Dr. Charles Levy Receives OSU Alumni Achievement Award

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Dr. Charles Levy, a member of the medical and scientific council of SRNA, received The Ohio State University College of Medicine Alumni Achievement Award on Monday, August 6th. This award “is presented to College of Medicine or resident alumni in acknowledgement of distinguished career achievements, both in contributions to the practice of medicine and to society as a whole.”

Sandy Siegel, SRNA’s President, attended the ceremony to honor Dr. Levy.

“Dr. Charles Levy was the first physician on SRNA Medical Advisory Board. He established the Board. He was one of Pauline’s physicians when she was at Dodd Hall, the rehabilitation hospital at The Ohio State University. When Dr. Levy found out that we were establishing SRNA, he offered to initiate the Medical Advisory Board. He also recruited Dr. Joanne Lynn to our Board. She was the first neurologist and, at the time, was a co-director of the MS Center at Ohio State.

In 1997, Dr. Levy held an education meeting for a very rare disease community. The National Organization for Rare Disorders was involved in the meeting, as well. He invited SRNA to attend. All of the officers (except for Jim Lubin) and some of the people from our community attended. It was our experience at this meeting that inspired SRNA symposia. Dr. Levy demonstrated the power of bringing a rare disease community together, offering an education program, and creating opportunities for patients to share their experiences with researchers and clinicians. It was also the first time that Pauline and I met all of the other officers of the Association. Dr. Levy attended and presented at our first SRNA symposium in Seattle in 1999.

I was honored to have been invited to the award ceremony for Chuck. He graciously introduced me during his acceptance speech and recognized The Siegel Rare Neuroimmune Association. Chuck has been our advocate for a long time, and he has been a very good friend to Pauline and me.”

–Sandy Siegel

More about Dr. Charles Levy:

Dr. Charles Levy’s career is marked by dedication to innovation in rehabilitation. At the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, Dr. Levy is the chief of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service, associate director of the VA Center of Innovation on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, and the director of the Rural Veterans TeleRehabilitation Initiative (RVTRI). He also contributes his expertise in telehealth to the Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) collaborative that serves active duty service members and veterans who have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and psychological health conditions. The RVTRI and NEA projects use telehealth to deliver traditional rehabilitation – as well as arts, dance/movement and music – therapies directly to the home via live streaming video. Dr. Levy is also an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Florida and a research scholar at the Center for Arts in Medicine, where he conducts research on the use of virtual reality to help veterans with impairments in cognition and emotional control. In 2015, Dr. Levy received the Paul B. Magnuson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rehabilitation Research, “the highest honor for VA rehabilitation investigators.”