2019 State of the Science Summit:
Paths to Treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury(s)
June 5-6, 2019 – Washington, D.C.
Scientific Planning Committee
Each State of the Science Summit is curated by a unique Scientific Planning Committee.
Step 1 of the Brain Trauma Blueprint Framework involves Identification of the Problem a roadmap is being established to solve. The first roadmap focus was “Paths to Treatment for Chronic TBI”.
In Step 2 of the BTB Framework, we assembled a Scientific Planning Committee (SPC) comprised of cross-sector advisors selected due to their deep expertise, flexible and innovative thought leadership, and the ability to stimulate the ecosystem with creative ideas and processes. This Committee was tasked with the identification of Failure Modes and Knowledge Gaps and the direction of a state-of-the-science literature review for core domains identified.
We collectively defined the scope of this initial roadmapping effort into six prioritized research domains, each possessing significant gaps in knowledge that require a multi-dimensional approach to bridge: (1) epidemiology of chronic effects of TBI, (2) preclinical and translational science, (3) patient phenotypes/biotypes, (4) biomarker development, (5) clinical trials, and (6) implementation science.
For Step 3, the SPC presented core findings and recommendations at a broader stakeholder Summit convening > 200 additional experts to provide input, debate, and participate in road-mapping exercises to build upon the literature and generate a consensus of priorities.
Cohen Veterans Bioscience Executive Leadership Planning Committee
Allyson Gage, PhD
Allyson Gage, PhD
Chief Medical Officer
Cohen Veterans BioscienceAllyson Gage, PhD, is a neuroscientist and drug development executive who has over 18 years of experience leading teams in all phases of clinical development. She has been responsible for the overall strategic and clinical development of small molecules, biologics, and cellular therapies for the treatment of central nervous system disorders, including depression, alcohol dependence, Alzheimer’s disease, neuropathic pain, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury. Allyson has a proven track record in partnering with therapeutic area clinicians, US and international regulators, patient groups, and data scientists to translate pre-clinical information into human evaluation, design informative clinical trial protocols, and ensure a regulatory path with approvable and clinically meaningful outcome measures. Prior to joining Cohen Veterans Bioscience, Allyson’s most recent experience was focused in the field of regenerative medicine, working toward the development of a therapeutic for spinal cord injury. Allyson earned her BA from Rutgers College in New Brunswick, NJ, and her MS and PhD in neuroscience from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York.
- Dallas Hack, MD, Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)
Veterans Science Strategy Advisor (Consulting)
Cohen Veterans BioscienceDallas Hack, MD, Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)
Veterans Science Strategy Advisor (Consulting)
Cohen Veterans BioscienceDr. Dallas Hack M.D. served as the Director of the US Army Combat Casualty Care Research Program and Chair of the Joint Program Committee for Combat Casualty Care from 2008 to 2014 and as the Senior Medical Advisor to the Principal Assistant for Research and Technology, US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command from 2014 to 2015. He coordinated more than 70% of the DoD trauma research to improve battlefield trauma care of those injured in combat. During this time, the Department of Defense funded more Traumatic Brain Injury research than any organization because of the increasing awareness of the massive burden of Traumatic Brain Injury in the military. He has held numerous military medical leadership positions including Chief of Clinical Services at Fort Knox, KY, Commander of the NATO Headquarters Healthcare Facility, and Command Surgeon at the strategic level during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. COL(R) Hack received numerous military awards including the Bronze Star, two Legion of Merit awards, and seven Meritorious Service Medals and was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the Military Order of Medical Merit. He has a BA from Andrews University, a MPH from Johns Hopkins University, a MD from Loma Linda University, a MSS from the US Army War College, and a CPE from the Certifying Commission in Medical Management. He was recognized as the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year by Loma Linda University in May 2015. After retiring from military service, Dr. Hack has consulted with numerous organizations to advance research in Brain Health and transition the progress to improved clinical practice.
- Nicole Harmon, PhD
Nicole Harmon, PhD
Executive Director, Community Partnerships
Cohen Veterans BioscienceNicole Harmon brings more than 18 years of experience in psychology, philanthropy, patient advocacy, public health, and clinical research, most recently as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff for Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC), FDA’s partner for data standards. During her tenure there she transformed CDISC’s financial roadmaps, program management and global brand. Additionally, she developed and managed complex partnerships with leading U.S and International funding partners, U.S. FDA, Japan PMDA, European Medicines Agency, NIH, WHO, EU’s Innovative Medicines Initiatives, Global Patient Foundations and others to drive data standards and sharing initiatives and oversaw grants cultivation and management successfully achieving funding for and administering multiple large-scale projects. Prior to her time with CDISC, Dr. Harmon evaluated patients with Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychiatric conditions in a post-acute rehabilitation hospital.
