Naomi Kleitman, PhD
The American Spinal Injury Association is excited to announce Naomi Kleitman, PhD as the recipient of the 2026 ASIA Lifetime Achievement Award. The Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed by ASIA to an individual recognized for significant contributions to the world of spinal cord injury care.
Dr. Naomi Kleitman, serves as Senior Vice President of Grants and Research, for the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation. Dr. Kleitman has dedicated her 40-year career to advancing our understanding of the mechanistic sequalae of spinal cord injuries and how to use that knowledge to improve treatment for people with SCI. Her career in SCI has fundamentally impacted on how we are trained and how we approach basic, translational and clinical SCI research.
From 2001-2012, Naomi served as a Program Director at the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, administering a portfolio of grants and contracts in spinal cord injury (SCI) research aimed at developing successful strategies for nervous system repair and restoration of function. She also focused on translation of fundamental research on spinal cord and peripheral neural repair into clinical studies that apply these basic principles, and the development of rigorous standards for preclinical and translational SCI research. Dr. Kleitman has participated in numerous NIH and interagency groups, as a Federal Liaison to SCI research programs at the Departments of Defense, Veterans Administration and several non-federal agencies, and was co-lead for the NIH/NINDS-FDA/CBER working group.
Dr. Kleitman was a faculty member of the University of Miami School of Medicine in The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis from 1989-2001, studying mechanisms of axonal regeneration in tissue culture and the development of populations of adult rodent and human Schwann cells for transplantation in peripheral and central nervous system injury sites. She also served as the Scientific Liaison for The Miami Project, encouraging interaction between clinicians, rehabilitation and basic researchers, as well as informing the public, patient groups, and the media about progress in SCI research.
Naomi Kleitman received a PhD in neural and behavioral biology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and did postdoctoral work at Washington University, St. Louis.
Dr. Kleitman co-authored 50 peer-reviewed publications with leaders in the fields of SCI. Her early scientific publications were some of the first on how Schwann cells may promote axon regeneration and repair after SCI, conducted in the lab of Richard and Mary Bunge at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. Dr. Kleitman’s contributions to the field of SCI medicine and research, dedication to mentoring the next generation, and unwavering commitment to the goal of improving how individuals live with SCI.
Established in 1987, the ASIA Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an individual who made a significant contribution to the world of spinal cord injury care. Dr. Kleitman will be honored during the American Spinal Injury Association’s Annual Scientific Meeting in San Antonio, TX, April 24-26, 2026
