Noam Harel, MD

Biography

Dr. Harel is a neurologist with experience in both basic and clinical research. His primary interests are in rehabilitation from and treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. His lab uses targeted physical exercises and electrical and magnetic stimulation to reactivate weakened nerve circuits. His research group is at the Spinal Cord Damage Research Center, www.scirc.org, located within the Sinai-affiliated James J Peters VA Medical Center in Bronx, NY. The research center's Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/pg/Neurorehabva.

Certification

Neurology, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Clinical Focus

• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
• Cervical Myelopathy
• Paraplegia
• Quadriplegia And Paraplegia
• Spasticity
• Spinal Cord Injury

Research Topics

Neuromodulation, Neurophysiology, Neuroscience, Spinal Cord

Education

BA, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Residency, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia Campus

Internship, Internal Medicine
Pennsylvania Hospital

Residency, Neurology
Columbia University Medical Center

Language

English

Research

Defining and strengthening spared nerves after spinal cord injury. Our goal is simple yet challenging - to improve conscious control over movement of neurologically weakened parts of the body. Our main approach to this challenge uses spinal and brain stimulation. These strategies use the principle of "Fire Together, Wire Together": When nearby nerves fire together repeatedly, connections between those nerves strengthen. We have multiple ongoing clinical studies below. For more information, please contact [email protected]; 718-584-9000 x3128 Cervical Electrical Stimulation for ALS – Preliminary study testing different combinations of magnetic and electrical brain and spinal cord stimulation to better understand how different nerve circuits interact with each other in ALS, and also to see if we can improve hand function by activating spared nerve connections. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03411863 Non-invasive Cervical Electrical Stimulation for SCI - Preliminary study testing different combinations of magnetic and electrical brain and spinal cord stimulation to better understand how different nerve circuits interact with each other in SCI, and also to see if we can improve hand function by activating spared nerve connections. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03414424 Activity-Dependent Transspinal Stimulation in SCI – Clinical trial comparing effects of robotic gait training alone to robotic gait training combined with either low-frequency or high-frequency non-invasive transspinal electrical stimulation over the lumbar spine. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03669302 Effects of Remote Ischemic Conditioning on Hand Use in Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury – Clinical trial measuring the effects of transiently restricting blood flow to a "remote" limb to increase hand motor pathway excitability through a combination of systemic increases in plasticity-promoting factors and inhibition of inflammatory factors. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03851302 MEET OUR RESEARCH TEAM Yu-Kuang Wu, PT, PhD Assistant Professor in Rehabilitation Medicine Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Ola Alsalman, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow Matthew T. Maher, MS Lead Coordinator for Cardiovascular-Autonomic Program Jaclyn R. Wecht, BS Lead Coordinator for Neurorehabilitation Program Grace Fatade-Famodimu, MS Research Coordinator Eric Bailey, BS Research Assistant LINKS/WEBSITES www.scirc.org https://www.facebook.com/pg/Neurorehabva

Publications

Recent Artifacts:

• Untethering Idea Generation From Protocol Execution in Neurorehabilitation Research.
• Multimodal cortical and subcortical exercise compared with treadmill training for spinal cord injury.
• The effect of exoskeletal-assisted walking training on seated balance-A pilot study
• Antispasmodic medications may be associated with reduced recovery during inpatient rehabilitation after traumatic spinal cord injury.
• Spasticity
• Paired Stimulation to Promote Lasting Augmentation of Corticospinal Circuits.
• Acute changes in soleus H-reflex facilitation and central motor conduction after targeted physical exercises.
• Diffusion tensor imaging as a predictor of locomotor function after experimental spinal cord injury and recovery.
• Vertical ground reaction force-based analysis of powered exoskeleton-assisted walking in persons with motor-complete paraplegia.
• Multimodal exercises simultaneously stimulating cortical and brainstem pathways after unilateral corticospinal lesion.

Industry Relationships

Physicians and scientists on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai often interact with pharmaceutical, device and biotechnology companies to improve patient care, develop new therapies and achieve scientific breakthroughs. In order to promote an ethical and transparent environment for conducting research, providing clinical care and teaching, Mount Sinai requires that salaried faculty inform the School of their relationships with such companies.

Below are financial relationships with industry reported by Dr. Harel during 2018 and/or 2019. Please note that this information may differ from information posted on corporate sites due to timing or classification differences.

Consulting:

• Gerson Lehrman Group

Mount Sinai's faculty policies relating to faculty collaboration with industry are posted on our website. Patients may wish to ask their physician about the activities they perform for companies.

Insurance Information

Physicians who provide services at hospitals and facilities in the Mount Sinai Health System might not participate in the same health plans as those Mount Sinai hospitals and facilities (even if the physicians are employed or contracted by those hospitals or facilities).

Information regarding insurance participation and billing by this physician may be found on this page, and can also be obtained by contacting this provider directly. Because physicians insurance participation can change, the insurance information on this page may not always be up-to-date. Please contact this physician directly to obtain the most up-to-date insurance information.

Insurance and health plan networks that the various Mount Sinai Health System hospitals and facilities participate in can be found on the Mount Sinai Health System website.

Articles