new jersey commission on brain injury research

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NJ Commission on Brain Injury Research Awards Grants for Research

New Jersey Health Commissioner Mary O’Dowd announced today more than $6.3 million in grants for scientific research to develop treatments and cures for disabilities associated with traumatic brain injury. These grant awards are approved by the New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research.

In New Jersey, approximately 175,000 New Jersey residents suffer from traumatic injuries that damage the brain, and 12,000 new injuries occur each year that require inpatient or outpatient treatment. The economic consequences of physical disabilities due to traumatic brain injury are enormous.

“These grants will advance the assessment and treatment of traumatic brain injury as researchers translate their studies into improved outcomes for patients,” said Commissioner O’Dowd.

Since 2007, the New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research has awarded more than $31 million to individual scientists at various academic and research institutions and has approved 77 separate scientific research projects that focus on effective treatments and cures for the disabilities associated with traumatic brain injury. In 2015, fifty-one applicants competed for available funds.

A wide range of grant opportunities are offered by the Commission including: Individual Research Grants; Post-Doctoral and Graduate Fellowships; Pilot Research Grants, Programmatic Multi-Investigator Research Grants, and Brain Injury Core Facility Grants.

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• New Jersey Health Commissioner Mary O'Dowd

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NJ Human Services Announces Efforts to Improve Access to Traumatic Brain Injury Services for Diverse Communities

$1.7M in Funding Allocated for Initiative to Maximize the Overall Health and Well-Being of Individuals Living with Traumatic Brain Injuries

October 13 th , 2021

(TRENTON) –   The New Jersey Department of Human Services is working with leading community organizations and state agencies to strengthen access and improve cultural competency and language access to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) services.

The initiative, called Improving Access to Equitable, High Quality, Evidence-based Services and Supports for New Jerseyans with TBI and Their Families, is supported by a cooperative agreement with the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part a financial assistance award totaling $335,578 annually for 5 years, with 60 percent funded by ACL/HHS and $135,400, or 40 percent, by non-government sources.

“We appreciate the support from the U.S. Administration for Community Living for this initiative. Traumatic Brain Injuries impact people from different cultural, racial and linguistic backgrounds and making sure that our services are responsive and accessible to diverse communities is critical,” Human Services Acting Commissioner Sarah Adelman said. “Through these efforts, TBI survivors and their families will gain better access to these supports.”

The goal of the initiative is to increase access with a focus on the cultural and linguistic needs of our diverse communities and streamline access to TBI information and resources that can increase participation in TBI-related services among minority and non-English speaking communities, and enhance TBI screening to identify and better serve individuals living with TBI in the state.

“TBI supports are key to improving a survivor’s quality of life and increasing their ability to live independently. And that is why it is so important that these supports are inclusive and responsive to the needs of all New Jerseyans regardless of their cultural/racial background or the language they speak. These efforts, through key partnerships, will create greater access to these services,” Human Services Deputy Commissioner Elisa Neira said.

DDS is working with the following partners on the initiative over the next five years:

o   New Jersey Advisory Council on Traumatic Brain Injury

o   Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey (BIANJ)

o   New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH)

▪      Center for Health Statistics and Informatics (CHS)

▪      Office of Minority and Multicultural Health (OMMH)

▪      New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research (NJCBIR)

“As the designated lead state government agency for brain injury, we look forward to the advancement of this project as our key partners work simultaneously over the course of this five-year initiative to positively impact New Jerseyans who have survived a traumatic brain injury,” DDS Executive Director Peri L. Nearon said.

Work will include developing a culturally competent TBI state action plan, with an emphasis on racial equity. This action plan, which will be led by  The New Jersey Advisory Council on Traumatic Brain Injury , will serve as a baseline that will inform additional initiative activities over the five year period. The  NJDOH Office of Multicultural Health  and the  NJDOH NJ Commission on Brain Injury Research  will provide data and subject matter expertise in order to inform and drive the action plan.

BIANJ   will increase access to TBI services and supports to individuals who are linguistically and racially diverse.  NJ 211  and  NJDOH Center for Health Statistics and Informatics  will collect surveillance data to estimate the burden of TBI among New Jerseyans.

DDS will work internally to increase membership on the New Jersey Advisory Council on Traumatic Brain Injury to include greater representation of TBI survivors.

The project will be funded through July 31, 2026.

The DDS administers the Traumatic Brain Injury Fund and ensures that New Jersey residents of any age, who have survived a traumatic brain injury, have the opportunity to access the brain injury related services and supports they need to live in the community.

The Division also provides a variety of services to New Jersey residents, including personal care assistance to self-directing individuals living with permanent physical disabilities in order to work, go to school and be active in their communities. The Division offers assistance through its toll-free hotline, 1-888-285-3036. Certified Information and Referral Specialists are available to confidentially discuss issues, provide information, assist with problem solving and refer individuals to appropriate agencies or services.

