|
An Important Message From CEO & President Dr. Magali Haas
Dear Friends, Family and Colleagues,
In the past few months, we as a society have found ourselves on the precipice of many changes. The convergence of recent public health crises—from the continued threat of COVID-19 to the social trauma of racial injustices—have strengthened our resolve as an organization to continue our mission to heal the invisible wounds of all trauma. We remain dedicated to changing the approach to the treatment and diagnosis of trauma-related brain disorders so that those who suffer the devastating effects of trauma will have the tools necessary to heal.
As June is Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month, we reflect on the wide-reaching effects of trauma and the 8.6 million Americans who walk among us that experience PTSD as a result of trauma. While treatments for PTSD do exist, many treatments are ineffective or partially effective for some individuals and we still lack diagnostics or a definitive cure. Our organization remains steadfast in our push to develop tools and technologies that will not only elucidate the biological causes of PTSD but also accelerate the development of next generation treatments in years, not decades.
In the newsletter that follows, we will share an experience from an individual living with PTSD, perspectives of our partner organizations who are aligned in our mission to advance brain health and highlights from our progress with the identification of predictive biomarkers for PTSD.
How we are advancing PTSD research:
- Co-sponsoring with the Psychiatric Genetics Consortium and Broad Institute the Discovery of six genetic risk markers associated with PTSD and confirmation there is a substantial genetic component to PTSD.
- Funding Stanford University to identify brain activity patterns to support patient prognosis and assist practitioners in matching patients to the most effective available treatments.
- Collaborating with Emory University, Massachusetts General Hospital and Rush University to develop biomarker-based diagnostics.
- Characterizing how distinct profiles of inflammation and the immune system can be used for diagnostics and disease progression.
- Building and deploying a brain data sharing and analysis platform to standardize data collection through common data elements.
As a leader in PTSD research, we know that trauma will always be something that we as a society must face. That is why now, more than ever, it is critical that we continue to make progress toward better treatments and diagnostics for PTSD to ensure that future generations will be able to tackle PTSD with evidence-based tools and technologies.
Thank you for your continued involvement with our organization in this mission.
Magali Haas, MD, PhD
CEO & President
Cohen Veterans Bioscience
|
