NEWS

The Membership Committee organized a National Neurotrauma Society booth at the annual Society for Neuroscience conference in San Diego, California, November 13-16. Primary goals were to promote membership benefits by engaging with current and potential members doing trauma-related research.

The experience was a great success, and we talked with more than 80 people interested in new membership to the Society! This included many students who were interested in mentorship and networking opportunities within the trauma field. Everyone was very enthusiastic about the upcoming conference and loved the guitar logo for Austin. Bonus – we also got to engage with many current NNS members who joined us for daily socials!

HUGE thank you to NNS members that volunteered at the booth: Cole Vonder Haar, Theresa Currier Thomas, Corina Bondi, Joseph McCabe, Ramesh Raghupathi, David Titus, Shaun Carlson, Eleni Moschonas, Tala Curry, and Olga Kokiko-Cochran.

During the pandemic break, a group of neurotrauma researchers led by Dr. Warren Alilain created the International Online Spinal Cord Injury Research Seminars (I-OSCIRS). This initiative allowed the SCI community to remain connected and updated on the latest scientific advancements, even during lockdowns. These seminars continue to be streamed on their YouTube channel once a month, and here is the upcoming lineup.

December 6th - England Special featuring:

• Raquel Oliveira, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate, King’s College London.
• Philippa Warren, PhD, King’s Prize Research Fellow (PI), King’s College London.

January 10th - Ireland Special featuring:

• Éimear Smith, Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine, National Rehabilitation & Mater Misericordiae University Hospitals, Dublin
• Dearbhaile Dooley, Lecturer/Assistant Professor of Anatomy, University College Dublin

February 7th – Regular program

• Mayssa Mokalled, Assistant Professor, Washington University School of Medicine

Adam R. Ferguson, Vice-President (2022-2023)

Position: Professor of Neurological Surgery, Director of Data Science

Affiliation: Brain and Spinal Injury Center at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Weill Institute of Neurosciences at UCSF; San Francisco Veterans Affairs Healthcare System

Research focus: pathological mechanisms of TBI and SCI; open data science; preclinical, clinical, and precision medicine research

Past roles with NNS: Councilor; Secretary/ Treasurer

Who or what inspires you: Next generation scientists

Your goal(s) for this term: In my role as Vice President, I look forward to promoting multi-disciplinary collaborations across next-generation neurotrauma bio-scientists, data-scientists, and clinician-scientists through abstract programming, trainee awards, and related activities.

On August 16, 2022, the “Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Law Enforcement Training Act” became law. This bill requires the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to consult with relevant agencies to establish crisis intervention training tools for first responders to address individuals with traumatic brain injuries, acquired brain injuries, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The BJA must ensure that at least one police department designated as a Law Enforcement Mental Health Learning Site utilizes the tools and that such tools are part of the Police-Mental Health Collaboration Toolkit. Additionally, the bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study and report about the prevalence and incidence of concussions among first responders. For more information, https://www.biausa.org/public-affairs/media/policy-corner-aug-5-2022)

A recent opinion article published in the Washington Post by a trio of medical health professionals from Ohio has brought new focus to a vulnerable population often overlooked in trauma care and research: victims of domestic violence. According to the article, 1 in 3 women worldwide will experience intimate partner violence, including violent injury to the head and neck, parallel with strangulation, chokeholds, and suffocation. Furthermore, 50% of these victims are likely to be victims of repeat TBI. Statistics from Ohio’s domestic violence agencies suggest that over 80 percent of survivors have experienced abuse that could lead to brain trauma. Written in the shadow of huge names in football, having had unprecedented TBI occurrences, the trauma outside the limelight requires further attention. Read on here...

Name: Kimberly Byrnes, President

Position: Professor and Director of the Neuroscience PhD Program

Affiliation: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Research interests: Brain and spinal cord trauma; Inflammation

Past roles with NNS: Vice-President; Secretary/Treasurer

Who or what inspires you: I've been inspired by a number of people throughout my life. My graduate school PI inspired me to delve into neurotrauma research, my grad school program director inspired me to aspire to leadership, especially as a woman in science, and my son inspires me to approach every day as a unique opportunity to experience the wonder of the world.

Your goal(s) for this mandate: I'm thankful and excited to have the opportunity to serve as the 2022/23 NNS President. This year, our goals are to grow and strengthen our committee structure and improve the offerings that the society has for our membership beyond our exceptional yearly symposium. We've a number of web-based roundtable discussions planned for 2023, and are putting into place the structure to keep this offering going into the future. We've also a number of plans to improve our diversity and inclusion initiatives, including development of a new Diversity VISA program that we'll be developing for this coming year.

