Jonathan Lifshitz, PhD

Jonathan Lifshitz, PhD, serves as the Director of the Translational Neurotrauma Research Program in a joint venture through Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's Hospital, Department of Child Health at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine - Phoenix and Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System.

In 2007, he joined the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC) at the University of Kentucky as faculty. In 2012, he was recruited to direct Translational Neurotrauma Research in Phoenix with the vision to improve quality of life for those with acquired neurological injury.

The research questions primarily investigate traumatic brain injury as a disease process that dismantles, repairs, and regenerates circuits in the brain. The underlying principle is that adaptive repair and regeneration fail, leaving a miswired brain and neurological impairments that decrease quality of life. Dr. Lifshitz takes great pride in his trainees, who work together in animal, translational, and clinical investigations.

The Translational Neurotrauma Research Program is supported by Federal extramural grants, institutional funds, and philanthropic donations. He has won 5 national or international awards for his research on traumatic brain injury and a NCAA/DOD Mind Matters Challenge for Concussion Education. He has more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, in addition to other monographs and book chapters. He is an inventor on 2 awarded patents, 2 submitted patents, and 2 patents in process. He serves on the Arizona Governor's Council on Spinal and Head Injury and Lead Scientist and Director of Research & Development for the CACTIS Foundation. He has or currently serves in leadership roles in the National Neurotrauma Society, the Rehabilitation Research and Development (RR&D) Service Scientific Merit Review Board of the VA, and Scientific Review Study Sections for the National Institutes of Health.

Society for Neuroscience
National Neurotrauma Society
Society for Pediatric Research
Neurological Sciences and Disorders A