Kristjan T. Ragnarsson

Kristjan T. Ragnarsson is an American physiatrist who focuses on the rehabilitation of individuals with disorders of the central nervous system. He is the Dr. Lucy G. Moses Professor and Chair of Rehabilitation Medicine at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

Ragnarsson is the author of multiple book chapters and more than 100 articles. He was listed among New York Magazine’s Best Doctors of 2009 and among Castle Connolly's "Top Doctors in America" every year since 2002.

Biography Ragnarsson was born in 1943 in Reykjavík, Iceland. He graduated from the University of Iceland School of Medicine in 1969 and completed a residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation and a clinical research fellowship in spinal cord injury (SCI) medicine at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU. He was appointed to the faculty of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of the NYU School of Medicine in 1976 and served as director of the New York SCI Model System of Care from 1981 to 1986. In 1986, he was appointed Professor and Chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at The Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Ragnarsson served as president of the American Spinal Injury Association from 1993 to 1995. From 1995 to 1997 he served as president of The Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Board, and from 1997 until 2003 he chaired the Board of Governors of The Mount Sinai Faculty Practice Associates. He was a member of the board of the American Paraplegia Society from 1997 to 1999 and a member of the United States Department of Veterans' Affairs Scientific Merit Review Board from 1984 until 2000. In 1998, he chaired the National Institutes of Health consensus conference on "Rehabilitation of Persons with Traumatic Brain Injury." and Vice President of the Foundation for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Honors and awards American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Lifetime Achievement Award. Presented at joint meeting of ASIA and the International Spinal Cord Society. Vancouver, Canada, May 4, 2002. Ellis Island Medal of Honor, May 15, 2004 Distinguished Member Award – American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, October 8, 2004 Distinguished Public Service Award, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. November 10, 2006.

Selected publications