About me

Joseph T. Giacino, PhD co-teaches the Neuroethics course in the Master of Bioethics program. He is the Director of Rehabilitation Neuropsychology at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Consulting Neuropsychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Giacino's clinical and research activities are centered on the development and application of novel assessment and treatment methods for individuals with severe acquired brain injury (ABI) and disorders of consciousness (DOC). He served as co-chair of the Aspen Workgroup, responsible for developing the diagnostic criteria for the minimally conscious state (MCS) and was co-lead author of the Mohonk Report, a Congressionally-sponsored initiative to establish recommendations for lifelong care of patients with DOC. He currently chairs the VS/MCS Guideline Development Panel of the American Academy of Neurology which is responsible for revising existing guidelines for management of patients with DOC. He is principle investigator on a project funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) to develop novel fMRI paradigms to assess the integrity of language and visual processing networks in patients with DOC and serves as Project Director of a 12-site NIDRR-funded clinical trial of amantadine hydrochloride (AH) to determine whether AH facilitates functional recovery in patients with prolonged DOC. He also served as Co-PI of an FDA-approved pilot study of deep brain stimulation aimed at promoting recovery of speech and motor functions in patients with chronic post-traumatic MCS.