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Senior Scientist; Director Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorders Lab
Carolinas Rehabilitation/Carolinas Medical Center
Merz Neurosciences (Products/Services: No) (Research Grant)
Mark A. Hirsch, PhD, FACRM, has been a member of ACRM since 2008 and is the Immediate Past Chair of the Neurodegenerative Diseases Networking Group, co-Chair ACRM Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, member of the ACRM Program Committee, and member of the ACRM Group Oversight Committee. Hirsch co-developed the ACRM-level Women in Rehabilitation Science Award, the NDNG-level Women in Rehabilitation Science Award, and the ACRM Annual Women in Rehabilitation Science Symposium. He is Senior Scientist, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Carolinas Rehabilitation, Carolinas Medical Center and Atrium Health, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Director, Parkinson disease and Movement Disorders lab, Director Department of PM&R Resident Research Education Program. He received his PhD at Florida State University at age 29 with a thesis titled “Activity-dependent enhancement of balance in Parkinson’s disease”. He received post-doctoral training on an NIH T32 fellowship in neurorehabilitation research at Johns Hopkins Hospital (96-99), Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (B. J. de Lateur, MD, mentor) and a neurology fellowship (2000-2001) at Dusseldorf University (H. Hefter, MD, PhD, mentor). He has served as principal investigator, co-investigator or project manager on a number of federally funded grants including the National Institutes of Health NICHD (3), NIDILRR (4), Merz Neurosciences, Park Foundation and the Duke Endowment. His current research focuses on the neuroplastic mechanisms that link neurotrophic factor expression levels, physical exercise and social networks, mostly in Parkinson’s disease, and applying these insights to the clinic in the context of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Dr. Hirsch has made seminal scientific contributions in the area of exercise and Parkinson’s disease, which has provided great insights into the importance of exercise and physical activity promotion as a clinical first line treatment for all patients with Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Hirsch is also known for his pioneering work in the area of Parkinson patient/provider /scientist collaboration. He is active on international boards, including the International Association of Parkinsonism and Related Disorders and the Parkinson Foundation Rehabilitation Medicine Task Force.
