Dobrivoje S. Stokic, M.D., D.Sc.
Dr. Stokic is Vice President of Research and Innovation and a Senior Scientist at the Center for Neuroscience and Neurological Recovery, a research arm of Methodist Rehab. He is also an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) and a faculty member in UMMC’s Program in Neuroscience. In addition, he serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the International Journal of Rehabilitation Research.
Dr. Stokic earned his medical degree in 1987, completed his residency in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation in 1991, and earned a doctoral degree in 2005 from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Belgrade, Serbia. From 1991 to 1997, he was a postdoctoral fellow and research associate in the Division of Restorative Neurology and Human Neurobiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He joined MRC in 1997 to establish the research program, which has since received more than $8 million in external funding and over $9 million from the donor-supported Wilson Research Foundation at MRC.
Dr. Stokic is a human neuroscientist whose work focuses on helping people recover movement after spinal cord injury, brain injury, or stroke. He has authored more than 130 scientific articles. He regularly reviews research articles for medical journals and grant applications for funding organizations. His research has led to new ways of diagnosing and treating muscle paralysis, muscle stiffness (spasticity), and walking problems caused by brain and spinal cord injuries. At MRC, he has also helped bring robotic technology into therapy programs to improve recovery. Alongside Dr. Art Leis, a neurologist at MRC, he was the first to show that the West Nile virus can damage the spinal cord and cause lasting muscle weakness. Their discovery prompted the CDC to recognize acute flaccid paralysis as a new diagnostic category. Dr. Stokic is currently studying how changing brain and spinal cord activity—by boosting weak signals or calming overactive ones—can help people regain movement and reduce muscle stiffness (spasticity).
