Wounded Warrior Project joins partnership to help enlist people for traumatic brain injury research

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Wounded Warrior Project is addressing potential long-term effects of traumatic brain injury by collaborating with the Concussion Legacy Foundation to help enlist people to enroll in brain research.

The research would be done on donated brains from veterans after they pass away. The research would help find discoveries, treatment, and better diagnosis for traumatic brain injuries.

Alex Balbir, WWP Independence Services Director, says that having the Wounded Warrior Project team up on this project is beneficial to their community. In WWP’s 2020 Annual Warrior Survey, more than one in three warriors report experiencing a traumatic brain injury during their service. The Department of Defense reported more than 400,000 traumatic brain injuries in service members in the last 20 years.

“And this is an effort to increase the number of veterans who are willing to donate their brains for research on traumatic brain injury, as well as any other long term chronic disorders that have been associated with traumatic brain injury like chronic traumatic encephalopathy,” Balbir said.

The goal for the WWP is to help tailor their current care for veterans with traumatic brain injuries and with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“So the lessons learned on how Wounded Warrior Project provide clinical care and concussion Legacy Foundation provides the advocacy, the research for for traumatic brain injury. Combining those two efforts can absolutely help and support all all individuals who sustained a traumatic brain injury,” Balbir told WOKV.

So far, nearly 8,000 people, including more than 1,000 veterans, have pledged to donate their brain to support research. Learn more at ProjectEnlist.org.

Cox Media Group