Ralph Nitkin, Ph.D.

Deputy Director

Email
nitkinr@mail.nih.gov
Phone
301 402 4206
Fax
301 480 3854
Location
BG 6710 ROCKLEDGE DR. WING B RM 2116
6710B ROCKLEDGE DRIVE
BETHESDA MD 20817
Biosketch

Ralph Nitkin, Ph.D., is the deputy director for NICHD’s National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR). For the past 32 years, he has worked as a science administrator at NICHD, first in intellectual and developmental disabilities and, for the last 22 years, in medical rehabilitation.

Within NCMRR, Dr. Nitkin is particularly involved with research on the fundamental mechanisms and substrate of rehabilitation including neuroplasticity, physiology, exercise, and other adaptive changes. He also leads efforts on NCMRR rehabilitation research infrastructure networks (now the Medical Rehabilitation Research Resource Network), the annual Training in Grantsmanship for Rehabilitation Research grant-writing workshop, and special career-development networks for clinical neurorehabilitation, for physical/occupational therapists, and, more recently, for rehabilitation engineers.

In addition to his NCMRR work, Dr. Nitkin has helped promote NIH research initiatives in diverse areas such as genomic factors that affect rehabilitation outcomes, promotion of exercise and diet in children with disabilities, clinical trial design in rehabilitation, technologies for healthy independent living, and research workforce diversity. He also fosters interaction with rehabilitation researchers as well as those in allied fields.

Dr. Nitkin received his undergraduate and master’s degrees in biological sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his Ph.D. in cellular neurobiology from the University of California, San Diego. His postdoctoral studies at Stanford University and later work as an assistant professor at Rutgers University focused on the cellular and molecular basis of nerve-muscle synapse formation.

Curriculum Vitae for Dr. Nitkin

Selected Publications

A Bibliometric Analysis of the Landscape of Cancer Rehabilitation Research (1992-2016).
Stout NL, Alfano CM, Belter CW, Nitkin R, Cernich A, Lohmann Siegel K, Chan L.
J Natl Cancer Inst. 2018 Aug 1;110(8):815-824. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djy108.

National Institutes of Health Research Plan on Rehabilitation: NIH Medical Rehabilitation Coordinating Committee.
NIH Medical Rehabilitation Coordinating Committee, O'Mara A, Rowland JH, Greenwell TN, Wiggs CL, Fleg J, Joseph L, McGowan J, Panagis JS, Washabaugh C, Peng GCY, Bray R, Cernich AN, Cruz TH, Marden S, Michel ME, Nitkin R, Quatrano L, Spong CY, Shekim L, Jones TLZ, Juliano-Bult D, Panchinson DM, Chen D, Jakeman L, Knebel A, Tully LA, Chan L, Damiano D, Tian B, McInnes P, Khalsa P, Reider E, Shurtleff D, Elwood W, Ballard R, Ershow AG, Begg L.
Phys Ther. 2017 Apr 1;97(4):104-407. doi: 10.1093/ptj/pzx026.

National Institutes of Health Research Plan on Rehabilitation.
NIH Medical Rehabilitation Coordinating Committee.
Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2017 Apr;98(4):e1-e4. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2017.02.002.

Toward a National Initiative in Cancer Rehabilitation: Recommendations From a Subject Matter Expert Group.
Stout NL, Silver JK, Raj VS, Rowland J, Gerber L, Cheville A, Ness KK, Radomski M, Nitkin R, Stubblefield MD, Morris GS, Acevedo A, Brandon Z, Braveman B, Cunningham S, Gilchrist L, Jones L, Padgett L, Wolf T, Winters-Stone K, Campbell G, Hendricks J, Perkin K, Chan L.
Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2016 Nov;97(11):2006-2015. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2016.05.002. Epub 2016 May 27.

Harnessing neuroplasticity for clinical applications.
Cramer SC, Sur M, Dobkin BH, O'Brien C, Sanger TD, Trojanowski JQ, Rumsey JM, Hicks R, Cameron J, Chen D, Chen WG, Cohen LG, deCharms C, Duffy CJ, Eden GF, Fetz EE, Filart R, Freund M, Grant SJ, Haber S, Kalivas PW, Kolb B, Kramer AF, Lynch M, Mayberg HS, McQuillen PS, Nitkin R, Pascual-Leone A, Reuter-Lorenz P, Schiff N, Sharma A, Shekim L, Stryker M, Sullivan EV, Vinogradov S.
Brain. 2011 Jun;134(Pt 6):1591-609. doi: 10.1093/brain/awr039. Epub 2011 Apr 10.

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