Harvard Medical School & Beth Israel Deaconess Neuroscientist joins the team of distinguished scientists guiding the development of Vision Restoration Therapy for stroke and TBI patients
BOCA RATON , FLORIDA — NovaVision, Inc. announced today the addition of Alvaro Pascual-Leone, M.D., Ph.D. to its Scientific and Medical Advisory Board. Dr. Pascual-Leone will lend guidance to the company's continuing research and development activities and provide clinical counsel related to NovaVision VRT Vision Restoration Therapy (VRT), the first FDA-cleared, non-invasive medical device to restore vision loss caused by stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI).
"NovaVision VRT applies the latest understanding of neuroplasticity and cognitive function to provide stroke and TBI patients with a revolutionary therapy to restore vision loss. The scientific research already supporting VRT has provided the neurological community with important clinical outcomes and a sound clinical option for their patients," Dr. Pascual-Leone said. "I look forward to working with colleagues within NovaVision's Scientific and Medical Advisory Board to shape the direction of this important therapy."
Dr. Pascual-Leone is the Director of the Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center ( Boston, Mass.). Board Certified in Neurology and Neurophysiology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, he holds appointments as Adjunct Professor in Psychiatry and Neurobiology at Boston University, and in Cognitive Neuroscience at the Faculty of Arts and Science at Harvard University. Dr. Pascual-Leone is also the Associate Director of the Harvard-Thorndike General Clinical Research Center.
The doctor's primary areas of research interest are the physiology of higher cognitive functions and the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders, with a focus on the dynamic modification of brain function across the lifespan (Neural Plasticity), and the possibility of neuromodulation by brain stimulation techniques. Dr. Pascual-Leone is the author of more than 200 papers in refereed professional journals, more than 50 book chapters and two books. He has received distinguished honors and awards including the Ramon y Cajal Award in Neuroscience ( Spain), the Norman Geschwind Prize in Behavioral Neurology from the American Academy of Neurology, the Daniel D. Federman Outstanding Clinical Educator Award from the Harvard Medical School, and the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award from The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation ( Germany).
NovaVision's Scientific and Medical Advisory Board includes many of the world's preeminent experts in the field of neurology, neuro-ophthalmology, neuroscience and neurobiology - including leaders of research-based academic medical institutions, a Nobel Laureate, and pioneering thinkers in neuroplasticity. NovaVision's Chief Scientific Officer is the company co-founder Bernhard Sabel, Ph.D., Chair of Neuropsychology, Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg in Magdeburg, Germany, who originally developed Vision Restoration Therapy.
"Ensuring NovaVision's Scientific and Medical Advisory Board is comprised of the world's leading neuroscientists is critical to the company's success and development of VRT," said NovaVision President and CEO Navroze Mehta. "We thank Dr. Pascual-Leone for his support and look forward to the contributions he will make to NovaVision and the patients we serve."