FOR RELEASE: May 2, 2006
GALVESTON, Texas — Internationally renowned experts in brain trauma will convene May 4-7 for the sixth annual Galveston Brain Injury Conference at Moody Gardens.
This invitational event is sponsored by the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston’s Transitional Learning Center—which provides rehabilitation for those who have suffered an acute brain injury—and the UTMB Center for Rehabilitation Sciences.
“Despite the fact that, annually, over 200,000 Americans become disabled from a traumatic brain injury, it is an ‘orphan’ disease—largely ignored by the public and the medical field,” says Dr. Brent Masel, TLC president.
This year’s conference will focus on issues affecting children with traumatic brain injury. About 30,000 children and adolescents suffer a disabling brain injury each year.
During the conference, the Robert L. Moody Prize for Distinguished Initiatives in Brain Injury Research and Rehabilitation will be presented to Barbara Wilson of the United Kingdom, a world-renowned researcher, clinician and teacher in the field of neurorehabilitation.
Wilson established The Oliver Zangwill Centre for Neuropsychological Rehabilitation in Ely, England, where she now serves as director of research. She has published 16 books, 8 widely used neuropsychological tests and more than 250 journal articles and chapters, mostly on rehabilitation. She also founded and serves as editor-in-chief for the journal Neuropsychological Rehabilitation.
Wilson will join about 40 of the nation’s top educators and physicians at the conference, says Dr. Charles Christiansen, dean of the UTMB School of Allied Health Sciences. “Children with traumatic brain injury present the medical community with a wide range of challenges, and we’re excited about bringing together the world’s premier experts in rehabilitation to discuss ways to meet those special challenges,” Christiansen says.
The conference will be facilitated by Roberta DePompei, Ph.D. from the University of Akron in Ohio, who is a past recipient of the Robert L. Moody Prize and an expert in brain injury, recognized for her research and for developing clinical techniques to help pediatric brain injury patients with communicating and with reintegrating into schools.
DePompei says that while there are hundreds of important pediatric issues that could be discussed, the conference has chosen to focus on the neuropsychological, neurophysical issues, and on development, assessment and outcome. The group will also discuss these children’s transition into schools and into adulthood. “We will not be discussing what ‘needs to’ or what ‘ought to’ be done,” DePompei says. “We will be discussing best practices that presently exist and how to further innovative research and clinical agendas.”
The information these professionals share will be useful for both research and for the practicing physician, Masel says. “Pediatric and adolescent TBI is the orphan of the orphan—their needs left unmet by the medical field, insurance industry and the school systems. I am delighted that the Galveston Brain Injury Conference can be the venue to bring together the very best in this field, and serve as a catalyst to address the issues of this forgotten population.”
The University of Texas Medical Branch
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Judie Kinonen: jlkinone@utmb.edu