Traumatic Brain Injury - Model System

Project Directors:
Nancy D. Chiaravalloti, PhD
Neil Jasey, Jr., MD

Team Members
Anthony Lequerica, PhD
Karen J. Nolan, PhD,
Belinda Washington, AAS
Ailya Naqvi, BS,
Tim Edquilag, BA,
Yomi Lajide, BS

Who We Are: The Northern New Jersey Traumatic Brain Injury System (NNJTBIS) is one of 16 regional partners of the national TBI Model System (TBIMS) project, which is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). The goal is to research ways to improve the treatment, care, and outcomes of TBI in the US. Each system collects local data on rehabilitation admissions, progress, outcome and long-term recovery for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI). NNJTBIS conducts collaborative projects with other TBI model systems as well as site-specific projects.

What We Do: NNJTBIS contributes data it collects to the NIDRR-funded national TBI database, which contains almost 8,000 cases. Data collection is initiated during inpatient stays at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation. Patients with TBI answer a series of questions relating to demographics, history of injuries, and other medical data. Follow-up interviews are conducted by telephone at one year, two years, and five years after the injury. Medical documentation is also collected from the four area hospitals that provide acute care for individuals with TBI: Morristown Memorial Hospital, UMDNJ-University Hospital, Hackensack University Medical Center, and St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Our Research Studies: NNJTBIS is involved in 4 research studies that are addressing different aspects of living with TBI:

• TBI affects the ability to think, learn and remember. A randomized clinical trial examines the efficacy of a cognitive rehabilitation protocol for people with TBI.
• Improving outcomes means looking at the factors that affect quality of life after TBI. A measure development study gathers data toward a new measure of quality of life specific to persons with TBI.
• Insomnia and fatigue can hinder recovery from TBI. An Insomnia/Fatigue module assesses the incidence of these debilitating symptoms and the need for interventions.
• Followup is essential to ensuring useful data for the national TBIMS. A GEO ID module tracks the location of individuals who have sustained a TBI.

The MSKTC center is a national center that works to put research into practice to serve the needs of people with traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and burn injuries.Click here for the Model System Knowledge Translation Center (MSKTC).

View the TBI Model System Research Publication Database.

Access TBI Consumer Information factsheets.

Read our TBI Newsletters:
TBI News & Views Winter 2012
TBI News & Views Summer 2011
TBI News & Views Winter 2010
TBI News & Views Summer 2010