Dr. Mark Nash Retires After 40 Years of Influential Spinal Cord Work
The renowned Miami Project researcher devoted his career to helping people with spinal cord injuries and will become a Miller School emeritus professor.
After more than four decades of impactful work improving the lives of people living with spinal cord injuries (SCI), Mark S. Nash, Ph.D., founding principal investigator and associate scientific director for research at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, has announced his retirement.
In his “retirement,” Dr. Nash, also vice chair for research in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and professor of neurological surgery, physical medicine and physical therapy at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, will become an emeritus professor in the Miller School’s Department of Neurological Surgery and assume the presidency of the American Spinal Injury Association, for which he has served two terms on the Board of Directors and as chair of the organization’s Research and Awards Committee.
“Mark’s contributions to the field of spinal cord injury research are unparalleled,” said W. Dalton Dietrich, Ph.D., scientific director of The Miami Project, the Kinetic Concepts Distinguished Chair in Neurosurgery, senior associate dean for team science and professor of neurological surgery at the Miller School. “He’s a collegial colleague who is responsible for so many advances that have impacted people living with spinal cord injuries. Everyone at The Miami Project and the Miller School thanks him for his distinguished work and dedication to our mission.”
A Career Devoted to Spinal Cord Injuries
Dr. Nash came to the University of Miami following his final year of training as a doctoral fellow in rehabilitation of ischemic heart diseases. Hired by distinguished Miller School neurosurgeon Barth Green, M.D., he joined the medical school faculty in 1984 and soon garnered international acclaim for his preclinical and clinical spinal cord injury research, including investigations targeting quality-of-life issues faced by people living with paralysis. He has published influential work on the impact of bone loss and muscle atrophy, immune dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes on people with spinal cord injuries and offered seminal observations on targeted exercise and neuromodulation approaches for people living with disabilities.
A Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Spinal Injury Association, and chair of the Clinical Practice Guideline Panel on Cardiometabolic Diseases for the Paralyzed Veterans of America, Dr. Nash’s work on cardiometabolic risk factors has resulted in important recommendations for designing, delivering and evaluating exercise interventions for people living with SCI. Dr. Nash has also championed the importance of nutrition in improving wellness. His rigorous studies assessing metabolic and cardiovascular consequences of varied nutrition regimens have improved the health of his research subjects and the SCI community.
“Dr. Nash is a nationally lauded researcher who has made a significant impact on the way we treat patients with spinal cord injuries,” said Leslie Morse, D.O., professor and chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Miller School. “His relentless focus on improving the long-term health of people living with SCI has resulted in less pain and improved quality of life for so many people.”
An Accomplished Researcher and Educator
Dr. Nash’s research has been supported by the American College of Sports Medicine Foundation, the state of Florida, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research and the National Institutes of Health. He has published 34 book chapters and research reviews and 142 peer-reviewed articles in high-impact journals. With an h-factor of 62, Dr. Nash has been cited more than 10,000 times by peers over the course of his notable academic career.
Dr. Nash is an exceedingly generous educator and mentor who has shared his knowledge with undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, medical students, residents and junior faculty. His lengthy list of professional accomplishments and honors include being named co-director of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (South Florida SCI Model System), chair of the Consortium for Spinal Cord Medicine Guideline Panel on Cardioendocrine Disease and recipient of the Board of Governors of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine’s John Stanley Coulter Award for his lifetime contributions to the field of rehabilitation.
“Dr. Mark Nash—not only my respected colleague but my valued mentor—stands tall among a handful of individuals whose leadership, genius, limitless energy and creativity launched and developed the number one spinal cord injury and neuroscience research center in the world, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis,” said Dr. Green, also chair of the The Miami Project. “Mark was one of the first scientists who recognized the importance of a holistic approach, including nutrition and wellness, as an integral component of our strategy to repair the nervous system and restore function and, most importantly, quality of life.”
Tags: Department of Neurological Surgery, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dr. Mark Nash, neurosurgery, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis