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Beth Ansel, PhD, CCC-SLP

Professor; Vice Chair, Faculty Development; Director, Translational and Clinical Research

Locations

  • Neurosurgery
  • 8701 Watertown Plank Rd.
    Milwaukee, WI 53226

Education

Visiting Scholar, Christian Medical College, Department of Neurosurgery, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Pediatrics, Vellore, India

Postdoctoral Research and Clinical Fellowship, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, and The Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD

PhD, Communicative Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

MS, Communicative Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

BS, Biology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY

Biography

Dr. Ansel brings a broad perspective from her career in clinical research and practice, teaching, interdisciplinary research program development, clinical trial design and leadership skills gained in both academic and public health settings. Following her postdoctoral fellowship, she joined the faculty in the Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences at Purdue University, where her research and clinical teaching focused on developmental and acquired neurogenic communication disorders.

Her interests brought her to the National Institute of Health (NIH) where she served as a program director at NICHD/National Center for Medical Rehabilitation, overseeing grants and contracts in traumatic brain injury and stroke research, focused on developing successful strategies for nervous system repair and restoration of function. She facilitated the translation of basic research into clinical studies and the development of rigorous standards for preclinical and translational research. In this capacity, she identified new scientific opportunities, authored a number of research initiatives (RFAs) to implement new program objectives, and developed effective research and training programs to support basic, translational and applied research. Although a program director’s role needs to shift from that of an independent investigator to one who facilitates the research careers of others, Dr. Ansel remained actively involved in research as the lead scientist and director of the NICHDs TBI clinical trials research network, a platform for interdisciplinary, consensus-driven collaborative partnership to accelerate the implementation of multi-site studies. 

Dr. Ansel served on numerous NIH and federal interagency coordinating committees and working groups to establish research priorities, develop guidelines and consensus-driven nomenclature to streamline neurosciences clinical research and to advocate for collaboration among research agencies. Throughout her career she received numerous awards recognizing her contribution to science and service within the NIH, and recognizing excellence in teaching, clinical education and practice.

 

Research Interests

  • Traumatic brain injury and stroke rehabilitation
  • Relationship between acute care practice and rehabilitation strategies to long term functional outcome
  • Clinical trials design
  • Implementation of multidisciplinary research
  • Research program development

Publications