The Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded a $1,300,000 Research Partnership to four investigators from the Memphis Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) to explore an innovative option to help caregivers of individuals who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Drs. Linda Nichols, co-director of the Caregiver Center at VA Memphis and Professor, Preventive Medicine at UTHSC and Paul Perrin, Associate Professor and director of the Health Psychology Doctoral Program at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) are leading the study.

They are collaborating with Drs. Jennifer Martindale-Adams, co-director of the VA Caregiver Center and Associate Professor, Preventive Medicine, UTHSC and Ronald Seel, professor and executive director, Center for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering (CERSE) at VCU.
Individuals who have suffered a TBI face increased risk of developing dementia. Family caregivers of Veterans with both TBI and dementia face enormous challenges to their own well-being and to their management of behavioral concerns of their loved ones.