Vice President for Medical Rehabilitation, JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute
Medical Director, JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute
Professor and Chairman, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Dr. Thomas Strax received his medical degree in 1967 from New York University (NYU) School of Medicine. In 1971, he completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at NYU School of Medicine, serving as chief resident of the pediatric service and Bellevue Hospital’s Rehabilitation Service.

Dr. Strax served as President of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) from 2001 to 2002. He was President of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM) in 1994 and has been a board member of the Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP) since 1997.

Dr. Strax works tirelessly on behalf of individuals with disabilities. In 2003, he spearheaded the Access to Assistive Technologies Summit that was sponsored by AAPM&R and the Foundation for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is past president of United Cerebral Palsy of New Jersey. In 1992, the United Cerebral Palsy Association presented him with the Arthur Rubloff Memorial Award, followed by the Elizabeth M. Boggs Citizenship Award in 1996.

The Academy honored Dr. Strax with the Distinguished Clinician Award in 2002 and the Distinguished Member Award in 1996. He has also received numerous other awards, including the Governor’s Pride Award, the Clara Barton Medical Science Award (1993), the Gold Key Award from ACRM (1996), the Solomon A. Berson Medical Alumni Achievement Award in Health Sciences from NYU Medical Center (1995), and the Spencer Lectureship Award from Baylor College of Medicine (1991).

In 1996, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) presented Dr. Strax with a Distinguished Leadership and Dedication to Rehabilitation Award. He was the 2005 Frank H. Krusen Award recipient and the 2007 Walter J. Zeiter Lecturer.

Since 1979, Dr. Strax has been a reviewer for the publication Archives of PM&R, and he has authored or co-authored over 60 publications. Dr. Strax says that teaching his residents is one of the most important things in his life, outranked only by being a father and grandfather.