RAMAT GAN, Israel and EAST HANOVER, New Jersey — Sheba Medical Center and the Kessler Foundation today announced a strategic collaboration to expand research and clinical program development in spinal cord stimulation for people living with a spinal cord injury.
As interest grows in treatments that may improve life after a spinal cord injury, the two organizations are working together to help move promising research into everyday care. Sheba and the Kessler Foundation will collaborate on training, protocol sharing, and studies to evaluate how spinal stimulation paired with intensive activity-based training may help improve movement, mobility, and other functions in appropriately selected patients.
Training is already underway as clinical and research teams at Sheba begin building the expertise needed for a spinal stimulation research center. This groundwork will eventually enable integration into clinical and rehabilitation practice.
The organizations are also sharing treatment approaches and planning studies to better understand who may benefit and how patient outcomes evolve over time. A pilot program is expected to begin within the next 6 months.
Under the agreement, Sheba Medical Center will serve as Kessler Foundation’s exclusive collaborating site in Israel. The effort builds on Sheba’s large-scale rehabilitation services, along with its broader research and innovation hubs, and the Kessler Foundation’s research at its Tim and Caroline Reynolds Center for Spinal Stimulation.
“People with a spinal cord injury are looking for treatments that can move beyond the lab and into real-world care, underscoring the need for restorative approaches that address the substantial, lifelong challenges they and their families face,” said Prof. Amitai Ziv, Director of the Integrated Rehabilitation Hospital at Sheba Medical Center.
“Spinal stimulation is a rapidly evolving area of neurorehabilitation, and progress depends on strong clinical partners who can help evaluate outcomes and scale best practices,” said Rodger DeRose, president and CEO at Kessler Foundation. “This collaboration is focused on sharing protocols, training teams, and generating data that can guide where—and for whom—these approaches may be most beneficial.”
World-Renowned Experts Driving the Collaboration
When Sheba Medical Center set out to become a global leader in spinal cord injury recovery, it partnered with Kessler Foundation’s internationally recognized experts:
Dr. Engel-Haber brings a unique combination of clinical and technical expertise, holding a medical degree with a specialty in physical medicine and rehabilitation, as well as a Bachelor of Science in computer science and mathematics from Tel Aviv University. Her leadership will be instrumental in transferring knowledge, protocols, and innovation from the Kessler Foundation to Sheba, ensuring rapid and effective deployment of these advanced therapies.
Sheba Medical Center further strengthens the collaboration through its own distinguished experts:
Together, these leaders bring decades of scientific innovation, clinical expertise, and translational research experience to the collaboration.
Dr. Kirshblum said the approach requires coordination. “It involves patient evaluation, device programming, and intensive rehabilitation working together,” he added. “By aligning protocols and measuring outcomes in a consistent way, collaborations like this can help the field understand what works best, and how to deliver it safely.”
What this means for patients
Spinal stimulation is an area of active research in neurorehabilitation. The collaboration aims to move evidence-based practices into broader clinical use by:
Next steps
Sheba and the Kessler Foundation share a goal of advancing rigorous research and responsible clinical translation so that more people living with a spinal cord injury can be evaluated for—and potentially benefit from—emerging neurorehabilitation approaches. Further details about planned activities will be shared as plans move forward.
The organizations also welcome discussions with philanthropic funders interested in accelerating evidence-based neurorehabilitation and expanding access through carefully evaluated programs.
Media Contacts
Sheba Medical Center: Steve Walz steve.walz@sheba.health.gov.il
Kessler Foundation: Carmen Cusido , ccusido@kesslerfoundation.org
About Sheba Medical Center
Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, is the largest medical center in the Middle East and has been ranked among the world’s best hospitals by Newsweek for 8 consecutive years. Sheba’s medical campus includes an acute care hospital, large maternity, cancer, and heart centers, as well as pediatric and rehabilitation hospitals. With over 1,700 physicians, 2 million patients treated annually, and 4,000 active research projects, Sheba is a leader in both clinical care and medical research.
And as a global leader in healthcare innovation, Sheba integrates clinical excellence, research, and AI-driven transformation to deliver impact at scale.
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About Kessler Foundation
Kessler Foundation, founded in 1985, is a New Jersey-based nonprofit and global leader in rehabilitation research committed to changing the lives of people with disabilities. By conducting groundbreaking research, Kessler Foundation advances recovery and fosters independence to build a more inclusive and accessible world.
The Foundation’s award-winning scientists develop and test novel interventions to transform care and optimize mobility, cognition, and quality of life for people with traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, autism, and other neurological and developmental disabilities. By analyzing community and workforce participation and developing evidence-based solutions, Kessler Foundation also addresses barriers to inclusion for people with disabilities.
Powered by a dedicated team of over 175 professionals funded by federal and state grants and private philanthropy, Kessler Foundation is redefining what is possible in rehabilitation care and recovery. For more information, visit kesslerfoundation.org.
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