David Cifu, MD is an internationally recognized academic leader and innovator who specializes in initiating, developing, fostering and leading small and large-scale collaborations across the research, clinical, education and philanthropic arenas to create knowledge, add value and build opportunities. He is an Eminent Scholar, the Associate Dean for Innovation and System Integration in the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine, Herman J. Flax, MD Tenured Professor and the Chair of the Department of PM&R in the VCU-School of Medicine in Richmond, Virginia. He is also Chief of PM&R Services for the VCU Health System, Founding Director of the VCU-Center for Rehabilitation Sciences and Engineering (CERSE), Senior Consultant for the Sheltering Arms Institute, and Senior TBI Specialist for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Dr. Cifu has been funded on 63 research grants for over $282 million, including currently serving as Principal Investigator of the VA/DoD $116.7 million Long-term Impact of Military-relevant Brain Injury Consortium (LIMBIC) since 2013. Dr. Cifu has delivered more than 600 regional, national and international lectures, published more than 250 scientific articles and co-authored or edited 45 books and book chapters. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the premiere line of texts in the field of PM&R, “Braddom’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation,” including the 5th Edition Textbook (2015), 1st Edition Handbook (2017), 6th Edition Textbook (2021) and 2nd Edition Handbook (2023), and co-Editor of Board Review textbooks in Brain Injury Medicine (2020), Spinal Cord Injury (2022) and Pain Management (2024). He has been the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Champion for the 2009, 2016 and 2021 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines for Post-Acute Mild TBI Management. In 2021, he was recognized by the US Department of Veterans Affairs with the Paul B. Magnuson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rehabilitation Research and Development. Dr. Cifu received his medical degree at the Boston University School of Medicine in 1986 and completed his residency in PM&R at Baylor College of Medicine in 1990.