Joel DeLisa

Joel A. DeLisa MD MS is an American physiatrist. DeLisa was the Professor and Chairman of Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School (formerly the University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey) in Newark, New Jersey and was the Founder and President and Chief Executive Officer of Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research & Education Corporation in West Orange, New Jersey. He retired from these positions in 2012. In March 2008, DeLisa was named Chairman of the Board of the American Board of Medical Specialties which oversees the certification of physicians nationwide.

DeLisa, Founding Director of the Kessler Foundation Research Center (1987-2010) and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, is a senior investigator, administrator, and medical educator. From July 1 through December 31, 2000, he served as Interim Dean of UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. His bibliography comprises 135 published articles, 59 abstracts and 42 chapters and books. His leading textbook, “Rehabilitation Medicine: Principles and Practice”, was translated into Chinese in 2003. The fourth edition was released in September 2004 and has been translated into Italian. The fifth edition was released November 2010. He was the Editor of the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine from 1999 to 2005. His research interests include spinal cord injury, health delivery systems outcomes and the evaluation of physician clinical competencies, as well as undergraduate and graduate medical education. An active member of numerous professional organizations, he has had wide-ranging experience as chairman, board member and committee member. He was Chairman of the Board of the American Physiatric Education Council. He is a past president of the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine, the Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP), and the American Paraplegia Society (APS). He served on the Special Medical Advisory Group for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs from 1992 to 2005. He was a Director of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation from 1987 to 1999, served as its Chairman from 1993 through 1998, and was an emeritus member for an additional three years. He was Chair of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), 2008-2010. He also served on the Board of the Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates from 1999 to 2007, which he chaired from 2005 to 2006. He was Chair of the Council of Academic Societies of the Association of American Medical Colleges (2008). He was the President of the International Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ISPMR 2008-2010).