About
Elizabeth Sandel, MD
Physiatrist & Brain Injury Medicine Specialist
Elizabeth Sandel, MD has provided medical care to patients with brain injuries and leadership in her field for more than 40 years.
She is a physiatrist, Board-Certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), and Brain Injury Medicine (BIM). She has practiced medicine and served in teaching, research, and administrative roles in healthcare systems on the East and West Coast.
She was a member of the Brain Injury Medicine Examination Committee of the American Board of PM&R from 2011 to 2015 and was one of the first group of physicians certified in that medical subspecialty in 2014.
Educating the Public about Brain Injury
Now in retirement from clinical practice and research, Dr. Sandel spends much of her time educating the public about brain injury through her website and publications. Her book, Shaken Brain: The Science, Care, and Treatment of Concussion (Harvard University Press, 2020), is a resource for patients, families, and others who want to understand injuries to the brain and what interventions can help.
Dr. Sandel is Chair of the Board of Concussion Alliance, a 501c3 non-profit organization whose mission is “to create resources to help everyone impacted by concussions to manage recovery and to inform healthcare providers on current best practice.” In that leadership role, she participates in the education and mentorship of college interns interested in careers in neuroscience, medicine, and other healthcare fields.
National Leadership & Awards
Dr. Sandel has been a member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) since 1982. She served on the Board of Governors for 8 years and as President from 2009–2010. She has been the AAPM&R Historian since 2013, editing and publishing articles about the history of PM&R (physiatry) and its leaders and conducting oral histories of AAPM&R members.
The Pennsylvania Head Injury Foundation, the New Jersey Rehabilitation Association, The College of Physicians, The Permanente Medical Group, the University of Pennsylvania and various other universities have honored Dr. Sandel for her professional contributions. Dr. Sandel received the Krusen Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) in 2012.
Dr. Sandel is a member of the Board of Directors for the Foundation for PM&R, which promotes research in the field through pilot grants to young researchers.
Education & Career
Dr. Sandel graduated from the Medical College of Pennsylvania (now Drexel College of Medicine) in 1981, and completed a residency in PM&R at Thomas Jefferson University and a fellowship in brain injury rehabilitation at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in 1985. Following training, Dr. Sandel held academic and clinical positions in Pennsylvania and New Jersey -- at Thomas Jefferson University, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Sandel joined The Permanente Medical Group in Northern California in 1997. She served as Chief of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation for the Napa Solano Service Area and as Medical Director of the regional Kaiser Foundation Rehabilitation Center in Vallejo, California until 2012.
From 2013 to 2023, Dr. Sandel was a Medical Director for Paradigm, an organization based in Walnut Creek, California, that provides medical case management and care management for catastrophically injured workers.
Dr. Sandel has been a volunteer Clinical Professor in the Department of PM&R at the University of California Davis School of Medicine since 1998. Her research on brain injury and stroke was supported with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kaiser Permanente, and the National Institutes of Health.