Nicole earned her doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision at Texas Tech University with dissertation focus on understanding the caregivers experience associated with acquired brain injury following discharge from rehabilitation.
Nicole joins CVB to oversee development and engagement of strategic partnerships, grant management, events and the Brain Trauma Blueprint to further the CVB mission.
- Retsina Meyer, PhD
Retsina Meyer, PhD
Manager, Clinical Programs
Cohen Veterans BioscienceDr. Retsina Meyer pairs pursuit of scientific endeavors with the passionate execution to make real her vision to develop cures for mental illness.
Dr. Meyer is a translational neuroscientist, scientific founder of Resilience – a startup focused on novel treatments for PTSD and other brain diseases, and is currently consulting Scientific Program Manager for Cohen Biosciences. An active member of the biotech entrepreneurship community, Retsina works on local, national, and international programming to inspire scientist-entrepreneurs. Dr. Meyer has produced over 40 articles, abstracts, and lectures. Her academic discoveries gained international press, earned her a speaking engagement at the local TEDx conference, and served as the instigating discovery to found Resilience.
As an entrepreneur, Retsina is an alumna of MassBIO’s MassCONNECT program and SpringBoard’s Life Sciences Accelerator and is the 2014 champion of the international OneStart competition awarded by GSK’s SR One.
She obtained a Neuroscience Ph.D. at MIT where she earned five named fellowships, was a Presidential Fellow, Imperial College of London Global Fellow, and a Graduate Woman of Excellence. She served as a science advocate with the Science Policy Initiative, performing outreach, giving lectures, and meeting with members of congress to appeal for science and scientific funding.
Prior to her work at MIT, Dr. Meyer was a Fulbright Scholar, serving as a representative of the U.S. to Norway, where she worked in the lab of 2014 Nobel Prize winners Drs. May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser. She holds bachelor’s degrees in applied mathematics, biochemistry and molecular biophysics, and biopsychology from the University of Arizona where she was a Baver Scholar, and worked in the laboratories of Dr. David Rowe, Dr. Carol Barnes, and Dr. Bruce McNaughton.Nicole joins CVB to oversee development and engagement of strategic partnerships, grant management, events and the Brain Trauma Blueprint to further the CVB mission.
- Jessica Wolfe, PhD, MPH
Jessica Wolfe, PhD, MPH
Senior Clinical Advisor, Trauma Research Programs
Cohen Veterans BioscienceDr. Jessica Wolfe has been a behavioral researcher, neuropsychologist and executive in health sciences and public health for over 30 years. She is currently a senior consultant to ESC (formerly Executive Service Corps), focusing on non-profit strategy and management and professional Research Associate at Harvard Medical School, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Prior to that, she served as Senior Research Advisor to Spaulding Hospital Rehabilitation Network’s Institute of Lifestyle Medicine and Senior Research Program Advisor to Partners Healthcare System’s Center for Connected Health where she focused on clinical and research productivity involving wellness and technology innovation.
Jessica helped found the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Center for PTSD where she subsequently developed and directed the National Center’s Women’s Health Sciences Division. There, she led competitively funded, large scale, research initiatives in war trauma, military sexual assault, and Gulf War illnesses. She has over 70 peer-reviewed scientific publications.
Jessica received her Doctorate in clinical psychology from Columbia University. She completed her Master’s in Public Health from Harvard University (HSPH). Other interests include interactive health technologies, user-centered design (UX), neuroimaging in PTSD and traumatic brain injury (TBI), and stress adaptation across the lifespan.
Scientific Program Planning Committee
- Stephen Ahlers, PhD
Stephen Ahlers, PhD
Director, Operational and Undersea Medicine Directorate
Naval Medical Research Center - David Cifu, MD
David Cifu, MD
Associate Dean of Innovation and System Integration
Herman J. Flax, MD Professor and Chair, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Virgina Commonwealth UniversitySenior TBI Specialist
U.S. Department of Veterans AffairsPrincipal Investigator, Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium
U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans AffairsDavid Cifu, MD is the Associate Dean for Innovation and System Integration in the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine, and the Chairman and Herman J. Flax, MD Endowed Professor (tenured) of the Department of PM&R at VCU-School of Medicine in Richmond, Virginia. He is also Chief of PM&R Services for the VCU Health System and Founding Director of the VCU-Center for Rehabilitation Sciences and Engineering (CERSE). He is the Senior TBI Specialist for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He has been funded on 45 research grants for over $190 million, including currently serving as Principal Investigator of the VA/DoD $62.2 million Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (CENC). In his more than 25 years as an academic physiatrist, he has delivered more than 560 regional, national and international lectures, published more than 225 scientific articles and 65 abstracts, and co-authored or edited 35 books and book chapters. He is the Past President of the American Academy of PM&R (2007-8), Editor-in-Chief of the 5th Edition of Braddom’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation textbook (2015), co-Editor of Braddom’s Handbook of Rehabilitation Medicine (2017), and Editor-in-Chief of the upcoming 6th Edition of Braddom’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation textbook (2020)
- Fiona Crawford, PhD
Fiona Crawford, PhD
President & CEO
Roskamp InstituteDr. Crawford has 20 years of experience in the field of research and development for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. Throughout her career, Dr. Crawford has received and managed numerous grants and contracts for neuroscience research.
