The Nigeria Physiotherapy network is elated to announce that Professor Abiodun Akinwuntan of the Georgia Health Sciences University - GHSU (formerly Medical College of Georgia), Augusta, Georgia, has joined the big league and the 'big boys and girls' club of research grantsmanship. Professor Akinwuntan has just been awarded a total of $395,069.10 (N63,211,056.00) grant funding to forward his research agenda in multiple sclerosis and driving.

After several years of dedication, hard-work, and impeccable scholarly productivity, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) finally took notice of Akinwuntan's preliminary works, and have awarded him a preliminary 3-year funding totaling $359,569.10 (N57,531,056.00); with potential for additional funding for a 2nd phase follow up study.

The title of Akinwuntan's research funding grant award is "Assessment and rehabilitation of fitness-to-drive in individual with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)", with an October 1, 2012 funding start date! In this phase of the study, Akinwuntan will create and establish parameters for assessment and rehabilitation of individuals with MS.

Akinwuntan will also be preparing for a 2nd phase of the study which the the NMSS is willing to fund if he has pilot data to demonstrate the feasibility. Therefore, office of the the Vice President for Research at GHSU has further awarded him an additional internal grant of $25,000.00 (N4,000,000.00) to pilot the 2nd phase of his study, in readiness and as a means to securing further funding from the NMSS. In addition, and to extend this line of research into the area of patients with visual problems, the Vision Discovery Institute (VDI) at GHSU also awarded Akinwuntan another $10,500.00 (N1,680,000.00) to investigate the effects of training on driving performance in individuals with dry age-related macular degeneration.

Akinwuntan, a 1994 physiotherapy graduate of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos is currently an Associate Professor and Director, Driving Simulation Laboratory at GHSU. He has been profiled earlier on the website of the Nigeria Physiotherapy Network for his astounding scholarly accomplishments and work in driving simulation after stroke. He is now extending his expertise in to bring solutions to the lives of individuals with Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's disease and macular degeneration.

Akinwuntan was also recently appointed as the Editor-In-Chief of the Nigerian Journal of Medical Rehabilitation (NJMR), a Journal of the Medical Rehabilitation Therapists (Registration) Board of Nigeria.  He is also a manuscript reviewer for several high impact factor journals including Stroke, Archives of PM & Rehab, Neuroscience, etc. Professor Akinwuntan is very well published with over 30 works published in high impact factor journals. In this year 2012 alone, he has four (4) published papers already, and another four (4) have been accepted for publication before the end of this year.

Please join me in congratulating Professor Abiodun Akinwuntan for once again putting Nigeria Physiotherapy Education on the world stage, by these great and laudable accomplishments.

Professor Akinwuntan who is also copied in this email can be reached at:
Email: aakinwuntan@georgiahealth.edu

Very big congratulations Professor Akinwuntan!!!

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Published 09:24:00 15.09.2012