Below the Microscope Brain Research and Therapies

Newswise — Many of the nation’s leaders in the fields of brain science and brain mapping will participate in the Seventh Annual World Congress of the International Brain Mapping & Intraoperative Surgical Planning Society (IBMISPS), May 24-27, 2010, on the campus of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Experts from aerospace, military and civilian science, research and medicine will discuss the latest research and therapies related to brain injuries, spinal cord mapping and image-guided therapy for treating traumatic injuries.
Scientific sessions will include a look at how scientists are using National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) technologies for discovering galaxies to identify tumors in humans. Other sessions will focus on how robotics are being used to enhance functional restoration by leveraging the brain-machine interface. Looking at the brain on a more molecular level, researchers will discuss how biomarkers are helping to better identify and enhance brain injury diagnosis, which has implications for military and civilian populations. Additional sessions will focus on non-impact blast induced traumatic brain injuries, brain imaging and neuro-regenerative medicine.
Keynote speakers for the four-day conference include The Honorable L. Tammy Duckworth, Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Ms. Duckworth, a decorated combat veteran, was severely wounded when her Black Hawk helicopter was ambushed on a mission north of Baghdad in 2004. Duckworth lost both of her legs and partial use of one arm in the attack and since her recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, has dedicated her life to advocating on behalf of disability rights and Veterans. Other keynote speakers will include Charles F. Bolden Jr., USMC (Ret), the 12th administrator of NASA and former space shuttle commander; Susan B. Roberts, Principal Deputy for Care Coordination, Office of Wounded Warrior Transition Policy, Office of Secretary of Defense, where she oversees services provided across the continuum of care from for wounded veterans; and Colonel David Sutherland, Director of Wounded Warriors and Special Aide to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
About USU: Located on the grounds of Bethesda’s National Naval Medical Center and across from the National Institutes of Health, USU is the nation’s federal school of medicine and graduate school of nursing. The University educates health care professionals dedicated to career service in the Department of Defense and the U.S. Public Health Service. The University also has graduate programs open to civilian and military applicants in biomedical sciences and public health committed to excellence in didactic and research training which have awarded more than 300 Ph.D. and 100 M.S. degrees to date.
For more information, visit www.usuhs.mil.
About IBMISPS: IBMISPS is a non-profit society organized for the purpose of encouraging basic and clinical scientists who are interested in areas of Brain Mapping and Intra-operative Surgical planning to improve the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of patients afflicted with neurological disorders.
For more information about the IBMISPS and its mission, please visit: www.ibmisps.org.