- Jam Ghajar, MD, PhD, FACS
President
Brain Trauma FoundationJam Ghajar, MD, PhD, FACS
President
Brain Trauma FoundationClinical Professor of Neurosurgery
Stanford University School of MedicineJamshid Ghajar MD, PhD, FACS, is a board certified neurosurgeon, Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery, Director of the Stanford Concussion and Brain Performance Center and President of the Brain Trauma Foundation in New York City and Palo Alto.
He completed the MD/PhD program at Cornell University Medical College. During his residency training in neurosurgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital, he invented and patented several neurosurgical devices that are currently used worldwide. After residency, he joined the faculty at the New York Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and was a founder of the Brain Trauma Foundation (BTF) in 1986. The mission of the BTF is to improve the outcome of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). He joined the neurosurgery faculty at Stanford in February 2014.
- Jessica Gill, PhD, RN, FAAN
Jessica Gill, PhD, RN, FAAN
Deputy Scientific Director of the Division of Intramural Research
National Institute of Nursing ResearchDr. Jessica Gill’s interest in research began during her nursing undergraduate (B.S.N.) career, during which she volunteered with women and children whose lives were negatively affected by violence. She observed that this extreme stress resulted in differing outcomes with some women being substantially impaired, whereas others were able to recover. She questioned the mechanisms underlying these divergent responses to extreme stress. This line of questioning led her to pursue a graduate degree (M.S.) from Oregon Health and Science University in psychiatric nursing, which included clinical training in the PTSD program at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Research questions about trauma and resiliency were amplified during her work with Vietnam veterans who remained impacted by their combat service decades after returning home. Based on these volunteer and clinical experiences, she decided to pursue a doctorate at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Nursing. Her dissertation research demonstrated the presence of high rates of PTSD in urban health care seeking women, and that a PTSD diagnosis was associated with perceived health declines as well as with higher concentrations of inflammatory markers and a dysregulation of endocrine functioning.
Following completion of her Ph.D., she obtained a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) to better understand the biological mechanisms of PTSD and depression, finding central and peripheral alterations in the in-vivo functioning of both immune and endocrine systems. This line of research also led her to become a Clinical Investigator in the Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine (CNRM). She also is involved in leading national biomarker studies in athletes, military personnel and civilians. In these positions, she advises in the design and implementation of biomarker studies to ultimately improve the care of individuals with concussions and TBIs.
- Grant Iverson, PhD
Grant Iverson, PhD
Director, Neuropsychology Outcome Assessment Laboratory, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Harvard Medical School, and Spaulding Rehabilitation NetworkDr. Grant Iverson is a specialist in neuropsychology and a clinician scientist in the area of mild traumatic brain injury and mental health. He has an internationally-recognized research program in outcome from mild traumatic brain injury in athletes, civilians, military service members, and veterans. He served as the Chair for the Canadian Psychological Association Section on Clinical Neuropsychology from 2003-2010. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the International Brain Injury Association (2012-2015). He served as a consensus panel member for the 3rd and 4th International Conferences on Concussion in Sport in Zurich, Switzerland in 2008 and 2012, and the 5th International Conference in Berlin in 2016. He served as an Advisor to the Neurocognitive Disorders Workgroup (Traumatic Brain Injury) for the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-V). He also served as a founding member of the Traumatic Brain Injury Subcommittee of the Defense Health Board, a civilian advisory board to the United States Secretary of Defense. He was the President of the National Academy of Neuropsychology in 2015.
- Michael McCrea, MD
Michael McCrea, PhD, ABPP
Professor; Director, Brain Injury Research Program
Medical College of WisconsinDr. Michael McCrea is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist. He is currently Professor of Neurosurgery and Neurology, and Director of Brain Injury Research at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dr. McCrea earned his doctoral degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, then completed his internship training in neuropsychology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern University Medical School.
