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DISCOVERY THEMES

CHRONIC BRAIN INJURY PROGRAM

ADVANCING THE PREVENTION, DETECTION, AND TREATMENT OF BRAIN INJURIES

The brain is the body's most complex organ. It makes us who we are. It is critical to our abilities to speak, think, remember, interact, and move.

The Ohio State University is advancing how we understand and approach brain injury as a chronic condition. Even mild brain injuries can have persistent, long-term effects that impact our future health and wellness. Understanding, detecting, treating, and preventing these effects is essential to solving the silent epidemic of traumatic – or rather, chronic – brain injury.

New to CBI? Get Involved!

NeuroNights: A Wellness Workshop Series Buckeye Neurotrauma Lectures - FREE Lectures Open Participate in Research Give to the CBI Fund (Fund #: 315586) Brain Injury Awareness 5K & 1-Mile Walk Annual CBI Research Day 2023

Current Opportunities

Engineering Brain Injury Solutions

Friday, June 9 | 11:00AM - 2:00PM | Pomerene Hall, 3rd Floor

This event will foster collaborations across brain injury researchers and engineers via short talks, posters, and discussions. Faculty, staff, trainees, and partners are welcome!

REGISTER BY May 31 VIEW FLYER

Wexner Medical Center Spinal Cord Injury Day

Friday, June 30 | 8:30AM - 7:00PM | The Fawcett Center

Join for a day of updates on SCI research, clinical care, advocacy, and community building! To view the full agenda for the day, click "View Flyer" below!

RSVP VIEW FLYER

Our Year-In Review: 2022 Annual Report

Our team of researchers, clinicians and community partners drives novel research and advances the field in important topics like brain injury, spinal cord injury, and neurodegeneration. Together, we worked in FY2022 to accelerate discovery by collaborating and investing, and we are SO excited to share your successes in our 2022 Annual Report! Read it by clicking below:

2022 ANNUAL REPORT

NBC4 Daytime News Feature: The Complex Issues of Chronic Brain Injury

Jasmeet Hayes, PhD and Scott Hayes, PhD speak with NBC4 Daytime Columbus on their roles as principle investigators for the FASTER (Fitness, Aging, Stress, & TBI Exposure Repository) Study at Ohio State.

Ohio State's FASTER Study

Julianna Nemeth, PhD from OSU Public Health and Rachel Ramirez from ODVN talk with NBC4 Daytime Columbus to explore the connections between TBI and domestic abuse.

TBI and Domestic Violence

ABOUT US

To accelerate discovery, our scientists and clincians are forming interdisciplinary teams that are translating knowledge, partnering with industry and community organizations, and expanding capacity to implement practical solutions.

Our researchers are:

  • Deepening an understanding of how brain injuries result in visible and chronic conditions and higher risk for dementia and movement disorders
  • Studying the mechanisms of the immune system's response to neurotraumas that will inform pharamlogical, rehabilitative, and arts-based interventions
  • Developing new approaches to imaging, sensing, and clinical data analytics that better detect, monitor, and predict the trajectories of brain injuries
PROGRAM & HIGHLIGHTS
OUR PARTNERS
ANNUAL REPORT (FISCAL YEAR 2022)

We are investing in people, projects, and resources that enable convergence research in the lab, the clinic, and the community. Learn more about our program and offerings at the links below.

FUNDING & RESOURCES
RESEARCH DAY
ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

We've built a network of over 100 research labs at Ohio State in fields spanning neuroscience, electrical engineering, psychology, public health, music, and rehabilitation sciences. Through our community partners, we are building a coalition of professionals and patients to help brain injury survivors recover and thrive.

DIRECTORY & LABS
ENGAGE WITH CBI
OPEN POSITIONS

FACULTY NEWS

Chronic Brain Injury

RESEARCH DAY 2023 RECAP

CBI's 2023 Annual Research Day was a huge success with over 130 attendees from various disciplines coming together to network, learn, and advance the field of chronic brain injury. Our event kicked off with 58 poster presentations from trainees, faculty, and staff, which covered a wide array of topics relating to brain injury — such as sleep fragmentation, inflammation and immunity, addiction disorders, dementia prevalence and development, advances to technology, and impacts for athletes. In total, the presenters represented nine departments from Ohio State and three departments from Nationwide Children's Hospital, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of brain injury and the importance of collaboration within our research community.

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Chronic Brain Injury

New publication by Dr. Jan Schwab has large implications in recovery from spinal cord injury

A new publication in the Journal of Neurology by Dr. Jan Schwab highlights new and innovative research that provides immunologic, neurobiological, and neuropathologic proof-of-principle for an antibody-mediated autoimmunity response emerging in a subgroup of SCI patients. This work suggests the existence of paratraumatic autoimmune syndromes - which may be associated with the development of neuropathic pain. Even more, this mechanism of pathology might explain why some survivors are less responsive to rehabilitation. Read more below!

