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James Christensen, M.D.

Associate Professor (Part-time)

Dr. Christensen is a 1975 graduate of the University of Nebraska School of Medicine. He obtained his PM&R residency training at the Sinai-Johns Hopkins PM&R program, his pediatric training at Johns Hopkins, and his developmental pediatric training at The Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins. He was Director of Pediatric Rehabilitation at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and The Kennedy Krieger Institute, until 2010. He continues on the part-time faculty. His clinical and research interests are outcomes and interventions for pediatric traumatic brain injury and rehabilitation models of care.

Education:
1972 B.S. with Honors, Nebraska Wesleyan University
1975 M.D., University of Nebraska

Faculty Appointment:
Associate Professor (Part-time), Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Pediatrics, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Specialty Certifications:
American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine (ABPM&R)
American Academy of Pediatrics

Honors:
Alpha Omega Alpha
Golden Goniometer Award (residents’ teacher award) 1988, 1997
2001 “Parents’ Choice Award” for: The Special-Needs Collection: Children with Traumatic Brain Injury.

Representative Publications:

1. Greenspan AI, MacKenzie EJ, Christensen JR, Robel C: Use of Health and Rehabilitation Services Following Head Injury. Md Med J. 1989; 38 (3):239-45

2. Pace GM, Schlund MW, Hazard-Haupt T, Christensen JR, Lashno M, McIver J, Peterson K, Morgan KA: Characteristics and Outcomes of a Home and Community-Based NeuroRehabilitation Program. Brain Injury 1999; 13(7):535-546.

3. White JRM, Farukhi Z, Bull C, Christensen J, Gordon T, Paidas C, Nichols DG. Predictors of outcome in severely head-injured children. Crit Care Med 2001, 29:534-540.

4. Gerring JP, Slomine B, Vasa RA, Grados M, Chen A, Rising W, Christensen JR, Denckla MB, Ernst M. Clinical predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder after closed head injury in children. J Am Acado Child Adolescent Psychiatry 2002;41:157‑65.

5. Vasa RA, Gerring JP, Grados M, Slomine B, Christensen JR, Rising W, Denckla MB, Riddle MA. Anxiety after severe pediatric closed head injury. J Am Acado Child Adolescent Psychiatry 2002;41:148‑56.

6. Slomine BS, Gerring JP, Grados MA, Vasa R, Brady KD, Christensen J, Denckla MB. Performance on measures of “executive function” following pediatric traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury 2002;16:759-72.

7. Vasa RA, Grados M, Slomine B, Herskovits EH, Thompson RE, Salorio C, Christensen J, Wursta C, Riddle MA, Gerring JP. Neuroimaging correlates of anxiety after pediatric traumatic brain injury. Biol Psychiatry 2004;55:208-16.

8. Slomine BS, Brintzenhofeszoc K, Salorio CF, Warren L, Wieczorek BH, Carney J, Moore DA, Christensen JR. A method for performance evaluation using WeeFIM data collected for the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' ORYX initiative: The 0.5 band control chart analysis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2004;85:512-6.

9. Slomine BS, Salorio C, Grados M, Vasa R, Christensen J, Gerring J. Differences in attention, executive functioning, and memory in children with and without ADHD after severe traumatic brain injury. J Internat Neuropsycholog Soc. 2005;11: 645-53.

10. McCarthy ML, Mackenzie EJ, Durbin DR, Aitken ME, Jaffe KM, Paidas CN, Slomine BS, Dorsch AM, Berk RA, Christensen JR, Ding R; CHAT Study Group. The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory: An Evaluation of Its Reliability and Validity for Children With Traumatic Brain Injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2005 Oct;86(10):1901-1909.

11. Salorio CF, Slomine BS, Grados MA, Vasa RA, Christensen JR, Gerring JP. Neuroanatomic correlates of CVLT-C performance following pediatric TBI. J Internati Neuropsycholog Soc. 2005;11(6):686-96.

12. McCarthy ML, MacKenzie EJ, Durbin DR. Aitken ME, Jaffe KM, Paidas CN, Slomine BS, Dorsch AM, Christensen JR, Ding R. Health‑Related Quality of Life During the First Year Post Traumatic Brain Injury. Arch Ped Adolescent Med 2006;160:252-260.

13. Slomine BS, McCarthy ML, Ding R, MacKenzie EJ, Jaffe KM, Aitken ME, Durbin DR, Christensen JR, Dorsch AM, Paidas CN, and the CHAT Study Group. Health Care Utilization and Needs Following Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury. Pediatrics, 2006;117:e663-75.

14. Ding R, McCarthy ML, Houseknecht E, Ziegfeld S, Knight VM, Korehbandi P, Parnell D, Klotz P, CHAT Study Group: The Health-Related Quality of Life of Children with and Extremity Fracture: A One-Year Follow-up Study. J Pediatric Orthopaedics, 2006;26(2):157-163.

15. Natale JE, Guerguerian AM, Joseph JG, McCarter R, Shao C, Slomine B, Christensen J, Johnston MV, Shaffner, DH. Pilot study to determine the hemodynamic safety and feasibility of magnesium sulfate infusion in children with severe traumatic brain injury. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. 2007;8:1-9.

16. Grados MA, Vasa RA, Riddle MA,. Slomine BS, Salorio C, Christensen J, Gerring J. New Onset Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Children and Adolescents with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury. Depression and Anxiety 2008;25(5):398-407.

17. Salorio CF, Slomine BS, Guerguerian AM, Christensen JR, White JRM, Natale JE, Shaffner DH, Grados MA, Vasa RA, Gerring JP. Intensive care unit variables and outcome after pediatric traumatic brain injury: A retrospective study of survivors. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. 2008;9:47-53.

18. Sesma HW, Slomine BS, Ding R, McCarthy ML, the CHAT Study Group. Executive Functioning in the First Year after Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury. Pediatrics. 2008;121(6):e1686-95.

19. Slomine B, Eikenberg J, Salorio C, Suskauer S, Trovato M, Christensen J. Preliminary Evaluation of the Cognitive and Linguistic Scale: A measure to assess recovery in inpatient rehabilitation following pediatric brain injury. J Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 2008;23:286-293.

20. Cole WR, Gerring JP, Gray RM, Vasa RA, Salorio CF, Grados M, Christensen JR, Slomine BS. Prevalence of aggressive behaviour after severe paediatric traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury. 2008;22(12):932-9.

21. Aitken ME, McCarthy ML, Slomine BS, Ding R, Durbin DR, Jaffe KM, Paidas CN, Dorsch AM, Christensen JR, MacKenzie EJ, CHAT Study Group. Family Burden After Traumatic Brain Injury in Children. Pediatrics. 2009;123:199-206.

22. Gerring JP, Grados MJ, Slomine B, Christensen JR, Salorio CF, Cole WR, Vasa RA. Disruptive behaviour disorders and disruptive symptoms after severe paediatric traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury. 2009; 23(12):944-955.

23. Forsyth RJ, Salorio CF, Christensen JR. Modelling early recovery patterns after paediatric traumatic brain injury. Arch Disease in Childhood. 2010;95(4):266-70.

24. Forsyth R, Vu T, Salorio C, Christensen JR, Holford N. Efficient rehabilitation trial designs using disease progress modeling: A pediatric traumatic brain injury example. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair. 2010;24(30):225-234.

Current Address:

Kennedy Krieger Institue
707 North Broadway
Baltimore, MD 21205 USA

Phone: 443-923-9440
Fax: 443-923-9445
Email: Christensenj@kennedykrieger.org