Traumatic Brain Injury Research

Recognized as a national leader in traumatic brain injury-related care and research, IU School of Medicine faculty investigators facilitate innovative projects and research focused in the areas of the delivery, demonstration and evaluation of medical, rehabilitation, vocational, and other services designed to meet the needs of individuals who suffer from traumatic brain injury.

IU School of Medicine takes a multidisciplinary approach to TBI research with investigators representing many different academic departments, including Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Psychiatry, Neurology, Surgery and Anesthesia as well as the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI), located on the IU School of Medicine – Indianapolis campus.

Investigators receive funding for their research through a multitude of governmental agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. Department of Defense, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Indiana State Department of Health as well as other non-profit organizations, foundations and industry leaders.

Centers and Institutes

Flora Hammond and Dawn Neumann examine data in their research center

Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Center

Recognized as one of 16 TBI Model Systems Centers in the United States, IU School of Medicine serves as a national leader in TBI-related care and research.

BRAIN Center

The Brain Rehabilitation, Advanced Imaging and Neuroscience (BRAIN) Center seeks to fill gaps in knowledge about acquired brain injury through a unique collaboration between clinical and basic science researchers at IU School of Medicine.

Stark Neurosciences Research Institute

Investigators at the Stark Neurosciences Research Institute focus on the spinal cord as it relates to traumatic brain injury with the intent to develop novel therapies to treat individuals with TBI, neurodegenerative disease and aging.

CARE Consortium

Led by IU School of Medicine with University of Michigan and Medical College of Wisconsin, the CARE Consortium is the most comprehensive investigation of sport-related concussion research conducted to date.

Explore Open Research Studies

Find all open studies for people with brain injury through IU School of Medicine's partner All IN for Health.

Research Studies

Faculty Labs Studying Concussion and TBI

The Xu Lab is studying the mechanisms underlying traumatic spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury, and hopes to develop novel repair strategies for neural reorganization and functional recovery of these injuries.

Research in the Jin Lab focuses on the organization and plasticity of neural circuits in the cerebral cortex, and the mechanisms of epileptogenesis following traumatic brain injury at the molecular, cellular and circuit levels.

Located within the Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, the White Lab focuses on the mechanistic development and chronicity of pain due to traumatic brain injury, peripheral nerve injury, polytrauma, chemotherapeutics and disease.

Personalized Approach to Concussions and TBI

Through the IU School of Medicine’s pharmacogenomic research in imaging, faculty investigators are studying the role of genetic variation in disordered brain function using neuroimaging and biomarkers as phenotypes and to identify potential surrogate biomarkers for therapeutic trials. Major approaches include the development and application of state-of-the-art computational and informatics methods and tools for independent and combined analyses of the following multi-modal, heterogeneous imaging, genetics, and other biomarker data: (a) Imaging modalities: MRI (structural, fMRI, DTI, PASL, MRSI), PET; (b) Other measures: CSF and blood biomarkers, neuropsychological assessments; (3) Genetic variation: GWAS (SNP, CNV), pathways, targeted sequencing. Disorders being investigated include mild cognitive impairment (or concussion) as well as Alzheimer’s disease, breast cancer (neurocognitive effects of chemotherapy and hormonal interventions), schizophrenia and other conditions.