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Chronic Brain Injury

25 years of patient data has helped reshape approach to traumatic brain injury

Over the past 25 years, more than 1,400 patients from across Ohio have participated in a project that’s helped improve care for people with traumatic brain injuries. With additional funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the Ohio Regional TBI Model System and others seek to establish which inpatient rehabilitation interventions are most successful at improving outcomes.

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Chronic Brain Injury

Drs. Popovich, McTigue, and Godbout leading the way in microglia research with first-ever findings!

Dr. Popovich, lead a recent study together with additional researchers, including CBI members Jon Godbout and Dana McTigue. The study, 'Microglia coordinate cellular interactions during spinal cord repair in mice' was a first-ever study where the researchers demonstrated microglia promote repair after spinal cord injury in mice via specific genes, pathways and cellular interactions. Read the study in Nature Communications below!

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Chronic Brain Injury

Dr. Asimina Kiourti appointed to an endowed professorship position, College of Engineering Innovation Scholar

This is one of the highest academic honors that can be bestowed on a faculty member by the College of Engineering and the university. National and international recognition of the highest level of intellectual leadership, excellence, and performance are expected in the appointment of a Professorship Holder in areas including research and scholarship, teaching/education, and professional service. Congratulations, Asimina!

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Chronic Brain Injury

Jinghua Li and team develop a ‘smart necklace’ biosensor that shows promise for tracking health status through sweat

Researchers have successfully tested a device that may one day use the chemical biomarkers in sweat to detect changes in a person’s health. In a new study published in the journal Science Advances, a team from The Ohio State University demonstrated a battery-free, wireless biochemical sensor that detected the blood sugar – or glucose – humans excrete from their skin when they exercise. Read more from Ohio State News below!

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Chronic Brain Injury

Dana McTigue, PhD awarded a 2022 President’s Research Excellence Accelerator Grant

Dr. Dana McTigue, College of Medicine, was awarded an Accelerator Award from the PRE Program for the "Discovery of Novel Therapeutic Targets to Improve Health Span after Spinal Cord Injury." Previous work shows the liver’s response to spinal cord injury (SCI) impairs recovery in rodents. In this project, the researchers will use multi-omics approaches to determine pathological gene and lipid changes that are feasible candidates for impairing recovery, with the goal of discovering testable therapeutic targets. Co-investigators: Richard Bruno and Rachel Kopec, College of Education and Human Ecology; Jie Gao, College of Medicine

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Chronic Brain Injury

We at CBI are excited to announce our 2022 Resource Award winners!

These grants provide over $30,000 to support new equipment that will benefit CBI faculty affiliates across campus: Cole Vonder Haar, PhD (Neuroscience) has been awarded a 2022 Resource Award to improve surgical anesthesia equipment for preclinical neurotrauma modeling in the Center for Brain & Spinal Cord Repair (CBSCR). These upgrades will triple the number of concurrent isoflurane users, reduce the amount and cost of anesthetic used per surgery, and improve user safety. Wenjing Sun, PhD (Neuroscience) has been awarded a 2022 CBI Resource Award to purchase an NPI MVCS Iontophoresis System to improve spatial precision in drug and/or gene delivery for both ex vivo and in vivo models of neurotrauma and neurological disease. This is a new resource for CBI affiliates which will support existing multi-college teams, and is available to new users.

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Chronic Brain Injury

CBI partnered with LiFEsports in the College of Social Work to provide a concussion and career education workshop in June 2022!

CBI is committed to outreach and educational activities that are critical to advance awareness of brain injury, and to enhance diversity and inclusion in neurotrauma research and clinical training. Since 2009, LiFEsports at Ohio State has grown to address the ever-changing needs of our community’s young people through positive youth development. Their work aims to impact the lives of those who need it most by addressing the broad social conditions that young people face, and we are so appreciative that we could partner with them. Read the story below!

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Chronic Brain Injury

Dr. Gallego-Perez receives $3.2M 4-year grant from the Department of Defense

Dr. Gallego-Perez (Biomedical Engineering) and collaborators, William Arnold (Neurology) and Amy Moore (Plastic Surgery) were awarded a $3.2M 4-year grant from the Department of Defense for their project ”Nonviral Gene and Reprogramming-Based Cell Therapies for Peripheral Nerve Injury”. This work will develop novel nanotechnologies which repair or mitigate traumatic nerve injuries that can be deployed in a variety of military and clinical environments. Congratulations, Dr. Gallego-Perez and team!

