Gerard E. Francisco MD

Neurorehabilitation

Wulfe Family Chair in PM&R, Chairman and Professor, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, University of Texas at Houston McGovern Medical School; Chief Medical Officer, TIRR Memorial Hermann; Director, NeuroRecovery Research Center, TIRR Memorial Hermann

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TIRR Memorial Hermann1333 Moursund StHouston, TX 77030
Phone+1 713-797-5246
Fax+1 713-799-6997

Education & Training

Baylor College of MedicineFellowship, Brain Injury Medicine (Physical Medicine And Rehabilitation), 1994 - 1995
Rutgers Health/New Jersey Medical SchoolResidency, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 1991 - 1994
Michael Reese Hospital and Medical CenterInternship, Internal Medicine, 1990 - 1991
University of the Philippines College of MedicineClass of 1989

Certifications & Licensure

TX State Medical License 1997 - 2026
American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Brain Injury Medicine

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

Distinguished Academician Association of Academic Physiatrists, 2020
National Teaching Award New Jersey Medical School/Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, 2019
Flexner Discovery Lecturer Vanderbilt University, 2019
Elected Regular Member National Academy of Medicine (formerly Institute of Medicine), 2017
Sidney Licht Award International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 2016
Distinguished Member American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPMR), 2015
Alumnus of the Year PM&R Alliance of the Baylor College of Medicine and UTHealth, 2015
Distinguished Teaching Professor Univeristy of Texas Academy of Health Science Educators, 2013
Member UT Academy of Medical Science Educators, 2013
Alumnus of the Year UMDNJ-Kessler Instititue for Rehabilitation PM&R, 2011
Zeiter Lecturer American Academy of PM&R, 2011
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Clinical Trials

Comparative Efficacy of Three Preparations of Botox-A in Treating Spasticity Start of enrollment: 2002 Jan 01
Completed
Phase 4
Efficacy of the WalkAide and AFOs for CVA Start of enrollment: 2005 Sep 01
Completed
Not Applicable
SISTERS: Spasticity In Stroke Study - Randomized Study Start of enrollment: 2009 Nov 01
Completed
Phase 4
Safety Study of 3 mg/mL Baclofen Injection (Intrathecal) Using A Programmable Pump Start of enrollment: 2012 Dec 01
Completed
Phase 3
Brain Machine Interface Control of an Robotic Exoskeleton in Training Upper Extremity Functions in Stroke Start of enrollment: 2013 Sep 24
Completed
Not Applicable
Niche Trial: Navigated Inhibitory rTMS to Contralesional Hemisphere Trial Start of enrollment: 2014 Apr 01
Completed
Not Applicable
Human-Machine System for the H2 Lower Limb Exoskeleton Start of enrollment: 2015 Nov 20
RECRUITING
NA
VNS During Rehabilitation for Improved Upper Limb Motor Function After Stroke Start of enrollment: 2014 Oct 01
Completed
Not Applicable
Dextroamphetamine and tDCS to Improve the Fluency Start of enrollment: 2015 Mar 01
Completed
Phase 2
Clinical Algorithm for Post-Stroke Gait Training With C-Brace Start of enrollment: 2017 Feb 13
Completed
Not Applicable
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Post-stroke Motor Recovery Start of enrollment: 2019 Sep 01
COMPLETED
PHASE2
Paired Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) With Rehabilitation for Upper Limb Function Improvement After Stroke Start of enrollment: 2013 Feb 01
Completed
Not Applicable
Pivotal Study of VNS During Rehab After Stroke (VNS-REHAB) Start of enrollment: 2017 Jul 01
Completed
Not Applicable
Efficacy and Safety of DaxibotulinumtoxinA for Injection for the Treatment of Adult Upper Limb Spasticity Start of enrollment: 2018 Dec 12
Completed
Phase 2
Study to Compare the Efficacy and Safety of NT 201 (Botulinum Toxin) With Placebo for the Treatment of Lower Limb Spasticity Caused by Stroke or Traumatic Brain Injury Start of enrollment: 2019 Sep 16
Recruiting
Phase 3
EEG Brain-Machine Interface Control of an Upper-Limb Robotic Exoskeleton for Robot-Assisted Rehabilitation After Stroke Start of enrollment: 2022 Apr 25
Recruiting
Not Applicable
Roles: Principal Investigator, Contact
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Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Association that Neuroimaging and Clinical Measures Have with Change in Arm Impairment in a Phase 3 Stroke Recovery Trial.
Anne Schwarz, Marc Feldman, Vu Le, Jesse Dawson, Charles Y Liu
Annals of Neurology. 2025-04-01
Priming with transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation followed by robotic exoskeleton gait training in individuals with spinal cord injury: A case series.
Marcie Kern, Catherine Velasquez-Ignacio, Taimoor Afzal, Shih-Chiao Tseng, Gerard E Francisco
The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine. 2025-03-31
At-Home Stroke Neurorehabilitation: Early Findings with the NeuroExo BCI System.
Juan José González-España, Lianne Sánchez-Rodríguez, Maxine Annel Pacheco-Ramírez, Jeff Feng, Kathryn Nedley
Sensors. 2025-02-21

Press Mentions

This Common Side Effect Is Why You Have Muscle Spasms After a StrokeJanuary 31st, 2025
Next-Gen Stroke Rehab: Robot at HomeJune 29th, 2022
Robotic Device Created at the University of Houston Helps Stroke Patients to ReabilitateJune 29th, 2022
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Professional Memberships

Association of Academic Physiatrists
Past President
American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Director and Chair of Brain Injury Medicine Committee
International Society for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine
President-elect