Brain Injury Association of America Dissertation Grants

BIAA recognizes outstanding doctoral dissertations that contribute to our understanding of chronic brain injury and its causes, consequences and methods of mitigation.

BIAA’s research priorities for the 2022 competition are as follows:

1. Chronic brain injury (CBI) can cause neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s Disease, Lewy Body Dementia, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and possibly Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s Disease. Typically, there is a marked delay from injury to disease onset. What neurological processes are triggered by brain injury that cause these chronic, progressive diseases and how can the progression from injury to neurological disease be halted?
2. Childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI), even when mild, is associated with adult problems of behavioral regulation, (i.e., addiction, criminal behavior, socially inappropriate behavior). Is this relationship causal or does TBI mediate other bio/psycho/social processes? What factors create the risk of adult consequences from childhood TBI and how can that risk be diminished?
3. Moderate and severe TBI reduces life expectancy by nine years. Even after living to one-year post injury, persons with this severity of injury are 50% more likely to die than age-, sex- and race/ethnicity-matched members of the general population. Causes of death involve all organ systems, not just those associated with behavioral or neurological pathology. What biological processes are responsible for this excess mortality and how can these relationships be ameliorated?
4. Brain injury is recognized as a chronic health condition that, for some, requires proactive medical management. More research is required to inform evidence-based disease management protocols, including studies addressing these questions:
   – Which brain injuries increase risk for negative outcomes?
   – What pre-existing conditions require management?
   – What conditions develop post injury that could be prevented or detected early?
   – How can the individual participate in their self-management?
   – How can access to medical and rehabilitation care be used to reduce negative outcomes?
   – How can community-based resources be accessed to improve function and reduce institutionalization?
5. Disability is a product of both impairments in brain function and environmental factors that create barriers to health and independence. What community characteristics exacerbate or minimize the manifestation of impairments due to brain injury? How do social determinants of health affect brain injury outcomes? What community interventions are effective in ameliorating the influence of environmental factors on brain injury outcomes?

Nominated dissertations may use quantitative or qualitative analytic methods and may be based on original data collection or secondary data analysis.

For the 2022 competition, BIAA is emphasizing its interest in both animal and human projects and that secondary data analysis is welcome.

Letter of Intent due on June 30, 2022.