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Chronic Brain Injury

Andrea Tedeschi, PhD finds "the drug gabapentin may boost functional recovery after a stroke."

Results showed that daily treatment for six weeks after a stroke restored fine motor functions in the animals’ upper extremities. Functional recovery also continued after treatment was stopped. This work was published in Brain and funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, and Ohio State's Chronic Brain Injury Program. You can read Dr. Tedeschi’s feature by Ohio State News below.

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Chronic Brain Injury

Congratulations to Asimina Kiourti, PhD!

Dr. Kiourti has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Dr. Kiourti also received an NIH R03 award with collaborators Yousef Hannawi (Neurology) and Asiful Islam for their project “High Resolution Microwave Tomographic Imaging of Brain Strokes Using Low-Frequency Measurements and Deep Neural Networks”.

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Chronic Brain Injury

Has the corticospinal tract been misrepresented over the last century?

A new publication in the Journal of Neurosurgery from Ohio State's Jan Schwab, MD, PhD and Dr. Allan Levi (U of Miami) demonstrates evidence that may have wide clinical implications in neurotrauma research and care: "A critical reappraisal of corticospinal tract somatotopy and its role in traumatic cervical spinal cord syndromes"

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Chronic Brain Injury

Cole Vonder Haar, PhD and Kris Martens, PhD find that "gambling rats" model altered decision-making post-TBI

By analyzing data from five different experiments involving “gambling rats,” Drs. Vonder Haar & Martens were able to better understand how traumatic brain injuries changes decision making. The study found that brain injury reduced sensitivity or understanding of the consequences of decisions. The findings are published online in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.

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Chronic Brain Injury

Dr. Yousef Hannawi is leading Ohio State’s efforts in joining researchers at more than 100 other hospitals across the globe

They will conduct a research study of bleeding in the brain, or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). More than 40% of people with ICH die within a month, and only 20% can independently care for themselves after six months. There’s currently no treatment for ICH that’s scientifically proven to improve outcomes. This study is being done to determine if recombinant Factor VIIa (rFVIIa), a protein that our body makes to stop bleeding at the site of injury to a blood vessel, can slow bleeding in the brain and improve outcomes.

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Chronic Brain Injury

Research explores why certain brain neurons are vulnerable to degeneration

Harry Fu, PhD recent publication featured in OSUMC News: “Wolframin is a novel regulator of tau pathology and neurodegeneration.” Dr. Fu’s research focuses on understanding which subtypes of neurons are vulnerable to the abnormal buildup of tau protein aggregates in the brain that occurs at early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The research also explores the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the selective neuronal vulnerability.

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Chronic Brain Injury

"CARE-4-TBI" Bolsters TBI Research with $16 Million in Federal Funding

"The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes has allocated $16 million toward a seven-year, multicenter research project led by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine that will compare inpatient rehabilitation treatments for traumatic brain injuries (TBI). More than $2.5 million has been awarded for the first year of the project, with the remainder expected to be awarded as the project progresses." Congrats to Jennifer Bogner, PhD and the rest of her team on this amazing accomplishment!

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Chronic Brain Injury

Making Headway Podcast Series - "SEE BI" with Julianna Nemeth, PhD

In partnership with the Making Headway Podcast, a new series titled “SEE BI” interviews CBI researchers about their work and findings in the brain injury field. Julianna Nemeth, PhD, MA, continues the podcast series with “Domestic Violence and Brain Injuries – Helping DV Advocates Best Reach Survivors.” The episode is live on all major podcast platforms, or you can listen by clicking the link below!

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Chronic Brain Injury

Andrew Sas, MD, PhD - Buckeye Neurotrauma Lecture (July 14, 2021)

Click the link below to view Dr. Sas's talk, titled "Neutrophil mediated axon regeneration."

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Chronic Brain Injury

Summer 2021 Funding Winners Have Been Announced!

CBI provides seed funding for cross-college collaborations that push the boundaries of our knowledge and capabilities in brain injury research. We also offer equipment cost-share funding, travel awards, undergraduate summer fellowships, and other resources to our members. Our most recent awards were announced on July 9th, 2021 for Pilot Awards, our Resource Award, and our inaugural Action Potential Grant (APG)! Check out the winners by clicking the link below!

