Catalyzing collaboration and inspiration - The 2023 Massey TBI Grand Challenge kickoff

NCRC became a nexus for cross-discipline collaboration as innovators from across the U-M community converged for the ninth annual Massey Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Grand Challenge kickoff.

Frederick Korley, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Scientific Director of the Massey TBI Grand Challenge, spoke on the societal burden of traumatic brain injury and on the need for research in the field.

Douglas Smith, MD, University of Pennsylvania Robert A. Groff Endowed Professor of Teaching and Research in Neurosurgery, gave this year’s keynote presentation.

Previous Massey Grand Challenge-funded teams presented posters highlighting their latest work.

Sergeant First Class Hunter Black, Senior Enlisted Advisor for the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity, spoke on how the various research branches of the Department of Defense work together, as well as what they look for when funding TBI innovations.

Marshall Powell (center) shared his story as a TBI survivor. Also pictured: Marshall’s father (left) and Jacob R. Joseph, MD (right), Michigan Medicine Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery and Emergency Medicine.

The Wolverine Wrangle got innovators from across disciplines to meet, network and discover potential future collaborators.

Innovators from across the University of Michigan are teaming up to bridge critical gaps in brain injury care.

Contact:
Kate Murphy
Marketing Communications Specialist, Weil Institute
mukately@med.umich.edu

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ANN ARBOR – On March 9, the University of Michigan’s North Campus Research Complex became a nexus for cross-discipline collaboration as innovators from across the U-M community converged for the ninth annual Massey Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Grand Challenge kickoff.

Hosted by the Max Harry Weil Institute for Critical Care Research and Innovation through a generous gift from the Joyce and Don Massey Family Foundation, the TBI Grand Challenge is a powerful funding mechanism that uniquely supports multidisciplinary critical care research teams. Attendees and speakers at this year’s kickoff represented not only medical backgrounds but also engineering, military, computer science, chemistry, and IP/ commercialization.

The day’s keynote was delivered by Dr. Douglas Smith, Robert A. Groff Endowed Professor of Teaching and Research in Neurosurgery and Director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Smith’s clinical perspective gave attendees an in-depth look at the complexity of a TBI and how it encompasses more than just the initial injury. His story of a patient who developed severe long-term effects despite a comparatively “mild” TBI emphasized the need for innovation during the initial “golden hours” of care to help mitigate the occurrence of secondary injuries.

Following Dr. Smith, the Department of Defense (DoD) took the stage. Sergeant First Class Hunter Black, the Senior Enlisted Advisor for the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity, spoke on brain injury research from a military perspective. He demonstrated how the Department of Defense’s (DoD) various branches work together to get novel combat care devices to the bedside and also shared insight into what they look for when funding new innovations. SFC Black’s experiences highlighted how crucial it is that Grand Challenge participants consider the logistics of getting their devices to the point of care—especially for use on the battlefield, where medics are limited to what they can carry. The DoD is a key collaborator of the Weil Institute and Massey Grand Challenge program and has previously funded several Grand Challenge-supported innovations

Michigan Medicine patient Marshall Powell brought a patient’s perspective to the kickoff as he shared a heartfelt account of his TBI recovery journey. When Marshall’s father also spoke, the combined experiences of patient and family member served as powerful reminders to Grand Challenge participants of the impact their research has beyond the hospital room.

Collaboration at the kickoff continued long after the last speaker as the brand new “Wolverine Wrangle” event got guests up and networking. Across five discussion tables facilitated by Grand Challenge experts, engineers and clinicians met with data scientists, who met with chemists and nurses… Teams changed tables multiple times, After multiple rounds of conversation, attendees walked away from the first ever Wrangle with new ideas, new connections and a greater understanding of how different disciplines can converge to tackle critical gaps in critical care.

The 2023 Massey TBI Grand Challenge will run through the Spring. Following two rounds of proposal submissions, select teams will be chosen to participate in the Wolverine Den pitch day event in May, where they will present their innovations before an expert panel to compete for a portion of the $800,000 in research funding that is available this year.

The Weil Institute also hosts the Kahn Pediatric Critical Care Grand Challenge, which concluded for this year with its own Wolverine Den in April.

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About the Weil Institute

The team at the Max Harry Weil Institute for Critical Care Research and is dedicated to pushing the leading edge of research to develop new technologies and novel therapies for the most critically ill and injured patients. Through a unique formula of innovation, integration and entrepreneurship that was first imagined by Weil, their multi-disciplinary teams of health providers, basic scientists, engineers, data scientists, commercialization coaches, donors and industry partners are taking a boundless approach to re-imagining every aspect of critical care medicine. For more information, visit www.weilinstitute.med.umich.edu.