Earlier this week, I reported on last week’s designation of an Indiana medical facility as the 15th TBI Model System, by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) and it’s funding therein.  This week, a facility has been designated the 16^th TBI Model System and received research funds, in kind – the Southeastern Michigan Traumatic Brain Injury System (SEMTBIS).  Specifically, the Wayne State University’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (WSU) and the DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan (RIM) were awarded a five-year grant of $2.23 million to fund SEMTBIS.

Unlike some awarded Systems, SEMTBIS does not have a specific research focus.  Instead SEMTBIS is, “a program of research that studies a variety of topics related to traumatic brain injury.”  According to their website, RIM is currently host to a variety of “local and collaborative projects”: The Menopause Transition in Women with Traumatic Brain Injury, Prevention of Long-Term Consequences of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Visual Gaze and Validity of Cognitive Evaluations, TBI Care QOL.  There is little more to report on about SEMTBIS at this moment, as their designation is so new that the Center’s webpage is still listed as, “UNDER CONSTRUCTION.”

* A school of about 27,000 students in Michigan, “Wayne State University (WSU) has the longest history of TBI research in the nation and a long history of clinical trials… [Their] interdisciplinary Program for Traumatic Brain Injury Research (PTBIR) is dedicated to campus-wide research, education and treatment of TBI.”