How physical and biological measures relate to symptoms and daily function after a traumatic brain injury
Official title: Total Brain Diagnostics (TBD): Analyzing the Impact of Physiologic Measures on Symptom Burden and Function Outcomes after TBI
Funded at VA Veterans Administration Hospital · NIH-11484789 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project brings together data from veterans with traumatic brain injury to look at how physiological signs relate to symptoms and recovery of everyday function.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | VA Veterans Administration Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Richmond, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2024 |
| Project end | September 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01RX004908-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11484789 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are veterans or active-duty service members with a history of traumatic brain injury who are enrolled in, or willing to share data with, existing longitudinal TBI cohort studies.
✕Less likely to help
People without a history of TBI, those not enrolled in the participating veteran/military cohorts, or those expecting an immediate new treatment are unlikely to directly benefit from this project.
What this research studies
As someone with a history of TBI, this work pools existing data from multiple veteran and service-member studies to find patterns between blood markers, physiological measures, and reported symptoms. Researchers will harmonize and curate individual-level longitudinal data including medical records, biomarker results, and symptom and function questionnaires. They will apply big-data analyses to explore which patient and injury factors predict mental health, pain, physical functioning, and quality of life over time. The goal is to identify subgroups with different recovery paths and create reproducible datasets that can guide future care and research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could help clinicians predict who is at higher risk for long-term problems after TBI and guide more personalized follow-up or interventions for veterans.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have shown links between physiological markers and outcomes after TBI, but combining large, multi-modal datasets for detailed subgroup analysis is a relatively new and promising approach.
Where this research is happening
-
VA Veterans Administration Hospital
Richmond, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Cifu, David X. — VA Veterans Administration Hospital
- Study coordinator: Cifu, David X.
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.