User:Wikirehab

David Xavier Cifu, M.D. (born, NYC, New York) is a renowned American physiatrist, researcher, and medical educator. He is the Chairman and Herman J. Flax M.D. professor of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia. He sits as the Chief of PM&R and Deputy Director of PM&R Services at the Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center (HHM-VAMC), also in Richmond.

Early Life
David Xavier Cifu was born in New York City, NY on July 17, 1962 to Rosa Schwarz Cifu (of German heritage, d. 1999) and John Cifu (of Italian heritage). His mother was an oncology nurse and his father retired from his job as an electrical engineer. He grew up strongly influenced by both the German and Italian sides of his family. Cifu is the middle child of three sons, older brother John (a comptroller in Florida) and younger brother Doug (a corporate attorney in New Jersey).

In his early years, Cifu’s moniker was “Big C” a name which he ordained upon himself. In May 1965, Cifu’s family moved to Syosset, Long Island where he attended Syosset High School and graduated as a National Merit Scholar. There he played soccer and football and coached basketball. During the summer he worked at the Carvel Ice Cream Shop and frequented the beach where he diligently worked on his tan. His childhood pets were his dog (Lucky), cat (George) and two parakeets (Squeak and Squawk, both of whom unfortunately froze to death).

Education and Professional Life
Cifu began the 6-year medical program at Boston University (BU) in 1980 minoring in Religion. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1986. During his second year at BU he, quite fortuitously, met his wife-to-be, Ingrid Prosser, who was one year his junior in the 6-year medical program. During his years at BU he did volunteer work for Special Olympics and a program for adults with mental retardation. Although Cifu started medical school thinking he would become a child psychiatrist, he became committed to PM&R when a close friend suffered a spinal cord injury. He hoped to go to Baylor for his residency and was accepted there for his internship (Transitional Medicine) and residency (PM&R) from 1986-1990. Cifu married Ingrid in June 1986 just before he started his internship. While in Houston, many wonderful mentors including Jan Garrison, Barry Smith and Martin Garbois influenced his commitment to academia. After residency, he served on the faculty at the Houston VAMC for one year while Ingrid finished her residency in obstetrics and gynecology; afterwards, they returned to the east coast to be closer to their families.

In 1998, at the age of 36, Cifu became the Chairman of the Department of PM&R at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has been named to the “Best Physicians in Richmond, VA” six times since 2000. He has also won best teaching awards for Virginia Commonwealth University on multiple occasions.

Cifu has been instrumental in developing the VCU Rehabilitation and Research Center, the VCU Center for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering, and the HHM-VAMC Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education and Clinical Centers (PADRECC). He is also active on the national level for PM&R as evidenced by his recent tenure as the President of the American Academy of PM&R (2007-2008).

His greatest professional pleasure is mentoring residents and medical students and collaborating with, and guiding, his faculty. He continues to work very hard to be a leader in the field of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and by contributing in all areas including teaching, research and national leadership.

Family Life
In 1993 Dave and Ingrid had their first daughter, Gabriella, and then in 1996 their second daughter, Isabelle, was born. They currently reside in Richmond, Virginia with their pets (two cats, two rats and a bearded dragon). Cifu enjoys the beach, gardening, playing guitar, swimming, and traveling. He is an ardent New York Giants fan and can be seen strolling the halls of McGuire VAMC holding a Giants travel mug. He strives to find the "zen" in his life by balancing these hobbies with his personal and professional endeavors. Half-jokingly, he’ll refer to himself as a "Mediterranean Rehabilitationist Extraordinaire".