View this email in your browser
Cohen Veterans Bioscience

   ADVANCING BRAIN HEALTH

The Circuit
Quarterly Brain Health News - June 2021

An Important Message From CEO & President Dr. Magali Haas

Dear Friends and Colleagues, 

This quarter, I am reminded of the power of connectivity. Not in our lifetimes has the simple act of connecting in person been so daunting. 

Now that most of the country has opened, we are beginning to fill this void and return to a sense of normalcy. But we have gained a new appreciation of the power of connectivity. Our CVB team and Board were fortunate to have recently convened in person in our New York City headquarters. Invigorating it was! 

Quote from Dr. Magali HaasConnectivity also reminds us of synergy and what we could achieve when we mobilize our teams and connect as one to make progress and move the brain health field forward. We must continue to partner with like players and influencers across the space for more efficient and effective research allocation and to eliminate overlap and the gaps.

Collectively, we were already dedicated to mental health before the pandemic. We will continue to drive these efforts as mental health support and research are now ever-increasing as a need post-pandemic. 

Our upcoming Brain Health Nexus Summit slated for October is one way, together, we will galvanize and rally the field to action. The event reflects CVB’s mission to break down the silos in the research community and promote the sharing of data, innovation, capabilities, capital, and other resources essential to making progress.

Achieving connectivity is also an outcome and byproduct of our interactions with the Veteran community. We were elated to connect this quarter in person in Idaho with a few of our VAC partners at 22 Jumps where Marine Veteran Tristan Wimmer and other Veteran advocates base jumped from the Perrine Memorial Bridge. The event was held in honor of the 22 Veterans who lose their battle to suicide each day, raising more than $38,000.

It was a joyous reunion but a painful reminder of the enormity of our mission and what’s at stake. For our Veterans, there's been too much talk over the years and not enough action to effect real change. 

There has been a lack of connectedness and not enough support at home for our heroes. The so-called “invisible wounds of war” are not so invisible: they are right in front of us. The high rates of suicide, substance abuse, homelessness, and other maladies gripping our nation’s military families are the byproducts of our failure to diagnose and treat TBI and PTSD effectively.

We must continue to invest in novel translational research to combat the invisible wounds of war and advance the field by treating these risk factors for suicide ideation.

As we wrap up June/PTSD Awareness Month, we reflect on the last 16 months, which further strengthens our mission and resolve to move the field forward and take action.

We know what’s possible when the science community, industry, and policymakers come together against a common enemy. In the case of Covid-19, this was getting to the vaccines in record time.  We should be able to replicate this success to advance brain health, and we will. 

We hope you find this issue of the newsletter enlightening. Thank you for your support of CVB and for continuing to make a difference for the millions of people worldwide living with brain disorders and their families. 


Magali Haas, MD, PhD
Magali Haas, MD, PhD
CEO & President
Cohen Veterans Bioscience

June is PTSD Awareness Month

June is PTSD Awareness Month

To improve the future outcomes for those with brain injuries, Cohen Veterans Bioscience is dedicated to fast-tracking the development of diagnostic tests and personalized therapeutics for the millions of Veterans and civilians suffering from the devastating effects of trauma on the brain.

During Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month, learn more about PTSD, what we’re doing to improve its diagnosis and treatment, and what resources are available for those suffering from PTSD.

Learn more about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and our research efforts

Dr. Lee Lancashire
Q&A Spotlight with Lee Lancashire, PhD, on PTSD Data Modeling

Chief Information Officer Dr. Lee Lancashire discusses how CVB’s approach to data modeling is helping to advance research for trauma-related brain disorders, such as PTSD and TBI.

What is data science and how is it useful?

Data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence capture many variations of similar themes. Broadly speaking, data science at CVB is a field that combines computer science, mathematics, statistics, and bioinformatics to extract knowledge from data.

Please describe CVB’s approach to data or systems modeling and how it differs from other methods.

At CVB we are looking to apply machine learning algorithms to what we call ‘multi-modal’ data. This means data from clinical scales, self-reports, images of the brain, genetic sequences, and even sensor data derived from wearable devices. We think a lot about what we refer to as ‘systems modeling’, which I define as an approach that aims to establish connections across different data levels to fully explain the underlying biology of disease. The hope is that these types of methods will lead to better drug targets or better ways to tailor specific therapies in an individualized manner.

Learn more
Quote from Dr. Magali Haas
Cohen Veterans Bioscience Joins PRISM 2 Consortium

Lead by Innovative Medicines Initiative, the Project Aims to Identify Biomarkers for Mental Disorders

PRISM 2 organization logos

 

  • Success of first part of project has led to funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking for a new project that will build on PRISM’s successes
  • Focus on Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and major depressive disorder
  • 14 companies and institutes will cooperate on project

Brain research and advocacy non-profit Cohen Veterans Bioscience announced that it joined the PRISM 2 consortium as as a designated associated partner of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI).

The new PRISM 2 project, “Psychiatric Ratings using Intermediate Stratified Markers 2,” aims to identify quantitative biological features common across Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and major depressive disorder, opening the possibility of developing targeted treatments irrespective of traditional diagnosis.

Learn More

22 Jumps Idaho
Mission Accomplished:
Veterans BASE Jump and Raise More Than $38K for TBI Research in Twin Falls, Idaho

During Memorial Day Weekend, Veterans took action to bring new hope to individuals and families affected by TBI and suicide. Marine Veteran Tristan Wimmer and others succeeded in providing much-needed support for research that will one day make TBI more detectable and treatable. They raised more than $38,000 in honor of the 22 Veterans who lose their battle to suicide each day. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major risk factor for suicide.

