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Tuesday Sessions
Edward Hall, PhD; University of Kentucky
Description
This is the 35th Annual National Neurotrauma Symposium. In celebration of 35 years of exchange of expertise and collaboration, the four founders of the National Neurotrauma Society will each give an anniversary lecture which highlights the past, present, and future of an enduring topic in neurotrauma.
Educational Objectives
- Identify the role of reactive oxygen species in the pathology of neurotrauma
- Understand evolving concepts of secondary injury and the therapeutic window
- Understand how neurotrauma research has advanced over the last decades
Chairs: Grace Griesbach, PhD; Centre for Neuro Skills & Akiva Cohen, PhD; University of Pennsylvania
- Circuit Disturbances and Neuroinflammation - Mark Opp, PhD; University of Washington
- Influence of Sleep and Diet on Rehabilitation Outcome - Akiva Cohen, PhD; University of Pennsylvania
- Hormonal Alternations and Sleep Following Brain Injury - Grace Griesbach, PhD; Centre for Neuroskills
Description
The ultimate goal of rehabilitation research is improving functional outcome and life quality after brain injury. Preclinical TBI research has provided information on how distinct pathological responses are influenced by multiple factors that can be controlled by behavior and lifestyle changes. This session will focus on how we can enhance rehabilitation by applying findings obtained from sleep research. Material presented at this session will range from the laboratory to the clinical practice. The prevalence of sleep alterations following TBI and how these interact with chronic hormonal dysfunction will be discussed. It will also be addressed how alterations in circuitry resultant from TBI will contribute to sleep disturbances. The influence of sleep on neuro-inflammation will be discussed. Finally, dietary and exercise effects on sleep after TBI will be discussed.
Educational Objectives
- Recognize the prevalence of sleeping disorders after TBI and the effects that this has on functional outcome.
- Identify the influence of sleep on pituitary and inflammatory responses.
- Describe how diet and exercise interact with sleep after TBI
Chairs: Brian Pfister, PhD; New Jersey Institute of Technology & Andrea Kleindienst, PhD; Friedrich-Alexander-University
Description
The goal of this session is for participants to provide a 2 minute oral presentation as a “preview” of the key components of their poster presentation. Selected posters presenters will be invited to give an oral slide presentation which emphasizes the most important and innovative aspects of their research that will be presented subsequently in the poster sessions. The time limit for each presentation (2 minute maximum) will be strictly moderated with the expectation that each presenter will have no more than 2 slides. The format is an energetic and engaging introduction to the poster sessions.
Educational Objectives
- Compare the breadth of scientific presentations at the upcoming poster sessions
- Identify posters presenters with specific research questions and techniques of interest
- Explain concepts and collaborate with other researchers and research teams
Description
Poster Presentations and Trainee Poster Competition.
Odd poster numbers present in the AM session; Even poster numbers present in the PM session.
Educational Objectives
- Understand the diversity of preclinical models for studying brain and spinal cord injury.
- Learn about the ways in which preclinical neurotrauma research is translated into clinical practice.
- Learn about current clinical trials in brain and spinal cord injury.
Individuals sustaining a traumatic brain injury receive care across a continuum of care settings, including intensive care units, acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term acute care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, post-acute rehabilitation programs, and outpatient rehabilitation clinics. This session will provide an overview of the clinical continuum of care for patients with traumatic brain injury, and will review some recent evidence for effective forms of rehabilitation in these settings, comparative efficacy of different rehabilitation settings, and raise questions regarding the future of rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury and area of clinical interest that would benefit from basic science research.
Chairs: Christine MacDonald, PhD, University of Washington & Brian Edlow, MD; Massachusetts General Hospital
- Associaton of Traumatic Brain Injury with Late-Life Neurodegenerative Conditions from the ACT Study - Paul Crane, MD; University of Washington
- Long Term Disability Findings from TBI Model Systems - Kristen Dams O'Connor, PhD; Mount Sinai Hospital
- Late LifeEffects of Military-Related Brain Injury from ADNI and Vietnam Head Injury Study - Jordan Grafman, PhD; Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
- Long Term Impact of Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury - Talin Babikian, PhD; UCLA Health
Description
Considerable effort has been made over the years to enhance our ability to support TBI in the critical care to early chronic (up to 1 year) environment. While mortality rates have decreased, morbidity rates have substantially risen as those with brain injury are living longer following exposure. Much is still unknown about longer term trajectories. Recent efforts from large research groups have begun to shed light on this important topic. Specifically, the Late Effects of TBI (LETBI) study, the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study, the TBI Model Systems, and collaborative efforts between the Alzheimer"s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and Vietnam Head Injury Study (VHIS) have provided insight into the clinical, imaging, proteomic, and genomic implications of head injury on the aged population. Furthermore, recent reviews of long term impact of pediatric TBI have identified a concerning trend in delayed impact that should be taken into consideration when thinking about long term care and outcome. Patients with head injury are living longer after their exposure and health care costs can be astronomical due to the high rate of comorbid condition. While recent funding has now paved the way for consideration of this impact, further work is needed to better understand these complicated trajectories. The findings of major studies to date provide invaluable evidence of where research at the bench, bedside, clinic, and in the community should turn next.
