VCOM - 2019 Annual Report

Collaborative Research Overview T hrough continuing collaborative research partnerships between each of its campuses and key universities, VCOM is in collegiate football. Data from this project has led to several federally-funded and industry sponsored research projects.

Center for One Health: VCOM and Virginia Tech / Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine Research An initiative set forth between VCOM and Virginia Tech in 2015 began the Center for One Health Research. The Center is a collaborative venture between VCOM and the Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM), intended to promote joint VCOM-VMRCVM research. The Center faculty from VCOM and VMRCVM utilize the research facilities and infrastructure for a wide variety of education and research programs. Projects include a variety of infectious disease research protocols from basic studies of disease mechanisms, transmission and detection in humans and animals, to translational projects designed to develop and test vaccines, treatments and therapies. Research teams investigate a range of environmental public health problems. The Center also provides research opportunities for VCOM and VMRCVM students in disease prevention, public health and global health research projects. In 2017, VCOM extended the one-health research funding to collaborative projects between VCOM Auburn faculty and Auburn College of Veterinary Medicine. Several projects are now underway.

One such project, the NCAA- DOD Grand Alliance: Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) Consortium, is now a multi-institutional program whose goal is to improve the evaluation, treatment and prevention of concussion. Also noteworthy is our collaboration with Wake Forest and Brown to study the biomechanical basis of pediatric sport-related concussion. The pilot data from the VT, VCOM, Wake Forest, and Brown collaboration is a 3 year project that has already resulted in significant improvement to the Pop Warner football rules which enhance the safety of youth football. National Sports Medicine Research VCOM sports medicine physicians are nationally known for their research collaborations with scientists from Virginia Tech in biomedical engineering and the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Sciences, and with the biomedical engineering college at Auburn University. VCOM faculty will lead the profession in the prevention, evaluation and innovative treatment of sports injuries.

positioned to solve major public health problems. The College is excited about the continued growth of our research enterprise with these partners. VCOM’s Collaborative Research Partners Through Virginia Tech VCOM’s 18-year partnership with Virginia Tech has resulted in over 50 million dollars for multiple joint research programs funded by NIH, NSF, DOD and other federal and private sponsors. Collaborations cover a variety of research areas including cutting- edge techniques in reproductive discovery for stroke recovery and traumatic brain injury treatment for athletes and soldiers. VCOM and Virginia Tech, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics Research Research collaborations between departments date back to 2003. In partnership with Virginia Tech Athletics and the Center for Injury Biomechanics, this research team became the first to equip collegiate football players’ helmets with anaccelerometer array to study head impact biomechanics and concussion VCOM and Virginia Tech’s Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics development, autoimmune disease prevention, drug

76