TBI Model System Researchers Present at 13th World Congress on Brain Injury

TBI Model System researchers presented at the 13th World Congress on Brain Injury held March 13-16, 2019, in Toronto, Canada. This conference is the largest gathering of international professionals working in the field of brain injury.

Lisa Payne, PhD, Lenore Hawley, MSSW, Jessica Ketchum, PhD, Clare Morey, MA, and Angie Philippus, BA, researchers at Rocky Mountain Regional Brain Injury System, presented “Improving well-being after traumatic brain injury through volunteering:  A randomized controlled trial.”

Candy Tefertiller, PT, Kaitlin Hays, PhD, Audrey Natale, OT, Denise O'Dell, PT, Jessica McKinney Ketchum, PhD, Mitch Sevigny, MS, CB Eagye, MS, Angela Philippus, BA, and Cindy Harrison-Felix, PhD, researchers at Rocky Mountain Regional Brain Injury System, presented “Ready to be steady: Results from a randomized controlled trial to address balance deficits after traumatic brain injury (TBI).”

Geraldine Martens, PhD, Yelena Bodien, PhD, and Joseph Giacino, PhD, researchers at Spaulding-Harvard Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, presented "Behavioral markers of recovery of consciousness after severe brain injury."

Kristen Dams-O'Connor, PhD, Wayne Gordon, PhD, Alex Landau, BA, Lisa Spielman, PhD, and Eric Watson, PhD, researchers at New York Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, presented "Treatment of post-TBI fatigue with light exposure."

Jeanne Hoffman, PhD, researcher at University of Washington Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, presented "TWILIGHT: RCT of phototherapy."

John Whyte, PhD,  co-principal investigator at Moss Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, along with Ingrid Poulsen, Pengsheng Ni, Marianne Eskildsen, and Rikke Guldager, presented "Development of a measure of nociception and pain for patients with severe brain injury."

Dmitry Esterov, DO, Thomas Bergquist, PhD, and Allen Brown, MD, researchers at Mayo Clinic Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, presented "Predictors of neurobehavioral symptom reporting in a community based sample with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI)."

Arielle Resnick, PT, DPT, NCS, Irene Ward, DPT, NCS, Erin Donnelly, PT, NCS, Jacquelyn Candras, Marisa King, PT, DPT, Justine Mamone-Lucciola, Stefanie Migliaccio, Allison Miller, and Anthony Lequerica, PhD, researchers at Northern New Jersey Traumatic Brain Injury System, presented "Predicting the need for supervision following traumatic brain injury."

Yelena Bodien, PhD, Geraldine Martens, PhD, and Joseph Giacino, PhD, researchers at Spaulding-Harvard Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, presented "When will he talk to me? Mapping the time course of recovery of communication in patients with disorders of consciousness following severe brain injury."

Ross Zafonte, DO, and Grant Iverson, PhD, along with Jenkin Mok, Douglas Terry, Brucee Maxweell, Paul Berkner, and Magdalena Wojtowicz, researchers at Spaulding-Harvard Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, presented "The impact of migraine history and short sleep duration on preseason symptom reporting in adolescent student athletes."

Ross Zafonte, DO, Joseph Giacino, PhD, Michael Bergin, PhD, and Felipe Frengi, MD, researchers at Spaulding-Harvard Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, presented "Huperzine A in the treatment of cognitive and mood deficits after severe and moderate TBI."

Candace Tefertiller, PT,  Kaitlyn Hays, PT, DPT, Jessica Ketchum, PhD, Audrey Natale, PT, DPT,  Denise O'Dell, Mitch Seveigny, and Cynthia Harrison-Felix, researchers at Rocky Mountain Regional Brain Injury System, presented "Ready to be steady: Virtual reality and balance after traumatic brain injury."

Jennifer Marwitz, MA,  Jeffrey Kreutzer, PhD,  Adam Sima, PhD, Kristin Graham, PhD, Nancy Hsu, PsyD, and Herman Lukow, PhD, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, presented "Efficacy of a couples intervention to promote relationship quality after traumatic brain injury."

Jennifer Bogner, PhD, John Corrigan, PhD, and Chelsea Kane, PsyD, researchers at Ohio Regional Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, presented "Randomized controlled trial of a brief intervention for substance misuse following moderate or severe TBI."

