National Brain Injury Grant Awarded to Wayne State University and DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan

DETROIT — The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) has awarded Wayne State University's Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (WSU), located at  DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan (RIM), a five-year grant totaling $2.24 million to fund the Southeastern Michigan Traumatic Brain Injury System (SEMTBIS).

The grant earns WSU and RIM the rare distinction of being one of only 16 traumatic brain injury (TBI) model systems in the country.

NIDILRR’s TBI Model System grants are awarded to institutions that are national leaders in medical research and patient care; these institutions provide the highest level of comprehensive specialty services from the point of injury through eventual re-entry into full community life.

SEMTBIS, housed at RIM, conducts research in the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation, sharing the resulting innovations with other traumatic brain injury professionals and researchers throughout the world.  This ongoing research is vital to future advances in the treatment of brain injury.

"This research grant will give us an opportunity to continue our longitudinal research on the recovery from traumatic brain injury, and also allow us to conduct research on optimizing outcomes in persons with traumatic brain injury.  This is an international collaboration between Wayne State University and RIM researchers.  We have been fortunate to have a very active traumatic brain injury research program for over 30 years, and this grant will allow us to continue that important work," says Robin Hanks, PhD, SEMTBIS Project Director and Chief of Rehabilitation Psychology and Neuropsychology at RIM.

“We are extremely proud that NIDILRR has awarded this competitive grant to us for more than 30 years. SEMTBIS designates RIM and WSU as both a clinical and research center of excellence, with the goal of helping those living with a brain injury reach their highest potential,” says Patty Jobbitt, CEO, DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan.