VA brain rehab research center celebrates $4.5 million award

The local National Veterans Affairs Brain Rehabilitation Research Center of Excellence hosted an open house Tuesday in celebration of a $4.5 million award.

The event featured research projects on brain rehabilitation by 28 VA-funded investigators and 16 affiliate investigators at the Community Living Center building on the campus of the Veteran Affairs medical center.

The award will be dispersed over five years among the brain rehabilitation research consortium, which includes the Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, UF, UF Health Shands, UF Health Shands Rehab Hospital and the Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital in Jacksonville.

Thomas Wisnieski, the director of the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, congratulated researchers at the event for their dedication to enhancing the lives of veterans and all those affected by traumatic brain injuries.

More than 150 people attended the event, including health science specialist Susan Leon, said Janis Daly, director of the Brain Rehabilitation Center. Leon researches treatment options for patients who have lost the ability to express their emotions due to brain injury.

I wouldnt be able to do what I do if I didnt have the center, Leon said.

At the event, Daly explained how out of the 15 centers of excellence around the country, the Gainesville center is the only one focused on brain rehabilitation.

Before research was completed on brain rehabilitation, Dr. Carolyn Hanson, the clinical research coordinator for the center, said many believed that when the brain was in a traumatizing event, it would never recover to its original capacity.

Weve debunked that pretty thoroughly, Hanson said.

These research findings could be crucial for such conditions as post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury that many veterans are experiencing.

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VA brain rehab research center celebrates $4.5 million award