Donovan Wins Lifetime Award and International Presidency

As the late actor Christopher Reeve found out in an equestrian accident, paralysis can be a tragic consequence of spinal cord injury. A physician who has spent a career caring for patients with spinal cord injuries, as well as other challenges in physical medicine and rehabilitation, began a four-year term as president of the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) in September.

William H. Donovan, M.D.

William H. Donovan, M.D., clinical professor and chairman of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, also has been notified that he will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) at the next annual meeting in 2005 in Dallas.

A founding member and past president of ASIA, Donovan is only the third American to serve as president of ISCoS since its founding in 1961 and the only physiatrist of the three. Conditions treated by physiatrists - who are licensed physicians - can include sore shoulders, back problems, carpal tunnel syndrome, amputations, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and sports-related injuries.

Donovan's term as president of ISCoS began at the annual meeting in Athens, Greece. ISCoS is the only international organization set up specifically for the advancement of patients with spinal cord injuries and dissemination of related clinical skills knowledge.

"Significant technical advances to improve the lives of people and finding a cure are our primary goals," Donovan said. "We don't have a cure yet, but we're well on our way. We are seeking clinical breakthroughs with stem cells, Schwann cells (the supporting cells of the peripheral nervous system), the olfactory nerves, and molecules that impede the body's natural barriers to nerve regeneration."

Donovan is chief of service for PM&R at Memorial Hermann Hospital and is associate editor of the journal Spinal Cord. He is executive vice president for medical affairs and medical director at The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research.

By Colleen O’Brien, Medical School