SCRA, MUSC, USC selected as clinical Consortium Study Site for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury

SCRA Press Release
May 13, 2009

In a collaborative effort with MUSC and USC, SCRA, a global leader in applied research and commercialization services, announces that it has been selected by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), along with its South Carolina partners, as one of ten national Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury (PTSD/TBI) Clinical Consortium Study Sites.

The five-year program focuses on clinical studies that address military-relevant PTSD and TBI research gap areas. This Consortium combines efforts of the nation’s leading investigators to bring novel treatments and interventions to ultimately decrease the impact of military-relevant PTSD and TBI. Ten Clinical Study Sites were awarded to investigate patients diagnosed with military-relevant PTSD and/or TBI. In addition to the SCRA/MUSC/USC collaboration, the Study Sites chosen nationally include Dartmouth College, Duke University, The Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, affiliated with Harvard University, and the coordinating site at the University of California, San Diego.

The program’s Principal Investigator is Dr. Mark George, MUSC Psychiatrist and Neurologist. “We are excited to be a part of this national consortium because it allows South Carolina to participate in this important new work. In addition to bringing new treatments to South Carolinians involved in the trials, we hope to utilize new methods in advanced brain imaging we are developing at the MUSC Force Protection Center for Brain Research to detect and even prevent these diseases,” said George “Hopefully, new techniques and testing will help us further de-stigmatize PTSD and TBI — disorders that do not present themselves as simply as physical trauma among military populations.”

SCRA brings deep domain expertise in collaboration management and health sciences to the project, which meshes research conducted at the two SC universities into a unified Study Site for this national PTSD/TBI program. This unique arrangement allows the research institutes to focus solely on the accomplishment of their assigned PTSD/TBI clinical studies. SCRA manages the day-to-day program administration function and links the various researchers and programs for assured outcomes. The Study Site serves as a regional resource collaboration with the PTSD/TBI Consortium Coordinating Center. South Carolina Study Site partnerships include the Department of Veterans Affairs Dorn Medical Center in Columbia, SC and the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston.

“We are pleased to be selected by DoD as a PTSD/TBI Clinic Study Site with MUSC and USC for this important program that supports the well-being of our warfighters and veterans returning to civilian life,” said Bill Mahoney, SCRA CEO. “This project combines SCRA’s health technology program management skills with the high level of health care expertise of our SC university partners to create a positive impact both in SC and far beyond our borders.”

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