Ibolja Cernak, MD, PhD, MEng, MHS

Career Highlights:

• Founding Professor of Physiology, Thomas F. Frist College of Medicine at Belmont University

• Founding Professor of Pathophysiology & Neuroscience, Mercer University School of Medicine’s Columbus Campus

• Founder and Director, STARR-C, LLC - Stress, Trauma, and Resilience Research Consulting

• Professor and Chair, Canadian Military and Veterans Clinical Rehabilitation Research, University of Alberta in Canada

• Principal Professional Staff and Full Professor, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

• Senior Partner, ProConsulting Services - Biomedicine, Pharmacy & Clinical Sciences

• Associate Professor of Neuroscience, Georgetown University

• Head of the Division for Clinical Pathophysiology, Institute for Medical Research, Military Medical Academy, Belgrade

• Medical Staff, Military Medical Academy, Belgrade

• Scientific Investigator, Serbian Scientific Research Council, Belgrade

Clinical Practice:

• Conducting clinical research focusing on multi-system consequences of traumatic brain injury and military injuries

Education:

• MA and MHS in Homeland Security: Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine

• PhD in Pathophysiology & Neuroscience: Military Medical Academy at the University of Belgrade

• Residency in Pathological and Clinical Physiology: Military Medical Academy at University of Belgrade

• MEng in Biomedical Engineering: University of Belgrade

• MD: University of Belgrade School of Medicine

Honors & Awards:

• Featured, MEDizzy – Inspire (2023)

• Featured, Connectivity – Traumatic Brain Injury Australia (2022)

• Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People: The Movers, The Shakers & The Difference Makers, Alberta Venture Magazine (2016)

• Woman of Vision Award (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), Global News (2015)

• Applied Physics Laboratory Publication Award for an Outstanding Development Paper in an Externally Refereed Journal Publication, Johns Hopkins University (2011)

• Invention of the Year 2010 Nominee (2011)

• Honorary Member, Hungarian Medical Association for Emergency & Disaster Medicine

Boards, Advisory Committees, and Professional Memberships:

• Member, Medical & Science Advisory Council, Invisible Wounds Foundation (present)

• Member, International Association of Medical Science Educators (present)

• Member, International Neurotrauma Society

• Member, Hungarian Society of Military and Disaster Medicine

• Chairperson, and Scientist and Clinician Reviewer, U.S. Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Research Programs (2008-present)

• Review Board Member, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (2006-present)

• Review Board Member, U.S. Department of Defense (2006-present)

• Review Board Member, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (2007-present)

• Review Board Member, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2008-present)

• Research and Development Service Federal Advisory Committee Appointment to the Scientific Merit Review Board for Brain Injury: TBI and Stroke, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation (2016-2019)

• Volunteer, Catholic Social Services of Alberta (2014-2016)

• Member, NATO Human Force and Medicine Task Group HFM-234: Blast Injuries (2013-2016)

• Volunteer Professional Advisor, Med4Kids Research Collaborative (2012-2020)

• Board Member, Campus Alberta Neuroscience Neural Injury Group (2012-2018)

• Board Member, Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (2012-2014)

• Board: Population Health and Public Health Practice

• Subject Committee: Gulf War and Health: Long-term Effects of Blast Exposure

• Board Member, Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (2009-2014)

• Board: Population Health and Public Health Practice

• Subject Committee: Re-Adjustment Needs of the Returning Soldiers

• Review Board Member, University of South Australia (2010-2019)

• Brain Injury Computational Modeling Expert Panel Member, U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command & DoD (2009-2014)

• Review Board Member, National Institute of Health (2008-2012)

• Review Board Member, Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (2002-2018)

• Review Board Member, University of Adelaide, Australia (2004-2019)

• Review Board Member, National Health Medical Research Council/NHMRC of Australia (2001-2019)

• Review Board Member, Faculty of Medicine University of Geneva (2006)

• Review Board Member, University of Rome “La Sapienza” (2006)

• Review Board Member, Master Thesis and Ph.D. Thesis Assessor, University of Belgrade (1994-2001)

• Review Board Member, Research Grants for North Carolina Biotechnology Center (2002-2005)

Research Focus and Interests:

• Physiological and psychological principles and mechanisms of resilience in first responders, assessing:

  • The importance of resilience in injury and chronic stress recovery and rehabilitation;

  • The causes of cognitive decline caused by chronic stress; and

  • Novel diagnostic methods, performance enhancement training modalities, and rehabilitation approaches

• Blast injuries and blast-induced traumatic brain injury: mechanisms leading to chronic neurological and neurobehavioral deficits

• Artificial Intelligence’s use for building predictive models for neurological and neurobehavioral responses

Research:

• ResearchGate

• Google Scholar

• PubMed