Thank you to all who supported, donated & volunteered to make 22 Jumps possible.

Learn more
Team Science in Action
Quote from Mary Jo Pugh, PhD, RN
Traumatic Brain Injury: A New Roadmap Outlining Opportunities, Barriers, and Recommendations for Advancing Treatment Solutions

First of six publications reports on new tool to identify patient subgroups that enable personalized care

Brain research and advocacy nonprofit Cohen Veterans Bioscience announced the launch of a National TBI Precision Solutions Research Roadmap, with the advent of the first in a series of publications resulting from its Brain Trauma Blueprint framework program.

Learn More
Quote from Dr. Haarbauer-Krupa
In TBI, Identifying Population Differences is Critical to Improving Lives

Identifying how factors like age, race, and co-existing conditions influence TBI outcomes across populations could inform standardized precision solutions

Most traumatic brain injury (TBI) research has focused on acute and moderate-to-severe illness. Now researchers affiliated with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Salt Lake City Veterans Administration, the University of Utah, the University of California San Francisco, and Cohen Veterans Bioscience (CVB) recommend that key stakeholders turn their attention to mild TBI and identifying how differences in population characteristics could influence the long-term consequences of TBI.

Learn More

Evaluating tools for measuring sleepEvaluating the tools we need to help people suffering from PTSD and Insomnia get a good night's sleep

Sleep disruptions are a hallmark and consequence of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and a risk factor for suicide. In Veterans, sleep disruptions, such as nightmares, are often the most burdensome aspects of PTSD.

In partnership with sleep experts from the University of Pennsylvania, we're studying how integrating the most accurate combination of devices with other typical sleep data, such as sleep diaries found on a Clinician’s Dashboard, will enable best practices for personalizing and effectively improving sleep. 

Learn more about the Technical Performance Validation study and our SleepWell program.
Cohen Veterans Bioscience supported the following research efforts
published this quarter:
 
Technological Innovation Developments

Scientists in Belgium recently published a study that details a newly developed protocol for using a technology to address a major challenge in the field of neuroscience.

This technological innovation may enable researchers to collect more information to measure brain activity than ever before. To learn about the work, which was supported by CVB, read the article.

The study, which appears in Nature Protocols, is authored by Rik JJ van Daal, Çagatay Aydin, Frédéric Michon, Arno AA Aarts, Michael Kraft, Fabian Kloosterman, and Sebastian Haesler.
Null Hypothesis Partnership Publications:

Cohen Veterans Bioscience (CVB), the Center for Biomedical Research Transparency (CBMRT) and Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers, in their continued efforts to advance the publication of research with negative findings, have published the first two papers out of their partnership in Neurotrauma Reports Null Hypothesis.

Null Hypothesis is a collaborative initiative dedicated to publishing well-performed replication and negative studies — or studies where the outcomes do not confirm expected results or working hypotheses — via dedicated journal space.

As part of CVB’s ongoing mission to drive reproducible, robust, and confirmatory science, CVB is providing the financial support to make articles with negative or replicable study findings freely available online. CBMRT is applying its highly successful Null Hypothesis model and Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is providing the publication infrastructure.
 
Policy and Advocacy In Action
CVB and American Brain Coalition Virtual Briefing
A Path Forward: Identifying Solutions for Recognized Gaps in Traumatic Brain Injury Diagnostics and Treatment

On May 25, 2021, the American Brain Coalition (ABC) and Cohen Veterans Bioscience (CVB), in cooperation with the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus and the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, co-hosted a virtual briefing to discuss gaps in traumatic brain injury (TBI) diagnosis and treatment. 

Learn More

NAVREF
Cohen Veterans Bioscience Joins the NAVREF Industry Partner Consortium as a Founding Member

Cohen Veterans Bioscience is proud to be a founding member of the NAVREF Industry Consortium, working with biomedical research industry stakeholders and VA-affiliated Nonprofit Corporations to foster collaboration and the exchange of information for the advancement of Veterans’ health.

Learn More

Recent & Upcoming Events

Andreas Jeromin, PhD
2021 Society of Biological Psychiatry Virtual Meeting

Our Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Andreas Jeromin Chaired the presentation “Leveraging Systems Biology to Understand Post-traumatic Stress Disorder” on April 29, 2011.

Dr. Jeromin was joined by co-Chair and CVB Director of Translational Science Dr. Heather Lasseter and CVB Chief Information Officer Dr. Lee Lancashire.

Brain Health Nexus
Brain Health Nexus - Envisioning and Launching a Scientific and Technology Roadmap to Drive Tomorrow's Interventions and Cures

The growing mental health consequences of the pandemic have spotlighted a need for a renewed emphasis on brain health. The Brain Health Nexus will convene more than 200 global thought leaders across the brain health ecosystem, including experts from research institutions, non-profit organizations, finance, government, technology, patient advocacy groups, industry, and healthcare, to design and launch a science and technology roadmap for collective action to combat the growing global burden of brain disease.

This is an invitation-only event, contact us for more information.

Sponsorship opportunities are available now.

Learn more about Brain Health Nexus

Support Our Mission


Brain trauma can impact anyone.

We're advancing brain health for military service members, Veterans, and all people.

Together, we have the potential to help improve research and lives.
Donate to Cohen Veterans Bioscience
Donate Today
Follow Cohen Veterans Bioscience on Facebook
Follow Cohen Veterans Bioscience on Twitter
Follow Cohen Veterans Bioscience on LinkedIn
Follow Cohen Veterans Bioscience on Instagram
Follow Cohen Veterans Bioscience on YouTube
Copyright © 2021 Cohen Veterans Bioscience Inc., All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.