# Biomechanics of the Human Brain During High-Severity Impacts: A Multimodal Approach

> **NIH NS R01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA · 2026 · $528,337

## Abstract

Project Summary
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant health care problem, affecting over 2.5 million people in the United
States annually. Most cases are classified as mild or concussive TBI, caused by a rapid acceleration to the skull
that may lead to short-term loss of consciousness and memory, as well as long-term disability. Prevention of TBI
is therefore a critical consideration in contact sports, military operations, motor vehicle use and other activities.
Accurate quantification of the locations, magnitudes, and orientations of brain deformation (strain) during TBI is
a precursor to a better understanding of the onset and secondary cascades of injury. A key approach to
understanding the risk of TBI and assessing preventative measures is computational modeling, which simulates
the external forces applied to the head and the associated biomechanical response of the brain. The
development of accurate computational models of TBI is challenging, however, requiring the collection of
experimental data to calibrate and validate the models. Recently, our team has developed two complementary
approaches to acquiring measurements of brain biomechanics under loading. One approach employs dynamic
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in living human subjects undergoing both mild head accelerations. The other
approach employs sonomicrometry to track the motion of markers in cadaveric brain specimens at concussion-
level accelerations. The output of these experimental datasets has been limited to either 1) dense 3D brain strain
data at non-injurious head motion in vivo, or 2) spatially sparse brain displacement data at injurious loading in
cadavers. As a result, there remains two unknowns in our understanding of brain deformation during head
impact: 1) the actual magnitude of strain at concussive accelerations, and 2) the accuracy of local strain
distributions and if the strain patterns change with increases in impact severity. To address these fundamental
deficiencies i

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11251995
- **Project number:** 5R01NS136056-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Ahmed  Alshareef; Matthew Brian Panzer; Dzung L Pham
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NS
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $528,337
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2025-01-01T00:00:00 → 2029-12-31T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11251995

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11251995, Biomechanics of the Human Brain During High-Severity Impacts: A Multimodal Approach (5R01NS136056-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-07-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11251995. Licensed CC0.

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