Other Sources for TBI Research

NIH Institutes

Along with the NINDS, several other ICs at NIH support TBI research:

• NIH Clinical Center is collaborating with the Center for Neuroregenerative Medicine (CNRM) at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences University (USUHS) and Walter Reed Army Medical Center to conduct research on TBI and Psychological Health with relevance to military and veteran populations.
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) NICHD supports research on pediatric TBI as part of its mission to improve health in children. Another major focus is on optimizing pediatric and adult TBI rehabilitation. National Center of Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) is part of the NICHD and supports rehabilitation research on TBI as part of its mission to ensure that people have the opportunity to achieve their full potential, free from disease or disability, and to ensure the health, independence, productivity, and well-being of all people.
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) NHLBI supports research in the area of cardiopulmonary arrest and severe traumatic injury, including the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC). ROC projects currently include the Epistry, a comprehensive registry of cardiac arrest and severe traumatic injury with more than 10,000 patients enrolled.
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) NIDCD supports research in communication disorders secondary to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) which affects the processes of hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech and language. NIDCD welcomes TBI research in those areas and the inter-relatedness among them.
• National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) NIGMS provides oversight for trauma research involving complex biological systems.
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) NIMH supports research on the co-occurrence of TBI with mental disorders, the interplay of TBI and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and the impact of rehabilitative strategies for TBI on overall adjustment.

Federal Agencies and Programs

Outside of the NIH, several Federal agencies support a variety of TBI research:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funds extramural studies primarily to: a) collect data to inform the calculation of national estimates, and 2) to develop and validate measures for screening and assessment post-TBI.
• Department of Defense (DoD) provides support for TBI research through several programs and centers, including:
  • Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) manages Congressional Special Interest Medical Research Programs, including TBI and post-traumatic stress disorder.
  • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) supports several programs on traumatic injury, including the Preventing Violent Explosive Neurologic Trauma (PREVENT) program to investigate the effects of blast injury on the nervous system.
  • Defense Centers of Excellence For Psychological Health & Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) leads a collaborative effort toward optimizing psychological health and TBI treatment for the Department of Defense. The DCoE establishes quality standards for: clinical care; education and training; prevention; patient, family and community outreach; and program excellence.
  • Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) is a multicenter program created and funded by Congress with a threefold mission of clinical care coordination, clinical research, and education in the area of military and veteran TBI.
• Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Research and Development (ORD) encourages proposals that focus on TBI, its associated sequelae and studies that address co-morbidities as they relate to the treatment.
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has several projects with the goal of improving the understanding of TBI in car crashes. The cornerstone of TBI research at NHTSA is the development and validation of SIMon (Simulated Injury Monitor), a finite element human head model for injury prediction.
• National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) has as its mission the development of new knowledge to improve the lives of persons with disability. NIDRR carries out this mission through research in five domains, including health and function, community living and participation, employment, technology, and demographics and statistics.
• Social Security Administration (SSA) conducts research on TBI demographics and employment.