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Chronic Brain Injury

Phillip Popovich, PhD - Buckeye Neurotrauma Lecture (April 2, 2021)

Click the link below to watch Dr. Popovich's talk, titled "Spinal Cord Injury Causes an Acquired Bone Marrow Failure Syndrome"

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Chronic Brain Injury

Making Headway Podcast Series - "SEE BI" with Olga 'Niki" Kokiko-Cochran, PhD

The Making Headway Podcast is a podcast made by two brain injury survivors, Mariah and Eryn. They have developed a new series titled “SEE BI” - which features various CBI researchers and their work in brain injury! Dr. Kokiko-Cochran kicked off the first episode in the series, titled “Sleep Disruption, TBI, and Long-Term Effects.” Listen and learn more by clicking the link below!

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Chronic Brain Injury

Jonathan Godbout, PhD - Buckeye Neurotrauma Lecture (January 15, 2021)

Click the link below to view the recording of Dr. Godbout's talk, titled "Unique trauma associated microglia induced by diffuse brain injury promote chronic cortical inflammation, neuronal dysfunction, and cognitive decline"

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Chronic Brain Injury

CBI Affiliates Represented on 6 'Accelerator' Awards from the President's Research Excellence Program!

"Nineteen teams have been awarded funding through the Accelerator Grant program. These grants of up to $50,000 are for small teams formed to pursue curiosity-driven, novel, high-risk and high-reward research." Congratulations to Drs. Jingzhen "Ginger" Yang, John Sheridan, Scott Hayes, Anne Kloos, Deborah Kegelmeyer, Olga "Niki" Kokiko-Cochran, Asimina Kiourti, Jinghua Li, and Xia Ning!

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Chronic Brain Injury

Congratulations to our 2021 Poster Winners!

CBI Research Day is a flagship scientific event for presenting the best of brain injury research – and 2021 was no exception! Congrats to our poster winners, exhibiting excellence in the next generation of TBI researchers: Antonia Zouridakis of the Tedeschi Lab, Brigette Gonzalez Olmo of the Barrientos Lab, and Angela Filous of the Schwab Lab.

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Chronic Brain Injury

Congratulations to our 2021 Pilot Award winners!

Congratulations to our 2021 Pilot Award winners! These interdisciplinary teams will develop innovative brain injury research in human imaging, movement analysis, and infection risks.

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Chronic Brain Injury

Lise Worthen-Chaudhari Creates Revolutionary Gaming Therapy to Help Brain Injury Survivors

"How can gaming technology or virtual reality be a rehabilitation tool that engages someone recovering from a traumatic brain injury? How can it get them to enjoy the rigorous work? That’s the world Lise Worthen-Chaudhari lives in." A new article by Ohio State Insights details how Dr. Worthen-Chaudhari's revolutionary gaming therapy, Embedded Arts, helps patients recovering from brain injuries increase their range of motion control by creating abstract art through motion sensors.

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Chronic Brain Injury

2020 CBI Paper of the Year

Andrew Sas, MD, PhD was selected as the winner for CBI's 2020 Paper of the Year for his work entitled “A new neutrophil subset promotes CNS neuron survival and axon regeneration." His work was published October 26, 2020 in Nature Immunology, and you can read it at the link below. Congratulations, Dr. Sas!

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Chronic Brain Injury

Z-Lab Reveals Disconnect in Newborn Brains

Ohio State CBI faculty Zeynep Saygin (Ph.D) and fellow researchers have revealed a disconnect between visual and emotional regions in newborn brains. By studying development of this brain circuitry, we are closer to new diagnostics and treatments for emotional disorders.

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Chronic Brain Injury

Ginger Yang, PhD, Finds Success in 2017 CBI Pilot Award

Ohio State CBI affiliate, Ginger Yang, PhD, and her team have been awarded a $3 million R01 grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), in partnership with the University of Alabama at Birmingham Translational Research for Injury Prevention Laboratory (UAB) to further understand the effects of mild traumatic brain injuries on teen driving. The project funding was awarded to Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) and will be conducted at Ohio State’s Driving Simulation Lab and counterparts at UAB – further illustrating how indispensable interdisciplinary research expertise is when trying to conquer the chronic challenges of TBI.

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Chronic Brain Injury

Zeynep Saygin, PhD, Finds Brains "Prewired" for Language

A recent study by CBI faculty member Zeynep Saygin, PhD, has found novel connections to the language areas of the human brain. Dr. Saygin, senior author of the study and an Assistant Professor within Ohio State’s Department of Psychology, has revealed new research that suggests humans are born with a dedicated portion of the brain that is prewired to see words and letters – a necessary prerequisite for learning how to read.

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Chronic Brain Injury

Congratulations to the 2020 CBI SURF Fellows!

