By Frank Larkin, Chair of the Veterans Advisory Council

On Sept. 11, 2001, I was a U.S. Secret Service senior supervisor/special agent assigned to our New York Field Office located in Building #7 of the New York City World Trade Center (WTC) complex.

On that day, I was following my daily routine coming into the office around 6am to jog along the Hudson River. It was a beautiful, cloudless, crystal blue day with a gentle wind blowing. As I ran back toward the World Trade Center complex, I remember remarking to myself how beautiful the twin towers looked and even thought how lucky we had been that nothing had happened to us considering all the conflicts popping up around the globe.

I guess I was reflecting on the first World Trade Center bombing on Feb. 26, 1993, that seriously damaged our New York Field Office. At the time, our office was in WTC#6. I had responded to New York City from Washington, DC, following the explosion with equipment and other personnel to assist the office with recovery operations. Several of our agents had been injured in that attack.

I got back to the office after my run and was coming out of the shower when the building shook and the lights flickered. A few seconds later an announcement over the speaker system alerted us that there had been a massive explosion in WTC#1 and we were to immediately evacuate the building.

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Standardization of diagnostic tools could lead to more targeted treatments across neuropsychiatric disorders

As part of its RAPID-Dx (Research Alliance for Precision Therapeutics, Innovation and Diagnostics) program, researchers from Cohen Veterans Bioscience (CVB) and collaborators conducted a blinded cross-platform analysis (or “bakeoff”) of commercially available assay platforms to inform selection in the conduct of neuropsychiatric biomarker research.

The findings, published online September 8th in Metabolites [DOI: 10.3390/metabo11090609], investigate coverage across metabolite classes and relative accuracy and precision of the platforms. The study also evaluated the specific utility of these metabolomic platforms for analysis of metabolites implicated in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research.

CVB led the research in collaboration with other prominent metabolomics experts.

Cohen Veterans Bioscience, Stanford Brain Performance Center, and the Brain Trauma Foundation announced a collaboration aimed at transforming the treatment recommendations and guidelines for mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) (inclusive of concussion) and advancing the field more broadly toward a precision medicine approach.

Bringing together expertise in data science, patient care, and guideline development, the three organizations aim to reframe the classification of mild TBI using an evidence-based patient categorization, with the ultimate goal of bringing forth new treatment strategies and guidelines.

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Cohen Veterans Bioscience Publishes Recommendations for the Advancement of Preclinical Science in Traumatic Brain Injury

Published in the Journal of Neurotrauma on July 1, 2021 [DOI: 10.1089/neu.2021.0094], the article is titled “Roadmap for Advancing Preclinical Science in Traumatic Brain Injury.” The coauthored review discusses the state of preclinical research in traumatic brain injury (TBI), how preclinical models contribute to the success and failure of clinical solutions for TBI, and considerations for their improvement to aid translational science.

Regretfully, due to the Covid-19 Delta variant and the limits to international travel, we have decided to move the Brain Health Nexus event (previously scheduled for October 2021) to early next year on February 8th & 9th.

We apologize for this inconvenience, but our first and foremost concern is the health and safety of our participants.

The growing mental health consequences of the pandemic have highlighted 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 organizations and other non-profits, 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

Parachuting with Purpose: The Lived Experiences of Veterans with Invisible Wounds

Hear personal stories from Veterans raising awareness of the need for better solutions for traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress to reduce the incidence of suicide.

The “invisible wounds of war” are not so invisible: The high rates of suicide and other maladies gripping our nation’s military families are right in front of us.

As people experience brain trauma differently, the field has been stymied by a one-size-fits-all approach and lack of objective tools and treatments to effectively diagnose and manage TBI and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). TBI and PTSD are risk factors of suicide. Learn about how organizations are collaborating and advocating to bring new solutions to Veterans and others who have sustained brain trauma.

Across the country, Veterans, first responders, and everyday heroes are using their hobbies and passions to help fund our translational research, which could be transformative.

Learn how to channel your passion or hobby into accelerating solutions for brain disorders.

How to Host a Fundraiser