Media Advisory

Friday, September 19, 2008

NIH, DOD, and VA Host Two Day Conference on Trauma Spectrum Disorders: The Role of Gender, Race & Other Socioeconomic Factors

As we know from history, health innovations developed in the civilian and military contexts are synergistic; what is learned in each context has relevance to the other and contributes greatly to improved health of all citizens. The Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is pleased to collaborate with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DoD/DCoE) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on a two day scientific conference entitled "Trauma Spectrum Disorders: The Role of Gender, Race & Other Socioeconomic Factors."

What: Conference on Trauma Spectrum Disorders: The Role of Gender, Race, and Other Socioeconomic Factors

When: Wednesday, October 1, 2008  (8 a.m. – 5 p.m.) and
Thursday, October 2, 2008 (8 a.m. – 5 p.m.)

Where: Natcher Conference Center (Building 45), NIH campus, Bethesda, MD 

Day 1  

7:00 a.m. Registration opens

7:00 – 8:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast

8:00 – 8:30 a.m. Conference Opening and Greetings

• Raynard S. Kington, M.D., Ph.D., Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Joel Kupersmith, M.D., Chief Research and Development Officer (CRADO), VA Office of Research and Development
• Vivian W. Pinn, M.D., Director, Office of Research on Women’s Health, National Institutes of Health

8:30 – 9:10 a.m.   Keynote Speaker
Brigadier General Loree Sutton, M.D.
DCOE Director, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury

9:15 – 12:15 p.m. Session I: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Research as a focus: What is known and what needs to be learned about deployment-related and civilian posttraumatic psychological health
Co-Chairs:

• Farris Tuma, Sc.D., MHS, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
• Terence Keane, PhD., VA Boston Healthcare System, VA National Center for PTSD, Boston University School of Medicine

12:15 p.m. Working Lunch:

• Dr. Robert Mays – to introduce Ms. Woodruff
  Speaker: Lee Woodruff – A personal story: a family's journey through TBI, war, and the health care system

1:30 – 4:30 p.m. Session II: Traumatic Brain Injury Research: what are the correlates of gender and race on TBI outcomes and what are the most critical gaps in our knowledge?
Co-Chairs:

• Ramona Hicks, Ph.D.
• Col. (Sel) Michael Jaffe, M.D, DVBIC
• Henry Lew, M.D., Ph.D, Boston VA

4:40 p.m. Adjournment Remarks by Lt. Col Randon S. Welton, M.D., Military Consultant to the Air Force, Surgeon General for Clinical Psychiatry Vivian Pinn, M.D., Director, ORWH

Day 2  

8:00 a.m. Opening Greetings and Comments

• Story C. Landis, Ph.D., Director, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, (NINDS) NIH
• Thomas R, Insel, M.D., Director, National Institute of Mental Health
• Yvonne Maddox, Ph.D., Deputy Director, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), NIH
• Col. Karl Friedl, M.D., Director, Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), U.S. Army
• Seth Eisen, MD, MSc. Director, VA Health Services Research & Development Service (HSR&D)

9:00 a.m. Keynote Speaker
Joxel Garcia, M.D., M.B.A., Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

9:45 a.m.   Session III: Trauma Spectrum Disorders and Family Functioning
Co-Chairs:

• Lt Col Nate Galbreath, DoD
• Valerie Maholmes, Ph.D., Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), NIH

2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Session IV: Federal Resources for Rehabilitation/Disability Services and Research
Honorable Margaret J. Giannini, M.D., Director, Office on Disability, HHS

4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Wrap up/Next Steps

• Vivian Pinn, M.D., Director, Office of Research on Women's Health, NIH
• Sonja Batten, Ph.D, Acting Deputy Director, DCoE

Info: This event will address what is known and what needs to be learned about the role of gender, race, and other sociodemographic factors in the identification and treatment of gender and race factors in traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury-related adjustment conditions. Identifying and closing knowledge gaps in these areas is a shared goal of the sponsoring agencies as they relate directly to health and quality of life for civilian, military, and veteran populations as well as their family members. Conference participants will review the best existing science on trauma spectrum disorders related to military deployment such as post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. In addition to exploring how research can lead to improved care, the conference will help in identifying evidence-based strategies to better assess and treat psychological health issues and traumatic brain injury. During the conference, invited speakers and guests will explore gender and other factors specific to: a) psychological health needs of populations exposed to high stress, traumatic events, and deployment; b) traumatic brain injury (TBI); and c) treatment outcomes. 

For registration and agenda information, please visit: http://www.dcoe.health.mil/events.htm

NINDS http://www.ninds.nih.gov is the nation's primary supporter of biomedical research on the brain and nervous system. Information from the NINDS about cerebral palsy is available at: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cerebral_palsy/cerebral_palsy.htm.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) mission is to reduce the burden of mental and behavioral disorders through research on mind, brain, and behavior. More information is available at the NIMH website: http://www.nimh.nih.gov.

The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit the Institute's Web site at: http://www.nichd.nih.gov/.

The Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH), Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH) serves as a focal point for women's health research at the NIH. For more information about NIH's Office of Research on Women's Health, visit: http://orwh.od.nih.gov/.

The Office of the Director, the central office at NIH, is responsible for setting policy for NIH, which includes 27 Institutes and Centers. This involves planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and activities of all NIH components. The Office of the Director also includes program offices which are responsible for stimulating specific areas of research throughout NIH. Additional information is available at: http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/index.htm.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health^®

###