David X. Cifu MD

Dr. David Cifu, MD is Chairman and the Herman J. Flax, MD Professor of the Department of PM&R at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine in Richmond, Virginia, the Chief of PM&R Services of the VCU Health System, the Executive Director of the VCU-Center for Rehabilitation Sciences and Engineering, and National Director of PM&R Program Office and a member of the Senior Executive Staff for the Department of Veterans Affairs. He has been funded on 30 research grants and is PI or Co-PI on 8 current research grants totaling more than $25 million. In his 20 years as an academic physiatrist, he has delivered more than 425 regional, national and international lectures, published more than 165 articles and 65 abstracts, and co-authored 20 books and book chapters. He is also the Past President of the American Academy of PM&R. As Executive Director of the VCU Center for Rehabilitation Sciences and Engineering (VCU-CERSE) he has grown it to a $16 million/year, interdisciplinary research consortium with 65+ research faculty focused on improving knowledge translation and clinical care for individuals with acute and chronic disability.

Dr. Cifu graduated from the Boston University School of Medicine combined BA/MD 6-Year Medical Program in 1986, completed his Internship and Residency (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) at the Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, Tx) in 1990, and then served on faculty at Baylor in the Department of PM&R and as adjunct faculty in the Department of Restorative Neurology until 1991. He joined the VCU/Medical College of Virginia in the summer of 1991. As Chairman, he oversees a Department of more than 75 faculty, fellows, residents and staff and as VA National Director he provides leadership to more than 3,000 PM&R professionals across the U.S. He has recently co-authored the patient and family focused self-help book "Overcoming Post-Deployment Syndrome: A Six-Step Mission to Health".