As we approach the holiday season in the US, I can certainly say that I am very thankful to serve you as the National Neurotrauma Society President this year. I am following in very large footprints, and I am so honored to have this opportunity to work in a society that has given me so much, and try to help it continue to grow and improve. I’m writing to give a few updates on some of our progress so far, and details of exciting new things to come.

First, I wanted to update everyone on the status of our Strategic Plan. Last year, Dr. Robertson and the ICS team ran a comprehensive analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the society and our opportunities for growth. The plan was finished over the summer, and the NNS Council has now had a chance to review and approve the plan. The resulting plan will be posted on our website for all members to view in the coming weeks. Briefly, we have put into place a list of strategic priorities and goals to achieve over the next few years in 5 broad categories: training and mentoring of the generation of neurotrauma specialists, growing the society (members and financials), increasing awareness of NNS among the broader neuroscience and clinical communities, increasing membership and engagement across clinical and research disciplines, and fostering industry collaboration. Specific goals, metrics, and deadlines will be listed on our website soon.

Second, our committees are hard at work moving forward on a number of initiatives, several of which are reflected in the strategic plan or detailed in the committee updates in this newsletter. For example, we’re continuing to improve our value to our members by holding useful and informative web-based roundtable discussions. Topics of discussions include transitioning within academia (September roundtable) and the process and impact of the new NIH policy on data sharing and management (planned for January 2023). If you missed a past roundtable, check the members-only section of our website! And if you’re interested in getting involved in any of our exciting initiatives, join one of committees! There are always openings for volunteers!

Third, planning for our 2023 symposium is under way, under the leadership of co-chairs Courtney Robertson and Linda Noble. The program committee has been very hard at work, planning a spectacular program for the Symposium. It will be held at the Marriott Austin Downtown in Austin, TX, from June 25-28th, and will again be co-hosted by the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Neurotrauma and Critical Care. As the celebration of our 40th Anniversary of the Symposium and 35th Anniversary of the founding of the society, it’s fitting that the theme for this Symposium is “Celebrating the Landmarks of Neurotrauma”. The meeting will focus on showcasing the greatest achievements in the neurotrauma field and showcasing the exciting new research that will push our understanding of neurotrauma into the future. We have a number of exciting training and networking events planned, and can’t wait to see you in June!

While we’re on the subject of meetings, we’ve also started planning for 2024 and beyond. Together with ICS, our new management company, NNS has reshaped our method for selection of cities to host our meeting and will move forward with a complementary co-chair position for the planning committee. Our new system will now shift the meeting yearly across the US (east, middle, west) to allow for more inclusivity of our national researchers. Further, our new approach to utilizing co-chairs will allow us to expand our expertise and scientific focus and allow for greater representation of junior and senior scientists, gender, and/or specialties in the chair positions and within the planning committee.

I would like to close by thanking all NNS members for their ongoing support of the Society. With the assistance of the ICS team, and the amazing dedication of the NNS Councilors and Officers, I am confident that NNS has a very bright future. I hope you are as excited as I am to see what NNS will offer next.

Best wishes for the upcoming holidays and new year!

Kimberly Byrnes

The Membership Committee is hosting a panel and roundtable discussion targeted toward focusing on ways to position yourself for academic success, how to keep it going, and balancing academic success with personal fulfillment. Please join us for this members-only event on Oct 24 at 6:00 pm EST via Zoom.

Dear NNS Community,

NNS is now taking applications to participate in the 2nd Annual NNS Mentor:Mentee program for ALL NNS MEMBERS. Please share with your trainees/programs/potential mentors!

The program is intended to provide perspective and promote engagement from all neurotrauma-associated fields as a pathway to develop a satisfying career.

This program is a collaboration between TEAM neurotrauma (Training, Education, and Mentorship) and the NNS Membership Committees.

The purpose is multifold.

1. To provide our members with a diverse set of mentors

2. To retain our members in the neurotrauma field and engage them in NNS

3. To provide a mechanism for members to soundboard ideas, seek specific advice, increase their network, explore career alternatives, expand their knowledge/skillset, etc.

Sign up as a mentor, mentee, or BOTH!

Learn more and access the application using the link below! If you have problems accessing the Mentor:Mentee Application, please email me at theresathomas@email.arizona.edu.

https://www.neurotrauma.org/Team-Mentor-Mentee-Program

Registration: https://redcap.uky.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=RH7WJRCLY9JLP3XM

We’re looking forward to another successful year!

Sincerely,
Theresa and the TEAM Neurotrauma Committee

Check out the latest updates on our May newsletter issue: 

NNS Newsletter: May 2022