Educational Objectives
- Describe the current evidence detailing long term effects of TBI.
- Report about late life clinical, imaging, proteomic, genomic and neuropathological implications of brain injury.
- Relate the current challenges facing providers and families caring for these patients as comorbid conditions evolve over decades following exposure.
Chairs: Xiao-Ming Xu, PhD; Indiana University & Aileen Anderson, PhD; University of California Irvine
- Cell Replacement Therapy Using Lineage-Restricted Precursor Cells for Repair After SCI - Itzhak Fischer, PhD; Drexel University
- Neural Stem Cell Transplantation for Neurotrauma: Clinical Targets and Preclinical Benchmarks - Aileen Anderson, PhD; University of California, Irvine
- Creation of In Vivo Reprogrammed Neurons After SCI - Chun-Li Zhang, PhD, UT Southwestern University
Description
Spinal cord injury causes extensive neuronal, axonal and glial cell loss which are the major reasons for functional impairments. Developing new strategies to promote endogenous and exogenous repair using stem cells or stem cell-derived progenitor cells shows great promise in the spinal cord injury research field.
Educational Objectives
- Identify that loss of neurons, axons and glial cells are the major cause of functional deficits after spinal cord injury.
- Recall that lineage-restricted precursor cells could fill the lesion cavity and support axonal regeneration after spinal cord injury.
- Recognize that new oligodendrocytes, derived from oligodendrocyte progenitor cells, rather than existing mature oligodendrocytes could play an important role in promoting remyelination and functional outcomes after spinal cord injury.
- Recall that reprogramming of glial cells into neurons could occur in the spinal cord following injury and these newly reprogrammed neurons may play a functional role.
- Report that a combination of endogenous and exogenous repair strategies could be a future direction for further enhancement of repair after spinal cord injury.
Chairs: Ramon Diaz-Arrastia, MD, PhD; University of Pennsylvania & Cheryl Wellington, PhD; University of British Columbia
- Exosomes - David Issadore, PhD; University of Pennsylvania
- micro RNAs - Bogdan Stoica, PhD; University of Maryland
- Lipoproteins - Cheryl Wellington, PhD; iCord
Description
Recent developments from several fields of medicine, ranging from cancer to atherosclerosis, are pointing to novel mechanisms through which cells communicate, and their relevance to disease and injury is under intense investigation. These include microsomes and exosomes as well as particles which have been recognized for decades, such as lipoproteins. These particles transfer proteins, lipids, and genetic material amongst cells, including small non-coding RNAs which have profound effects on gene expression. Their relevance to neurotrauma is only just now coming to light, and is certain to be profound.
Educational Objectives
- Recognize how microcellular vesicles and exosomes are released from cells during normal physiology and in response to injury.
- Report how microRNAs are involved in regulating gene expression and how they are trafficked from one cell to another after neurotrauma.
- Desribe how lipoproteins are involved in functions beyond lipid transport, and their role in innate immunity and maintenance of neurovascular integrity.
Facilitators:
- Patrick Bellgowan, PhD; NIH/NINDS
- Dalton Dietrich, PhD; MIami Project to Cure Paralysis
- Pramod Dash, PhD; University of Texas Health Science Center
Description
This workshop will provide a “soup-to-nuts” overview of the grant submission and review process from the perspective of a program manager at the National Institutes of Health. This will be followed by a panel discussion of top 5 tips for success in grant writing lead by 2 senior scientists who are also well-established grant reviewers.
Educational Objectives
- Overview the NIH grant submission and review process
- Discuss tips for successful grant writing
- Discuss challenges that grant seekers face and strategies to overcome these challenges
Facilitator:John Povlishock, PhD; VCU
Description
In this workshop, the Editor of the Journal of Neurotrauma will overview the manuscript submission and review process. This will be followed by a discussion of tips for success in manuscript writing and publication.
