# Brain Banking Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2021 · $1,053,412

## Abstract

BRAIN BANK CORE
SUMMARY
Although we have made great progress in gaining a deeper understanding of traumatic brain injury (TBI)
related neurodegeneration (TReND), we have not gotten to the point where appropriate thereapeutics are
available. This is, in part, due to the limited number of suitable human brain tissue samples available to
research institutions. In fact, there exists only one human brain tissue archive dedicated to TBI samples,
located at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, UK. In order to overcome this lack of resource, the Brain
Banking Core of CONNECT-TBI will bring together nine participating banks that will be capable of providing
existing tissue samples from almost 2000 acute and over 800 chronic TBI cases. This Brain Banking Core will
establish a unique and comprehensive central archive of all existing TBI related autopsy tissue, that will include
a broad inventory of all available tissue and associated clinical data. The CONNECT-TBI Expert Consensus
Group members will assess and score digitally scanned images. Within this Brain Banking Core will be high
quality, robust clinical datasets and digitized histology sections that will not only support the Research Projects
within this proposal, but support approved, external, researcher led studies. Furthermore, the BBC will
establish a tissue donation network from all participating centers that will significantly enhance the number of
available tissue samples. In all efforts, the Brain Banking Core will optimize best practice protocols and will
ensure adherence to strict tissue handling, staining, and scanning protocols. Finally, the Brain Bank Core will
facilitate the dissemination all TBI-related samples and data in support of the Research Projects which
comprise the mission of CONNECT-TBI.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10241893
- **Project number:** 5U54NS115322-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Edward Byung-Ha Lee
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,053,412
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-30 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10241893

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10241893, Brain Banking Core (5U54NS115322-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10241893. Licensed CC0.

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