US Government Agencies to Outline Future Directions in Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD Research, Funding at 2015 TBI Conference

    WASHINGTON, DC, February 05, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- More than thirty phase III clinical trial failures in traumatic brain injury (TBI) over the years underlines the critical need for a strategic re-working at the national and international level of how TBI and brain health medical research is funded, directed and conducted. These failures, however painful, provide clues and vital new directions to focus future research aimed at finding solutions. At the 5th Annual 2015 TBI Conference, thought leaders from major US government agencies will update attendees on the latest updates on TBI and brain health research and funding trends. Anyone involved in or monitoring neurotrauma research will not want to miss these presentations.

"This is a time of enormous change in TBI research as study findings over the last few years have provided reasons for the phase III failures and also indicated the new directions in which research into concussions, TBI and PTSD must begin to move," said said John Waslif, Managing Director of Arrowhead Publishers, the producers of the TBI conference. "The 5th Annual 2015 TBI Conference is pleased to have these highly knowledgeable government speakers available to shed light on the new trends in TBI research and funding over the next few years."

Government speakers include: our keynote speaker, Rear Admiral Bruce A. Doll of the Defense Health Agency, and Deputy Commander US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, who will present on the topic of transforming military medical research in brain health and TBI for the future.

Colonel Dallas C. Hack, MD, of the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, will provide an overview of the Department of Defense traumatic research program strategic initiatives focused on addressing the problems highlighted in the failed clinical trials.

From the NIH, Patrick Bellgowan, PhD, Program Director at NIH-NINDS (National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke), will outline current NIH-supported TBI-related research challenges and resource opportunities that may help address these problems.

Also from NIH NINDS, Amir Tamiz, PhD, the Scientific Program Manager at the NINDS Office of Translational Research, will cover NINDS' latest grant initiatives to fund new programs to support preclinical discovery and development of new therapeutic initiatives for neurological disorders.

The FDA is the regulatory body approving TBI drugs and it is vital that researchers conduct drug trials in such a way as to meet the criteria for approval. The FDA's John Marler, MD, who has more than 20 years of clinical trial experience at NINDS and has been with the FDA for five years, will talk about clinical endpoints and their critical role in clinical trials. In addition, addressing the challenge of developing workable standards for reviewing and approving TBI pharmaceuticals, Dr Nicholas Kozauer of Quntiles will discuss lessons learned from the FDA's ongoing drug development tool qualification process in Alzheimer's disease. He will relate these to TBI and discuss how researchers can improve the effectiveness of their potential future submissions for research funding and eventual approval.

The Federal Interagency coordination of TBI/PTSD research involves all federal agencies developing a coordinated National Research Action Plan (NRAP) to ensure the best use of federal funding across a number of federal government departments, including the DoD, VA, Health and Human Services and Education. Dr Stuart Hoffman of the US Department of Veterans Affairs will discuss federal efforts in promoting serum/CSF, imaging and physiological biomarkers. There is significant importance for biomarkers to diagnose and prognose concussion, PTSD and TBI and to determine and evaluate the therapeutic effect of potential treatments. Working closely with the FDA, the goal is to develop clinical endpoints that are meaningful for approval from the FDA.

Overall, government agencies, as the prime source of funding for research, are leading the way to making more efficient and effective use of scarce research dollars. These presentations will provide 2015 TBI Conference attendees with vital information on the new directions for TBI research and funding for 2015 and beyond.

More information, including the most up-to-date scientific presentation agenda, sponsor/exhibitor opportunities and our scientific poster session, can be found at www.tbiconference.com.

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