To verify eligibility and apply for the TBI Fund, go here.

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New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research funds Kessler Foundation study in children

Dr. Lengenfelder of Kessler Foundation will test new treatment for emotional processing deficits in children with traumatic brain injury

Kessler Foundation

image: Dr. Lengenfelder is assistant director of the Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research at Kessler Foundation. view more 

Credit: Kessler Foundation/Jody Banks

East Hanover, N.J. December 24, 2020 - Jean Lengenfelder, PhD, of Kessler Foundation, received a two-year $168,001 grant from the New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research to study the impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on the ability of children to reliably process the emotions of others.

Children with TBI often struggle with social interaction and relationships, even years after their injury. Difficulty in emotional processing may contribute to these social problems. Specifically, difficulty correctly identifying emotions from facial expressions can have significant negative impacts on social interactions, mood, and quality of life.

"While there has been much research on emotional processing problems in adults with TBI, much less has been done in children with TBI who have these deficits," said Dr. Lengenfelder, assistant director of the Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research at Kessler Foundation. "Developing and applying treatments to improve emotional processing is critical to improving how these children function at home, in school, and eventually, the workplace."

Dr. Lengenfelder's pilot study is based on an existing 12-session treatment used to teach adults with TBI to correctly recognize facial expressions of different emotions. The research team will adapt this treatment to the pediatric population, and test its effectiveness in improving emotional processing deficits in children recovering from TBI.

For detailed information, contact our recruitment specialist at [email protected]

Funding: New Jersey Commission for Brain Injury Research (CBIR20PIL021)

The New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research promotes the necessary research that will result in the treatment and cure for traumatic injuries of the brain, thereby giving hope to an ever increasing number of residents who suffer the debilitating effects of this injury. To achieve these goals the Commission will encourage and promote significant, original research projects in New Jersey emphasizing nerve regeneration as a means to a cure for brain injury through the funding of approved research projects at qualifying research institutions in the state. In addition, the Commission will establish and maintain, in conjunction with the New Jersey Department of Health, a central registry of all persons who sustain traumatic brain injuries. The New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research, whose members are appointed by the Governor, was established on January 2, 2004, with the passage of the "Brain Injury Research Act" by the New Jersey State Legislature.

Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes--including employment--for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

For more information on Kessler Foundation's research, visit KesslerFoundation.org.

Facebook | http://www.facebook.com/KesslerFoundation Twitter | http://twitter.com/KesslerFdn Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/kesslerfdn YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/user/KesslerFoundation iTunes & SoundCloud | http://soundcloud.com/kesslerfoundation

Contacts: Carolann Murphy, PA; 973-324-8382; [email protected]

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

Recent insights from non-mammalian models of brain injuries: an emerging literature

Affiliations.

• 1 Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States.
• 2 Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ, United States.
• PMID: 38566857
• PMCID: PMC10985199
• DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1378620

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major global health concern and is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Repetitive TBIs (rTBIs), commonly observed in contact sports, military service, and intimate partner violence (IPV), pose a significant risk for long-term sequelae. To study the long-term consequences of TBI and rTBI, researchers have typically used mammalian models to recapitulate brain injury and neurodegenerative phenotypes. However, there are several limitations to these models, including: (1) lengthy observation periods, (2) high cost, (3) difficult genetic manipulations, and (4) ethical concerns regarding prolonged and repeated injury of a large number of mammals. Aquatic vertebrate model organisms, including Petromyzon marinus (sea lampreys), zebrafish ( Danio rerio ), and invertebrates, Caenorhabditis elegans ( C. elegans ), and Drosophila melanogaster ( Drosophila ), are emerging as valuable tools for investigating the mechanisms of rTBI and tauopathy. These non-mammalian models offer unique advantages, including genetic tractability, simpler nervous systems, cost-effectiveness, and quick discovery-based approaches and high-throughput screens for therapeutics, which facilitate the study of rTBI-induced neurodegeneration and tau-related pathology. Here, we explore the use of non-vertebrate and aquatic vertebrate models to study TBI and neurodegeneration. Drosophila , in particular, provides an opportunity to explore the longitudinal effects of mild rTBI and its impact on endogenous tau, thereby offering valuable insights into the complex interplay between rTBI, tauopathy, and neurodegeneration. These models provide a platform for mechanistic studies and therapeutic interventions, ultimately advancing our understanding of the long-term consequences associated with rTBI and potential avenues for intervention.

Keywords: neurodegeneration; non-mammalian models; repetitive brain injury; tauopathy; traumatic brain injury.

Copyright © 2024 Katchur and Notterman.

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