Educational Objectives
- Overview the submission and review process for peer-reviewed manuscripts
- Discuss tips for successful manuscript writing
- Discuss challenges that authors face and strategies to overcome these challenges
Facilitator: Kenneth Curley, MD, PhD
- Fluid Percussion TBI Injury in the Rat - Bruce Lyeth, PhD; UC Davis
- Acute and Chronic repetitive TBI in the Mouse - Fiona Crawford, PhD; Roskamp Institute & Tampa VA
- Murine Sled Model - Lee Goldstein, MD, PhD; Boston University
Description
Following the successful Preclinical Research Methods Workshop at the 34th annual National Neurotrauma Symposium, our goal is to continue to provide this educational service by expanding to models that were not able to be presented in 2016. In the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the number of scientists from other disciplines who have entered and contributed to TBI research as well as in students choosing to pursue neurotrauma as a research focus. Additionally, mechanisms of injury that were only “niche areas”, such as blast, have become quite popular due to their relevance in the form of terrorist attacks and battlefield casualties. In the intervening years, the Department of Defense, VA, NINDS and others have attempted to promulgate consistency, if not standards, in the performance of TBI research. These efforts have met with only variable and modest success. Our belief is that through teaching opportunities such as this, we can better engage the neurotrauma community to let people know how to best model various injuries as well as how to leverage resources such as the NINDS Preclinical Common Data Elements. By having noted expects and in some cases the actual developers of the models present their methods, we intend to improve the overall consistency and quality of preclinical neurotrauma research. This workshop will be dedicated to reviewing both well-established and novel pre-clinical models of TBI. The TBI Preclinical Research Methods Workshop will review the following models: Fluid Percussion TBI Injury in the Rat by Bruce Lyeth, PhD from UC Davis / Acute and Chronic repetitive TBI in the Mouse by Fiona Crawford, PhD from Roskamp Institute and Tampa VA / Murine sled model by Lee Goldstein, MD, PhD from Boston University. While this is not an exhaustive review of each model, it will address the most commonly used, emerging and clinically relevant models, to include discussion of the optimal animals and associated technical challenges for each.
Educational Objectives
- Become familiar with the history, hardware use, validation, technical approaches and potential hurdles of the models presented.
- Learn how the models relate to the human condition of TBI
- Learn about the pre-clinical and clinical common data elements initiatives as well as how they can participate in those ongoing efforts.
Facilitator: Brenda Bartnik, PhD; Loma Linda University
Description
As imaging is becoming a frequently used modality for the study of neurotrauma, it is important to know what key features and data elements should be included in high quality studies. This workshop will include an introduction of key features of high quality imaging studies in both the human and animal arenas. The introduction will be followed by a discussion of these key features and review of examples.
Educational Objectives
- Overview the key features of a high quality imaging study
- Describe data elements that should be evaluated to judge quality of an imaging study
- Discuss key features and data elements of high quality imaging studies in neurotrauma
Facilitator: William Stewart, PhD: University of Glasgow
Description
Following last year’s session focusing on acute pathologies of TBI, this year we will concentrate on chronic pathologies, including tau and amyloid-beta. Following a brief introductory lecture, the majority of the workshop will be dedicated to guided microscopic tissue examination, where expert neuropathologist Willie Stewart will walk attendees through cases. Looking under the microscope and will examine and compare acute, intermediate and long-term survival cases to differentiate pathologies associated with long-term survival. Additionally, using whole slide scanning, imaging and sharing technology, we will send attendees slides from human TBI cases prior to the workshop for their review and discussion at the conference.
Educational Objectives
- Microscopically identify several different chronic injury pathologies in injured tissue.
- Understand how different factors (including age, genotype, length of survival) can play a role in determining pathological phenotype of TBI.
- Gain a more holistic understanding of pathologies associated with chronic survival of TBI.
Chair: Michelle LaPlaca, PhD; Georgia Tech/Emory University
Facilitators:
- Lindsey Hulbert, PhD, Kansas State University
- C. Edward Dixon, PhD - University of Pittsburgh
- Leonie Misquitta, PhD - NIH/CIT
Description
Reproducibility is a challenge for the Preclinical community. The goal of the working group was not to standardize measures but to identify a list of factors that best captured the relevant description of the most frequently used tests that would lead to a better harmonization of data. The TBI Preclinical Working Groups intended to address the challenge that, while well-validated and standardized animal models of TBI can enhance our understanding of disease and inform therapeutic development, many therapeutics that show promise in preclinical animal models fail to elicit predicted effects when tested in humans. These meetings explored the relationship between clinical phenotypes of TBI and animal model constructs, discussing what constitutes useful translation model systems and common data elements for data standardization, particularly in the context of Research and Development decision making.
Educational Objectives
- Present an overview of TBI preclinical animal models used
- Prioritize specific CDE’s and models, as well as bringing together expertise in TBI to aggregate common procedures/protocols/preclinical practices
- Present the identified common data elements (CDE’s) and measures to standardize preclinical data