TBI Model System Researchers Contribute to Textbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 3rd Edition

The following TBI Model Systems researchers contributed to the newly-published 3rd edition of The Textbook of Traumatic Brain Injury as editor of the textbook or chapter authors:

David B. Arciniegas, MD, The Texas TBI Model System of TIRR
Kathleen R. Bell, MD, North Texas TBI Model System
Jennifer Bogner, PhD, Ohio Regional Traumatic Brain Injury Model System
John D. Corrigan, PhD, Ohio Regional Traumatic Brain Injury Model System
Kristen Dams-O’Connor, PhD, New York Traumatic Brain Injury Model System
Joseph T. Giacino,PhD, Spaulding-Harvard Traumatic Brain Injury Model System
Flora M. Hammond, MD, Indiana University School of Medicine / Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana TBI Model System
Cynthia Harrison-Felix, PhD, TBI Model Systems National Data and Statistical Center
Tessa Hart, PhD, Moss Traumatic Brain Injury Model System
Jeffrey S. Kreutzer, PhD, Virginia Commonwealth Traumatic Brain Injury Model System
James F. Malec, PhD, Indiana University School of Medicine / Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana TBI Model System
Dawn M. Neumann, PhD, Indiana University School of Medicine / Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana TBI Model System
Amanda Rabinowitz, PhD, Moss Traumatic Brain Injury Model System
Angelle M. Sander, PhD, The Texas TBI Model System of TIRR
Mark Sherer, PhD, The Texas TBI Model System of TIRR
John Whyte, MD, PhD, Moss Traumatic Brain Injury Model System

In addition, Risa Nakase-Richardson, PhD, at the Department of Veteran Affairs-funded Tampa Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center, contributed to the textbook.

TBI Model System Researchers Collaborate on Recently Published Articles

A host of TBI Model System researchers from the Rocky Mountain Spinal Injury System (RMRSIS) published the following articles: 

• "Physical, Cognitive, and Psychosocial Characteristics Associated with Mortality in Chronic TBI Survivors: A National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Study."  Authors of the article include Therese O’Neil-Pirozzi, ScD, CCC-SLP; Jessica Ketchum, Ph.D.; Flora Hammond, M.D.; Angela Philippus, B.A.; Erica Weber, Ph.D.; and Kristin Dams-O’Connor, Ph.D.  View the abstract here.      

• "Obesity and Overweight Problems Among Individuals 1 to 25 Years Following Acute Rehabilitation for Traumatic Brain Injury: A NIDILRR Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Study. Authors of the article include Laura Dreer, Ph.D.; Jessica Ketchum, Ph.D.; Thomas Novack, Ph.D.; John Corrigan, Ph.D.; Jennifer Bogner, Ph.D.; Elizabeth Felix, Ph.D.; Douglas Johnson-Greene, Ph.D.; and Flora Hammond, M.D." View the abstract here.

•  "Social Competence Treatment after Traumatic Brain Injury: A Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Trial of Interactive Group Treatment versus Non-Interactive Treatment. Authors of the article include Cynthia-Harrison-Felix, Ph.D.; Jessica Ketchum, Ph.D.;  Jody Newman, MA, CCC-SLP; Lenore Hawley, MSSW, LCSW ; Clare Morey, MA, CCC-SLP; Cynthia Braden, MA, CCC-SLP; CB Eagye, MS; William Walker, MD; Kathleen Bell, MD; Scott Millis, Ph.D.; James Malec, Ph.D.; and Laura Howe, JD, Ph.D." View the abstract here.

Model Systems Researchers selected as Fellow of American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine

The following Model Systems researchers were awarded the Fellow of American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine designation:

• Yu-Ying Chen, M.D., Ph.D., FACRM, Project Director of the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center; Professor & Director, University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Thomas F. Bergquist, Ph.D., ABPP-CN, FACRM, Assistant Professor and Program Director, Mayo Brain Injury Outpatient Program
•  Kristen Dams O'Connor, Ph.D, FACRM, Associate Professor, Director, Brain Injury Research Center; Research Director, Mount Sinai Injury Control Research Center
• John DeLuca, Ph.D., Project Director of the Northern New Jersey Traumatic Brain Injury Model System; Senior Vice President for Research, Kessler Foundation

TBI Model Systems Researchers Presenting at 12th World Congress on Brain Injury

The following list reflects TBI Model System Centers who reported their participation at the 12th World Congress on Brain Injury, held March 29-April 1, 2017:

