Meet the Leadership Team
Executive Leadership Council
The APT Executive Leadership Council serves as the primary decision-making body for the Center. Its members consist of the Executive Director, Medical Director, and Deputy Directors of Research & Investigator Development, Institutional Relationships, Technical Innovation & Engineering, Engagement & Outreach Programs, and Translation & Corporate Interactions. The group convenes monthly to set strategic goals, evaluate Center effectiveness, define new or redefine existing Center programs, and allocate Center resources to advance our mission to discover, develop, deploy and disseminate new interventions to improve the health, wellbeing and daily function of disabled Veterans.
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Ronald Triolo, PhD Ronald J. Triolo serves as the Executive Director of the APT Center, a research center in the VA Rehabilitation R&D Service. He is a Tenured Full Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, which is a state-of-the-art facility for the biomechanical and physiological analysis of human motion and rehabilitation outcomes and assistive technologies for gait, posture, balance, and activities of daily living after neuromuscular dysfunction. Dr. Triolo and Dr. Pinault are responsible for interactions within the local and national VA administration, inter-institutional relationships with academic and other affiliates, coordinating research activities with clinical services, budgetary oversight and reporting, allocating financial and support staff resources, space and facility management, advisory boards and external review oversight, monitoring return on investments, establishing internal Center policies and procedures, engaging and developing relationships with key stakeholders (Vets and VSOs) and prioritizing clinical, operational, educational, engineering, translational and capacity building initiatives. |
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Gilles Pinault, MD Dr. Gilles Pinault is responsible for identifying the medical and rehabilitation needs of veterans and communicating them to the investigators and Center leadership. He actively solicits input from peers within the LSCVAMC and CWRU medical communities, as well as the local and national professional consumers of technology. He is specifically charged with maintaining strong and productive linkages with all investigators, clinicians and medical consultants, and medical students. Dr. Pinault is the Medical Director of the Surgical ICU and has over 15 years of full-time service at the LSCVAMC as a vascular surgeon. He has served as Co-Investigator or Investigator on NIH, DoD, and VA grants, as well as numerous industrial-sponsored clinical trials. Dr. Triolo and Dr. Pinault are responsible for interactions within the local and national VA administration, inter-institutional relationships with academic and other affiliates, coordinating research activities with clinical services, budgetary oversight and reporting, allocating financial and support staff resources, space and facility management, advisory boards and external review oversight, monitoring return on investments, establishing internal Center policies and procedures, engaging and developing relationships with key stakeholders (Vets and VSOs) and prioritizing clinical, operational, educational, engineering, translational and capacity building initiatives. |
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Margot Damaser, PhD Margot Damaser is a Full Staff and Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Cleveland Clinic and a Senior Research Career Scientist at the Cleveland VA Medical Center. She has an international reputation for her high-quality research aimed at improving diagnosis and treatments of pelvic floor disorders, including stress urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and fecal incontinence. Her research is focused on applying regeneration of neuromuscular and extracellular matrix to benefit these disorders as well as development of wireless catheter-free monitoring systems. In 2000, Dr. Damaser was awarded a Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering for outstanding research on the human urinary bladder using mathematical modeling along with physiological and neurological studies. This is the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. As the Deputy Director of Research & Investigator Development, Dr. Damaser oversees pilot & bridge funding programs, PI mentoring & career guidance, and interactions with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, VA Central Office, and VA Rehabilitation Research Development and Translation. |
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Jeffrey Capadona, PhD Jeffrey Capadona is the Leonard Case Jr. Professor of Engineering and the Associate Chair of Graduate in the Department of Engineering at CWRU and Research Career Scientist at the Cleveland VA Medical Center. His research interest is in the neurodegenerative response to implanted biomedical devices. Dr. Capadona’s awards include: the Case School of Engineering Faculty Research Award, multiple graduate student mentoring awards, and the 2011 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). As the Deputy Director of Institutional Relationships, Dr. Capadona is responsible for coordination with academic and clinical affiliates, research & education alignment, and center-to-center interactions. |
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Steve Majerus, PhD Steve Majerus is an Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and Investigator at the VA APT Center. He received his BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from CWRU in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. His research focuses on sensor medicine: using bio-sensors to refine treatment and restore lost function. As the Deputy Director of Technical Innovation & Engineering, Dr. Majerus is responsible for trans-project effort leveling & project management, engineering team effectiveness, quality system implementation, maintenance & training, center-wide outreach and support, technical hiring and/or contracting and new technology development or acquisition. |
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Andrew Shoffstall, PhD Andrew Shoffstall is an Associate Professor for the Department of Biomedical Engineering at CWRU and Investigator at the APT Center. His research interests lie at the intersection of biomaterials and neural engineering with a particular focus on solutions that may readily translate toward an improved neural interface. As the Deputy Director of Engagement & Outreach Programs, Dr. Shoffstall is responsible for internal and external communications, communications & community building, professional & Veteran outreach, and collaborations within the scientific community. |
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Jonathan Baskin, MD Dr. Jonathan Baskin is an Otolaryngologist-Head & Neck Surgeon with additional board certification in Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and Sleep Medicine. He has been with the Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC and Case Western Reserve University for 2 decades, has been caring for veterans for almost 3 decades and served as the Section Chief of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the Cleveland VA Medical Center 2008-2020. In addition to the biomedical translational work he does with the APT Center, he is an oversight board member for the Case-Coulter Translational Research Partnership and has academic appointments in the schools of Medicine and Engineering. His research area of interest is in the domain of peripheral neuromodulation and surgical device development. As the Deputy Director for Translation & Corporate Interactions, Dr. Baskin works closely with investigators to review and assess their projects’ translational readiness and educates investigators & staff on moving biomedical technologies from the lab into the commercial sphere so they can be deployed in the service of patient care. He also works closely with Technology Transfer Offices at the VA and at CWRU. |
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Hamid Charkhkar, PhD Dr. Hamid Charkhkar is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. He also holds an Investigator position with the APT Center at Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center. His research efforts focus on developing neurotechnology to restore sensorimotor function in people with limb loss or neuromusculoskeletal impairment. As the Investigator Liaison, Dr. Charkhkar expedites communications between the Executive Leadership Council and the APT Center Investigators. Dr. Charkhkar also serves as the Chair for the Center’s Leadership Council. |
Leadership Council
The APT Leadership Council consists of the Senior Leadership Council plus additional highly engaged Investigators of the Center. This larger group meets monthly to bring and discuss emerging opportunities and issues affecting investigators and research programs. In addition, the group provides additional insight into key decision making affecting the APT Center.
Members
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Kath Bogie, DPhil |
Pedram Mohseni, PhD |
