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When the 2022-23 academic year commences in September, there will be a new full professor among the ranks of educators at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R). Arun Jayaraman, PT, PhD, director, Max Nader Center for Rehabilitation Technologies & Outcomes Research, and executive director, Technology and Innovation Hub (tiHUB), is being promoted from associate professor.
Dr. Jayaraman’s promotion recognizes his stature as a national and international leader in PM&R, and his contributions through grant-writing, published research and, especially, mentorship. Over the past six years, Dr. Jayaraman has mentored 130 students! This group includes undergraduates, master’s students, students in the doctor of physical therapy program, post-doctoral fellows, medical residents, MD/PhD students, junior physician faculty and research scientists.
Dr. Jayaraman said he’s proud to give each mentee an opportunity to engage in meaningful research.
“All of our projects seek to improve patient outcomes,” he said. “My mentees understand very early that we're working to improve human ability. I'm glad that I get to play a part in focusing their careers on research that helps patients.”
Dr. Jayaraman is the 16th current Shirley Ryan AbilityLab researcher to achieve full professorship at Northwestern.
“Dr. Jayaraman has achieved international recognition for his work and has made a significant impact on the field,” said Elliot J. Roth, MD, attending physician, Brain Innovation Center. “Northwestern and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab are proud of all that he has accomplished in rehabilitation science, and for all the ways he’s helped people with functional loss.”
For Dr. Jayaraman, this news led to reflection on his career journey.
“I was a very average kid in school; nobody ever thought, ‘He's going to become a recognized scientist,’” Dr. Jayaraman said. “For an average kid to become a full professor at the top rehabilitation program in the country — probably the world — shows that if you put in the hard work and time and effort, anything's possible. Everybody should get their chance to blossom.”