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RESEARCH COLLABORATORS

BENJAMIN RIX BROOK, MD

  • Department of Neurology, Neuroscience and Spine Institute

  • Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC, USA

  • Board of Directors of the ALS Research Group

  • Leadership, American Academy of Neurology

  • Adjunct Professor of Neurology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine -  
    Charlotte Campus

  • Co-Chairman of the American Academy of Neurology Work Group on ALS Performance Measures.  

  • A founding member of the World Federation of Neurology Research Group on Neuromuscular Disease.  ​
     

  • In 2012, Dr. Brooks was awarded the annual Forbes Norris Award for improving clinical management of ALS by the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associates and the World Federation of Neurology Research Group on Motor Neuron Diseases at the 23rd International ALS/MND Symposium.  
     

  • Dr. Brooks dedicated his entire professional career to advancing the understanding of the pathophysiology of ALS and improving the clinical management of people with the disease.  
     

  • Dr. Brooks was instrumental in designing the ALS Functional Rating Scale which has become the gold standard for monitoring the progression of ALS in clinical trials.            
                                                                                                             

  • He also helped develop the El Escorial for diagnostic criteria for ALS.  
    Played a key role in the development of two major FDA-approved therapies for ALS; Rilutek (1996) and Nuedexta (2010)      
                                                            

  • Received the first ever Disease-Specific Care Certification in ALS by The Joint Commission, regarded as one of the premier programs - regionally, nationally and internationally - for the study and treatment of such diseases.
     

  • Recipient of the Forbes Norris Award 2012
     

YUKI NAKAYAMA, RN, PHN, PhD

  • Department of Nursing Research for Intractable Disease

  • Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science Tokyo, Japan

  • Director, ALS Nursing Care Project


To achieve optimal nursing care and community-based management of ALS patients

JOSEPH LEWARSKI, BS, RRT, FAARC

Vice President of Global Respiratory and Sleep DeVilbiss Healthcare


Joseph Lewarski is the Global Vice President of Respiratory & Sleep. In this role he is responsible for leading the strategy, product development and management of the respiratory and sleep categories. Joe has been actively working in healthcare for over 31 years and has held numerous senior management and executive leadership positions in a variety organizations and environments, including acute care, homecare, pharmacy, group purchasing, consulting and medical device companies. Prior to joining Drive, he held executive positions with Invacare Corporation, Inogen, Inc. and was a partner for nearly 14 years with Hytree Pharmacy-Hytech Homecare, a large, regional pharmacy and HME company he and his partners sold to Omnicare.

 

His range of executive experience includes entrepreneurial and private equity funded start-ups to executive positions in large, public Fortune 1000 companies. Joe is a registered respiratory therapist and a Fellow of the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC). He holds undergraduate degrees in respiratory therapy and business administration and is currently completing a master’s degree in healthcare management. Joe has been involved in the design and development of a number of medical devices and has published over three dozen scientific and research papers in clinical peer review journals, as well as numerous clinical and industry related articles and white papers. He is a regular speaker at regional and national pulmonary medicine, respiratory therapy and homecare conferences.

Douglas A. McKim
MD, FRCPC, FCCP, DABSM

  • Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Ottawa

  • Medical Director, CANVent Respiratory Rehabilitation Services, The Ottawa Rehabilitation Centre and The Ottawa Hospital Sleep Centre, Ottawa, Canada

  • Serves as a leader of the Canadian Thoracic Society

  • Member of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP)

  • Served as Chairman of the Home Care Network of the ACCP

  • Served on the Canadian Thoracic Society Home Mechanical Ventilation Committee for establishing clinical practice guidelines

HMV CLINICAL PRACTICES

PATIENT EDUCATION

Robert L. Chatburn
MHHS, RRT-NPS, FAARC

  • Clinical Research Manager, Respiratory Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation

  • Adjunct Professor, Department of Medicine, Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio USA

  • Fellow of the American Association for Respiratory Care

  • Editorial board member, Respiratory Care Journal

  • Author of 9 textbooks and over 120 papers in peer-review journals and another 200+ abstracts. 

  • Recognized internationally as a research scientist and authority on mechanical Ventilation

  • Awarded by the American Association Respiratory Care in 2007: The Forest M. Bird Lifetime Scientific Achievement Award

  • Past Director of Respiratory Care, University Hospitals of Cleveland

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On October 5, 2017, Robert Chatburn was awarded the Jimmy A. Young Medal, the highest honor awarded by the American Association for Respiratory Care. 

 

Chatburn previously received the Forrest M. Bird Lifetime Scientific Achievement Award for outstanding scientific contributions in respiratory care.

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