VA Pilot Award to Study Traumatic Brain Injury

The OKC VAMC has awarded Dr. Kellogg a VA Pilot Project that examines blast traumatic brain injuries. We have developed a shock tube that uses pressurized air to create a pressure shock wave similar to that which may be experienced by service members in combat. Our methods allow us to vary the intensity to investigate the impact of different injury levels. The funds will support the technician, Hannah Ray, working on the project, as well as some of the mouse colony, RNA isolation, and downstream analysis. We will cause different intensities and frequencies of TBI and follow how long the impacts of blast injury are evident through behavioral studies and RNA, specifically focusing on microglia. Our goal is to elucidate the short term and persistent changes in glial cells following blast traumatic brain injury. We hope this project extends the understanding of the pathophysiology of persistent brain damage following traumatic brain injury and opens avenues for novel interventions that can improve the neuronal landscape post-TBI by modulating the microglial response.