We at CBI are proud to award three Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF Awards) to Ohio State undergraduate students pursuing brain injury research with our faculty affiliates. Each student will spend the summer completing a research project and will present these projects at an upcoming seminar or conference. Fellowships support the student’s time, while the mentor provides project funding and training... Join us in congratulating our new fellows!

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Chronic Brain Injury

Dr. Quatman-Yates Publishes the First APTA CPG for the Care-Management of Concussion

Dr. Quatman-Yates and her team have made great progress in this front with their recently published Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) for the physical therapy management of concussion, which have been endorsed by the American Physical Therapy Association and its affiliated academies. This is the first CPG to provide detailed guidance on care-management strategies for physical therapists that are treating patients who have experienced a potential concussive event. Prior CPGs for concussion management have largely focused on sideline management, acute treatment, and return to sport protocols.....

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Chronic Brain Injury

2019 CBI Paper of the Year

Andrea Tedeschi, PhD., Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, won the 2019 CBI Paper of the Year for his work, "ADF/Cofilin-Mediated Actin Turnover Promotes Axon Regeneration in the Adult CNS", which was published in Neuron. This work described essential mechanisms for axonal regeneration in neurons following central nervous system injury, which may inform future regenerative interventions. Several publications were nominated for this annual award, and are listed on our Projects & Highlights page. Read Dr. Tedeschi's paper at the link below.

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Chronic Brain Injury

CBI 2019 Brain Health Hack Winners

CBI's annual weekend workshop for undergraduates saw teams build and develop mobile and virtual reality applications that address brain health research and clinical needs. Teams often bridged engineering and health sciences disciplines, and completed their applications in under 20 hours. Several projects were suggested by Ohio State and Nationwide Children's Hospital faculty, and successful teams will continue to develop their work in partnership with the sponsors. Congratulations to winning teams 119, Project Velvet, and VrNS!

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Chronic Brain Injury

CBI 2019 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows

CBI launched its Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) Awards in Spring 2019 to support training and development of outstanding Ohio State undergraduates through participation in basic, clinical, and translational research. SURF Fellows complete a research project with CBI faculty mentors during the summer semester. Congratulations to the inaugural SURF Fellows who will each receive $4,000 stipends for their project. Sebastian Bejarano, College of Engineering (Mentor: Liang Guo, PhD) Mahin Hossain, College of Medicine (Mentor: Jan Schwab, MD, PhD) Praneethkumar Madhu, College of Medicine (Mentor: Harry Fu, PhD) Matthew Moritz, College of Arts & Science (Mentor: Yune Lee, PhD)

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Chronic Brain Injury

Jonathan Godbout named interim faculty director for Chronic Brain Injury

Jonathan Godbout, PhD, has been named interim faculty lead of the Chronic Brain Injury (CBI) program, a focus area of the $500 million Discovery Themes initiative created by Ohio State to address global challenges.

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Chronic Brain Injury

CBI 2018 Paper of the Year

Congratulations to Harry Fu, PhD, for winning the CBI 2018 Paper of the Year! Harry is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience, and was awarded $500 and a plaque for his accomplishment. This award recognizes scientific impact and contribution to chronic brain injury research.

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Chronic Brain Injury

CBI affiliate Lise Worthen-Chaudhari awarded 2016 Early Career Innovator of the Year

As Ohio State continues to expand its role in the commercialization of research, it is important to create an environment that facilitates and rewards research creativity and entrepreneurship. To support and stimulate entrepreneurial activity among Ohio State researchers, three university-wide awards were presented on January 25, 2017, to Ohio State’s most successful entrepreneurs.

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Chronic Brain Injury

Brain injury common in domestic violence

New research by CBI affiliate Julianna Nemeth suggests that brain injury caused by blows to the head and by oxygen deprivation are likely ongoing health issues for many domestic violence survivors. Because of poor recognition of these lasting harms, some interactions between advocates and women suffering from the effects of these unidentified injuries were likely misguided.

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CBI Faculty Spotlight

Ilaria Palmisano, PhD

Ilaria.Palmisano@osumc.edu

What is your professional role?
Assistant Professor — Department of Neuroscience and Department of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery; Joined OSU in February, 2023

What do you study, and why?
My research focuses on deciphering epigenetic mechanisms dictating neuronal regenerative ability following axonal injury, aging, and diabetic neuropathy. The long-term goal is to identify key molecular pathways that can be targeted to reprogram neurons towards a regenerative/repair state.

What should people know about your research?
My drives are passion for science, curiosity towards natural life, and desire to contribute to solving clinically relevant questions.

What do you like to do in your free time?
I am passionate about martial arts, and I practice kung fu and tai chi. Please, join me!

Learn more about Dr. Ilaria Palmisano

LEARN MORE AND EXPLORE CBI