# Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS)

> **NIH VA I50** · VA BOSTON HEALTH CARE SYSTEM · 2020 · —

## Abstract

The VA RR&D TBI National Network Research Center based at VA Boston Healthcare System, with a network
site at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, called the Translational Research Center for TBI and
Stress Disorders (TRACTS) (funded initially in 2009) proposes to continue its mission of conducting
multidisciplinary, clinical research aimed at providing a psychological, biological and neurobiological
characterization of the effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and related stress disorders, and to use this
understanding to create effective treatment opportunities for Veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom,
Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND). Over the last funding period, TRACTS
has made remarkable progress in understanding the synergistic effect of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and
exposure to blast munitions on the mental and physical health of Veterans. This foundational work, which
holistically has integrated psychological, biological, and epidemiological approaches to the study of the long-
term effects of brain injury incurred during war, has led to the emerging concept of “Deployment Trauma” (DT)
and helped create a roadmap toward the treatment and rehabilitation of the complex and interacting issues that
define the civilian experience of Veterans in the post 9/11 era. It is our overarching goal and unifying
mission to identify, understand, and treat the long-term effects of deployment trauma in our post 9/11
Veterans. Over the next funding period, the TRACTS infrastructure will be used to continue to grow and
maintain the TRACTS cohort and the TRACTS prospective longitudinal cohort study, as well as the resultant
TRACTS Data Repository. In the current application, we propose to investigate three interlocking Focus Areas
(FA) that speak to critical gaps in our knowledge that must be addressed if we are to be successful in reaching
our goals. These focus areas build upon our foundational observations over the last 8+ years and use this
evolving wealth of information regarding the clinical presentation and endophenotypes of deployment trauma in
OEF/OIF/OND Veterans to develop rehabilitative treatments that will foster civilian reintegration and reduce
psychological and medical symptom severity. The three focus areas are: FA1: Deep phenotyping of DT and its
functional consequences; FA 2: Understanding the dynamic interplay between biology and behavior that
determines the biological and functional consequences of DT; FA 3: Rehabilitation and treatment of the
functional and neurobiological consequences of DT.
TRACTS will continue in its mission to provide the next generation of VA researchers with an innovative and
outstanding mentoring environment at both the VA Boston and Houston Medical Centers through training in
assessment, and rehabilitation and clinical neuroscience research. Our affiliations with other programs within
VA, such as the National Centers for PTSD, MAVERIC, PTSD/TBI Brain Bank, as well a...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9757619
- **Project number:** 5I50RX003001-02
- **Recipient organization:** VA BOSTON HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** Ricardo E. Jorge
- **Activity code:** I50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9757619

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9757619, Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS) (5I50RX003001-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9757619. Licensed CC0.

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