Flora Hammond

Dr. Flora Hammond is Professor and Chair of the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Indiana University School of Medicine, as well as Chief of Medical Affairs and Brain Injury Co-Medical Director at the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana. She serves as Project Director of the Indiana Traumatic Brain Injury Model System and holds leadership positions in multiple national organizations focused on brain injury rehabilitation.

Dr. Hammond's research program focuses on long-term issues confronting individuals with disability, treatment effectiveness, and the transition from acute to lifelong care models for brain injury. Her work spans both traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury rehabilitation, with particular emphasis on functional outcomes, comorbidities, and social determinants of health. She has helped pioneer the understanding that brain injury care must extend far beyond initial rehabilitation to optimize lifelong outcomes.

With over 220 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Hammond has made significant contributions to understanding recovery trajectories 5-15 years following traumatic brain injury, the impact of comorbidities on long-term outcomes, and the development of assessment tools for functional recovery. Her recent work addresses critical contemporary issues including telemedicine, voting accessibility for people with disabilities, and opioid prescribing guidelines for TBI patients.

• 2001 Association of Academic Physiatrists Young Academician Award
• 2011 Brain Injury Association of America William Caveness Award
• 2016 Robert L. Moody Prize for Distinguished Initiatives in Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Research
• 2017 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Distinguished Member Award

As Project Director of the Indiana Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, Dr. Hammond leads one of the longest-running longitudinal research programs on TBI outcomes in the United States. Her work has informed national guidelines and policy through collaborations with the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. She actively mentors junior researchers and clinicians while maintaining her commitment to patient care, education, and advocacy for individuals with disabilities.