BIAA Announces 2024 Research Grant Recipients

The Brain Injury Association of America is pleased to announce the 2024 recipients of the Brain Injury Research Fund. In total, BIAA awarded five grants for 2024 totaling nearly $85,000 that will go towards brain injury research.

“There are multiple goals for the Brain Injury Association of America’s research grants program, including to draw researchers, both young and accomplished, to studying the causes, effects, and cures for chronic brain injury,” said John D. Corrigan, PhD, National Research Director for BIAA. “This year’s funded applications include two Dissertation Awards, one Young Investigator Seed Grant, and two Brain Injury Scholar Seed Grants. The projects address a variety of issues, including social determinants of health, phenotypes of pediatric brain injury, biomarkers of both impairment and recovery, as well as the critical role of sleep. The awards exemplify the wide range of both topics and investigators that we hope to attract.”

BIAA established its Brain Injury Research Fund in 2019 with a goal of finding cures for chronic brain injury. The program is grounded in the understanding that for some people, brain injury evolves into a chronic health condition that can cause or accelerate multiple diseases. BIAA offers two types of funding through the program: Dissertation Grants, funded up to $5,000, and Seed Grants, funded up to $25,000. To date, BIAA has awarded more than $300,000 through the program.

This year’s recipients, listed below, include two Brain Injury Scholar Seed Grants, one Young Investigator Seed Grant, and two Dissertation Grants.

Brain Injury Scholar Seed Grants

• Applicant: Jaclyn Stephens, PhD
• Applicant Institution: Colorado State University
• Project: Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Signs of Accelerated Neurocognitive Aging in Young Adults
• Amount: $24,805

• Applicant: Rachel Rowe, PhD
• Applicant Institution: University of Colorado Boulder
• Project: Pre-injury Sleep Quality as a Risk Factor for Increased Alcohol Consumption Following TBI
• Amount: $25,000

Young Investigator Seed Grant

• Applicant: Bailey Petersen, PhD
• Mentor: Amerey Treble-Barna, PhD
• Applicant Institution: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
• Project: Physical Activity and BDNF in Neurobehavioral Recovery from Pediatric TBI
• Amount: $25,000

Dissertation Grants

• Applicant: Mary Simons
• Mentor: James B. Hoelzle, PhD
• Applicant Institution: Marquette University
• Project: Acute Neuropsychological Profiles of Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury
• Amount: $5,000

• Applicant: Judith Wilson
• Mentor: Gerald Voelbel, PhD
• Applicant Institution: New York University
• Project: A Social Ecological View of Participation for Persons of Color Living with Traumatic Brain Injury
• Amount: $5,000

Each year, BIAA publishes an issue of THE Challenge dedicated to news and updates in brain injury research. Be sure to check out 2023’s Research issue.

The Brain Injury Research Fund is the pinnacle of BIAA’s long-standing mission of supporting the people, programs, and institutions that have advanced brain injury science and medicine. By supporting the Brain Injury Research Fund, you can support BIAA’s commitment to the best and most promising research projects. Learn more about how you can support the Brain Injury Research Fund here.