• Robert G. Kowalski, MD, MS, of the Rocky Mountain Regional Brain Injury System (RMRBIS) presented the symposium, “Disorders of Consciousness Following Traumatic Brain Injury." Authors: Robert G. Kowalski, MD, MS; Flora M. Hammond, MD; Risa Nakase-Richardson, PhD.
• Jessica M. Ketchum, PhD, of the Rocky Mountain Regional Brain Injury System (RMRBIS), presented the abstract, "Epidemiology of associated medical conditions and treatment complications in patients receiving inpatient rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury in the U.S." Authors: Jessica M. Ketchum, PhD, Juliet K. Haarbauer-Krupa, PhD; CB Eagye, MS; Jeneita Bell, MD, MPH; John D. Corrigan, PhD; Flora M. Hammond, MD; Kristen Dams-O’Connor, PhD;  A. Cate Miller, PhD; Melissa C. Hofmann, MS; Gale G. Whiteneck, PhD; Robert G. Kowalski, MD, MS.
•  Robert G. Kowalski, MD, MS, of the Rocky Mountain Regional Brain Injury System (RMRBIS), presented, "Acute Ischemic Stroke Following Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Incidence and Impact on Outcomes." Authors: Robert G. Kowalski, MD, MS; Juliet K. Haarbauer-Krupa, PhD; Jeneita Bell, MD, MPH; John D. Corrigan, PhD; Flora M. Hammond, MD; Michel T. Torbey, MD, MPH; Kristen Dams-O’Connor, PhD;  A. Cate Miller, PhD; Melissa C. Hofmann, MS; Gale G. Whiteneck, PhD.
• Robert G. Kowalski, MD, MS, of the Rocky Mountain Regional Brain Injury System (RMRBIS), presented, "Incidence of associated medical conditions and treatment complications, and impact on outcome following moderate to severe traumatic brain injury." Authors: Robert G. Kowalski, MD, MS, Juliet K. Haarbauer-Krupa, PhD; Jessica M. Ketchum, PhD; CB Eagye, MS; Jeneita Bell, MD, MPH; John D. Corrigan, PhD; Flora M. Hammond, MD; Kristen Dams-O’Connor, PhD;  A. Cate Miller, PhD; Melissa C. Hofmann, MS; Gale G. Whiteneck, PhD.
• John Whyte, MD, PhD, co-director of the Moss Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, and Tessa Hart, PhD, director of the Moss TBIMS, presented the symposium, "You Can't Assess Treatment Efficacy if You Can't Define the Treatment: Challenges and Solutions in Specifying Non-Pharmacologic Treatments." They were joined by co-presenter Marcel Dijkers, PhD, who is co-Investigator in the Mount Sinai TBIMS.
• Jeffrey S. Kreutzer, PhD, of the Virginia Commonwealth Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, presented the Jennett Plum Lecture, “Lessons Learned about Caregivers after Traumatic Brain Injury."
• Jennifer H. Marwitz, MA, of the Virginia Commonwealth Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, presented the abstract, “Efficacy of an Intervention to Promote Resilience and Adjustment after Traumatic Brain Injury.” Authors: Jennifer H. Marwitz, MA; Nancy H. Hsu, PsyD; Jeffrey S. Kreutzer, PhD; Herman R. Lukow, PhD; Ana Mills, PsyD; Adam Sima, PhD; Abigail Welch, BS, BA.
• Mary Joan Roach, PhD and Michael Kelly, MD, of the Northeast Ohio Regional Spinal Cord Injury System (NORSCIS), presented a poster, The Impact of Age on Functional Outcome and Mortality in Patients Admitted to Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation.
• Simon Driver, PhD, of the North Texas Traumatic Brain Injury Model System presented, "Describing Weight Loss History among Individuals with TBI."
• Hoffman J, Lucas S, Stacey A, Bell K, Temkin N, and Dikmen S., of the North Texas Traumatic Brain Injury Model System presented, "Five Year Headache Trajectories after Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury."
• Womack K, Callender L, Dubiel R, Bell K, Driver S, and Shafi, S., of the North Texas Traumatic Brain Injury Model System presented, "Dopamine Imaging in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Association with Functional Outcomes."

