USF gets big grant for veterans research

Posted Jan 31, 2012 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Jan 31, 2012 at 12:54 PM

USF is marching forward with its veterans initiatives, receiving $1.6 million from the Department of Defense to combat traumatic brain injury and other battlefield injuries.

The money will pay for work on “everything from drug discovery and preclinical work to clinical, social and behavioral trails,” said principal investigator Paul Sanberg in a USF news release.

Sanberg is with the USF Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair, but the grant will bring together researchers from across the university, from the Morsani College of Medicine to the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences.

One study focuses on how to treat TBI with a growth factor called GCSF that stimulates the body’s own stem cells. Another seeks a better way to diagnose mild TBI. Yet another uses high-tech tracking devices to figure out how rehab is working with injured vets.

This is all part of the Veterans Reintegration program that caught First Lady Michelle Obama’s attention earlier this month.

You can read more about the new grant here.