Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla, PhD obtained his doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in neuropsychology from the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain in 2002 and he completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Laboratory at the Kessler Medical and Rehabilitation Research Center. He became an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and is currently a research assistant professor in the Department of PM&R at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Dr. Arango-Lasprilla is an assistant professor of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is the recipient of numerous awards and he has been nationally and internationally recognized for his work in the area of brain injury and cultural issues. In his short career in the academy, he has been instrumental in securing approximately $3 million dollars in grant funds, mostly focused on work with culturally diverse populations and he has published more than 80 articles and book chapters in neuropsychology, brain injury, cultural issues, and rehabilitation. Most recently Dr. Arango-Lasprilla was guest editor for the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation special issue: “Cultural Issues Related to Traumatic Brain Injury: Recent Research and New Frontiers” and is a guest editor for a special issue: “The role of race/ethnicity on outcomes after central nervous system injury” of the journal NeuroRehabilitation.
Dr. Arango-Lasprilla is well-known in his areas of expertise, both in the US and abroad. He is the cultural competency coordinator for the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research's (NIDRR) Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems and co-director for the NIDRR-funded Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training Program. Over the past six years, Dr. Arango-Lasprilla has conducted numerous research studies in Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, and the US focused on understanding and addressing the psychological, emotional, and family needs of individuals with brain injury. He received the American Psychological Association Presidential Latino Leadership Early Career Award in 2005 and the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey Founder's Award and the Colombian Psychological Society Excellence in Research Award in 2006, among others.