Department of Neurosurgery Receives a $3M Continuation Award from the Department of Defense

Narayan Yoganandan, PhD, professor of neurosurgery, received a $3 million continuation award from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for ongoing research that started in 2021. This brings the total award amount to $8 million. The study is entitled: “Behind Armor Blunt Trauma Consortium: Injuries, Mechanisms, and Biomedical Injury Criteria.”

The consortium team consists of researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin, University of Virginia, and Duke University. The US Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory is the overseeing institution from the DOD. Dr. Yoganandan is the lead principal investigator for the consortium, and Brian Stemper, PhD, professor in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, is the co-principal investigator. The multiyear research study is aimed at developing regional human tolerance limits to assist in upgrading current or developing newer standards, assist in the design and development of newer and lighter body armors, and help improve Warfighter safety against current and emerging threats.