, Dr. Whyte has made contributions to the field of brain injury research and care. The Brain
Injury Association of America and the 2005 Pioneer Award by the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania honored him with
the 2002 William Fields Caveness Award. Dr. Whyte was named Distinguished Member of the American Congress of Rehabilitation
Medicine (ACRM) in 2005 and was the ACRM’s Coulter Lecturer in 2007.
The invitation-only Galveston conference brings together the top scientists and experts in brain injury from
around the world to engage in intense discussions and examination of the most advanced aspects of their field. This year’s
focus will be on how rehabilitation care and outcomes differ for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) when occurring in the elderly.
The School of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Texas Medical Branch and the Transitional Learning Center at Galveston
sponsor the event and prize.
His colleague Tessa Hart, PhD, nominated Dr. Whyte for the Moody prize. The Moody prize consists of an honorarium of $10,000, a plaque, a crystal pyramid that commemorates the award, and a framed
certificate signed by members of the governing board.
Publish date: May 8, 2008
