Anthony Lequerica, PhD, is the recipient of the 2018 Dr. Joshua B. Cantor Scholar Award. The award was established in honor of Joshua Cantor, a board-certified rehabilitation psychologist whose clinical research focused on cognitive fatigue, sleep deprivation, and exercise after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Lequerica is a senior research scientist and neuropsychologist in TBI Research at Kessler Foundation and co-investigator for the Northern New Jersey TBI Model System. With this award, ACRM recognizes his outstanding contributions to advancing research in the field of brain injury rehabilitation.
Sleep/wake abnormalities are common after TBI and frequently affect functioning in various aspects of life. This can magnify any already existing cognitive difficulties and interfere with engagement in rehabilitation therapies, interpersonal relationships, employment status, and overall quality of life.
“One line of my research is focused on continuing the work that Dr Cantor started to look at the relationships between insomnia and fatigue after TBI. His contributions in this area are many, and he has left a wealth of information to build upon in order to better understand sleep disturbance after TBI and use this knowledge to generate effective interventions to address the needs of TBI survivors,” Lequerica says. “I am honored to be associated with the work of Dr Cantor, who dedicated his career to improving outcomes for people with brain injury and their caregivers.”
The award recognizes professionals whose work embodies the spirit of Cantor’s endeavors and achievements, which aimed to provide solace, meaning, and hope to individuals with TBI. Lequerica’s clinical accomplishments and body of work, including past collaborations with Cantor, share this vision.
Lequerica will accept the award at the annual BI-ISIG Summit during the ACRM Annual Conference, Progress in Rehabilitation Research on Oct 1. He will also be acknowledged at the Henry B. Betts Awards Dinner and Gala.
Image credit: Kessler Foundation
