National Neurotrauma Symposium 2016

Neurotrauma is the largest cause of death and disability in the world for persons under the age of 45 and the societal cost of the resulting disability exceeds $60 billion per year in the United States alone. The National Neurotrauma Society (NNS) annual symposium, now in its 34th year, is the primary forum for the exchange of information in the fields of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI), and a means of integrating new information regarding the pathophysiology and treatment of TBI and SCI. This application seeks funding to support 20 pre- and postdoctoral trainees to attend the Symposium, as well as partial support for travel of 102 invited speakers (which will be distributed equitably by consensus of the Program Planning Committee.) The meeting will be held in Lexington, KY at the downtown Lexington Convention Center and Hyatt. The 4-day meeting will focus on important and timely topics in the field of neurotrauma, including basic, translational, and clinical investigations. Given that Lexington, KY is the horse capital of the world, and given the focus of the meeting, the conference is entitled: “The Triple Crown: Advances in Basic Sciences, Pre-clinical Modeling, and Clinical Approaches.” For the 6th year in a row, the 2016 meeting will be co-hosted by the NNS and the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Neurotrauma and Critical Care (AANAS/CNS JSNCC). Members from both societies are included on the Program Planning Committee to ensure a sufficient mix of topics, targeting both TBI and SCI, and both basic science and clinical research. This arrangement successfully closes the gap by bringing together clinicians and basic scientists to network, share concerns, and create solutions. An exciting collection of state-of-the-art sessions on the consequences of damage to the nervous system and treatment strategies for protection and repair are planned – some that get attention annually and others that are novel and innovative. Plenary session topics include: discussions by world experts on concussion and on clinical trial design, the acute cellular pathophysiology of neurotrauma, engineering approaches for functional restoration after SCI, advances, challenges and opportunities in CNS regeneration, a primer on imaging from animals to humans, big data approaches to neurotrauma, and emerging therapeutics for neurotrauma. Symposia or break-out sessions will cover a wide variety of other important topics that will be of great interest to scientists and clinicians. Further, specialty events include: a trainee Data Blitz, a discussion on careers in science, a Patient’s Perspective segment, networking and team-building exercises for trainees, and an interactive project on the lifecycle of the society to promote attendee interaction and involvement.