TBI Model System Center Researchers Participate in the Eleventh World Congress on Brain Injury

The following list reflects researchers from TBI Model System Centers that reported presenting at the Eleventh World Congress on Brain Injury held March 2-6, 2016:

• Tessa Hart, PhD, principal investigator of the Moss Traumatic Brain Injury Model System chaired a pre-Congress workshop, Cognitive Rehabilitation in the Real World: Merging the Evidence Base with Individual Needs. As part of the workshop, Dr. Hart presented, The Problem of Treatment Specification: Treatment Theory as an Organizing Framework for Cognitive Rehabilitation and Problem-Solving Training in TBI: Merging Standardization with Flexibility
• John Whyte, MD, Ph.D., co-principal investigator of the Moss Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, was part of a pre-Congress workshop, Disorders of Consciousness, speaking on pharmacologic treatment. Dr. Whyte also presented ACRM/TBI Model System-sponsored Minimal Competency Recommendations for Programs that Provide Rehabilitation Services for Persons with Disorders of Consciousness: A Discussion of the Implications for International Deployment
• Cynthia Harrison-Felix, Ph.D., Jessica Ketchum, Ph.D., Flora Hammond, MD, Kristen Dams-O’Connor, Ph.D., John Corrigan, Ph.D., and A. Cate Miller, Ph.D., presented the poster presentation, Mortality Secondary to Accidental Poisoning After Inpatient Rehabilitation for Traumatic Brain Injury
• Gale Whiteneck, Ph.D., Jeffery Cuthbert, Ph.D., John Corrigan, Ph.D., and Jennifer Bogner, Ph.D., delivered the presentation, Prevalence and Correlates of a Lifetime History of TBI in the Adult, Colorado Population
• Ellen Hada, Coralynn Long, Michelle Smith, MPH, CHES, and Tamara Bushnik, PhD, principal investigator of the Rusk Rehabilitation TBIMS at NYU and Bellevue delivered the presentation, The Influence of Country of Origin and Attitudes Towards Healthcare, Language Preference, and Health Outcomes in TBI Patients 
• Tamara Bushnik, PhD, Michelle Smith, MPH, CHES, and Brian Im, MD, presented the poster presentation, Role of Acculturation in Rehabilitation Outcomes 
• Ellen Hada, Michelle Smith, MPH, CHES, and Tamara Bushnik, Ph.D., presented the poster presentation, Beyond the Bars: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Incarceration
• Robert G. Kowalski, Alan H. Weintraub, and Donald J. Gerber of the Rocky Mountain Regional Brain Injury System delivered the platform presentation, Hydrocephalus Predicts Outcome Following Traumatic Brain Injury
• Jennifer Marwitz, MA, Jeffrey Kreutzer, Ph.D., Adam Sima, Ph.D., and Herman Lukow, Ph.D., of the Virginia Commonwealth Traumatic Brain Injury Model System delivered the presentation, Marital Instability Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Using Social Media to Promote your Research: MSKTC Suite of Tools and Information

MSKTC produced a webinar titled Using Social Media to Promote Your Research; a recording of the webinar is available here: http://www.msktc.org/Model-Systems-Grantees/webinars. This webinar was designed to help the attendees understand the pervasiveness of social media; understand who uses social media; learn about the uses for different social media platforms; think about what they can do with social media; learn about the steps needed to manage social media; and see how a few Model Systems are effectively using their own social media. As a follow up to this webinar, researchers can develop a social media strategic plan using the following three tools developed by the MSKTC:

• Guide for Developing an MSKTC Social Media Plan: This document is a go-to reference for researchers to navigate different social media platforms and to plan, execute, monitor and optimize their social media efforts;
• MSKTC Social Media Development Workbook: This workbook accompanies the Guide to help researchers work through all aspects of a social media plan to communicate about their research;
• MSKTC Social Media Development Content Calendar: This Excel sheet helps researchers map out their use of social media by adapting it to the frequency with which they plan to use social media.

The tools can be found here: http://www.msktc.org/Knowledge-Translation/Social-Media-Guide.

In addition to the webinar and tools developed by MSKTC, a web clinic on social media analytics was held to review the types of analytics available for three platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Participants discussed how to use that data to inform and improve research dissemination and outreach through social media. The web clinic introduced best practices in using analytics, measuring engagement through analytics, creating data reports, and knowing what questions to ask of the researcher’s organization if they do not manage their own social media platforms. A recording of the web clinic is available here: http://www.msktc.org/Model-Systems-Grantees/webinars.