He is a past President of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN). Dr. McCrea has been an active researcher in the neurosciences, with numerous scientific publications, book chapters, and national and international lectures on the topic of traumatic brain injury. He authored the text Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Postconcussion Syndrome: The New Evidence Base for Diagnosis and Treatment published by Oxford University Press. He is a member of the United States Department of Defense Health Board External Advisory
- James Stone, MD, PhD
James Stone, MD, PhD
Vice Chairman of Clinical Research, Associate Professor of Radiology and Medical Imaging
University of VirginiaJames R. Stone, MD, PhD is Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging at the University of Virginia. He is a clinical Interventional Radiologist with a neuroscience background. His laboratory currently explores questions related to improving the clinical diagnosis of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in both preclinical models and human subjects. Ongoing preclinical work includes the design and investigation of molecular imaging probes for the detection of acute and chronic effects of TBI. He is involved with work exploring neurovascular changes in a preclinical blast TBI model. Human subjects efforts focus upon exploring neuroimaging correlates of repetitive low-level blast exposure in military populations. The goals of this work include determining whether military service members in this environment are at risk for developing long term neurological sequelae. Additionally, Dr. Stone is involved with efforts to build a normative library to support improved population level research and work towards single subject assessment of patients with TBI. Further, he is involved with work utilizing machine learning/deep learning approaches for the automated segmentation of imaging findings diagnostic of TBI as well as the joint analysis of multi-modal imaging and non-imaging data in a common framework. He is a member of the neuroimaging core laboratory for the Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium. Dr. Stone collaborates with the Naval Medical Research Center on a number of ongoing projects related to military TBI and subconcussive neurological response to blast exposure. His work receives support from the Defense Health Program through the Military Operational Research Program as well as the Combat Casualty Care Research Program. His work also receives support from the Office of Naval Research and Navy Advanced Medical Development Program Office. His participation on efforts to establish a normative neuroimaging library receives support from Cohen Veterans Bioscience.
- Elisabeth Wilde, PhD
Associate Professor, Director of Research for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Baylor College of MedicineElisabeth Wilde, PhD
Professor,
University of Utah / VA Salt Lake CityDr. Elisabeth Wilde is a Health Research Scientist in the US Veterans Affairs Health System (VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System), and is a Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Utah and an Associate Professor in the Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine. Her research interests include the use of advanced forms of neuroimaging to enhance diagnosis and prognosis, monitor recovery and neurodegeneration, evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic intervention, understand relations with other biomarkers, and elucidate aspects of neuroplasticity in traumatic brain injury. As a clinical neuropsychologist, she has an interest in brain-behavior relationships involving cognitive, neurological, and functional outcome and clinical trials in traumatic brain injury and associated comorbidities. For the last 20 years, she has worked with patients with traumatic brain injury and concussion across a spectrum of age, severity, and acuity, with particular interests in Veteran and Active Duty Service Members, athletes, and children and adolescents, with concussion or traumatic brain injury. She has participated in over 40 federally-funded clinical projects in TBI, and has authored over 120 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Wilde is currently the Director of the Neuroimaging Core for the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs co-funded Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (CENC) Neuroimaging Core and has been actively involved in the International Common Data Elements (CDE) initiative and co-leads the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics Meta-analysis (ENIGMA) Working Group for TBI.
- Kristine Yaffe, MD
Kristine Yaffe, MD
Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Epidemiology, Psychiatry Roy and Marie Scola Endowed Chair Vice Chair of Research in Psychiatry
UCSFKristine Yaffe, MD, is a Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Epidemiology, the Roy and Marie Scola Endowed Chair and Vice Chair of Research in Psychiatry at UCSF. Dr. Yaffe is dually trained in neurology and psychiatry and completed postdoctoral training in epidemiology and geriatric psychiatry, all at UCSF. In addition to her positions at UCSF, Dr. Yaffe is the Chief of Neuropsychiatry and the Director of the Memory Disorders Clinic at the San Francisco Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center. In her research, clinical work, and mentoring, she has worked towards improving the care of patients with cognitive disorders and other geriatric neuropsychiatric conditions.
Dr. Yaffe’s research focuses on the epidemiology of cognitive aging and dementia. As the principal investigator of multiple grants from the NIH, Department of Defense, and several foundations, she is a leading expert in the modifiable risk factors of dementia, and she has published over 500 peer-reviewed articles (H-index=130; recognized by Clarivate Analytics as one of the most highly cited researchers in her field). Dr. Yaffe served as the Co-Chair of the United States’ Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Cognitive Aging which released a report in 2015 entitled, “Cognitive Aging: Progress in Understanding and Opportunities for Action”. She is a member of the Beeson Scientific Advisory Board and the Global Council on Brain Health. Dr. Yaffe has received several awards for her distinguished, scholarly work, including the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry’s Distinguished Scientist Award and the American Academy of Neurology’s Potamkin Prize for Alzheimer’s Research.
