Facilities at Zablocki VA Medical Center Labs
The Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center Laboratories house a wide range of facilities focused on supporting research in the areas of neuroscience and the biomechanics of injury. Each facility has multiple faculty, staff and students specializing in Neuroscience and Biomechanics disciplines.
Biomechanics Facilities
Biomechanics facilities support investigations into preclinical traumatic brain injury and biomechanics of trauma and spine.
Vehicle Crashworthiness Facility
With a 150-meter-long track and below-ground observation pit, the Vehicle Crashworthiness Facility maintains the ability to conduct full-scale vehicle crash tests.
Acceleration ServoSled Facility
The Acceleration ServoSled Facility performs crash simulations to the occupant compartment of transport vehicles, including individual and generic automobile crash pulses, airplane crash pulses, and under-vehicle blast pulse accelerations.
Drop Tower & Pendulum Facilities
Drop Tower & Pendulum Facilities house three drop towers and multiple pendulums for use in under-vehicle blast acceleration and helmet impact testing.
Electrohydraulic Piston & Blast Test Facilities
The Electrohydraulic Piston & Blast Test Facilities includes a suite of material test machines (pistons), pure-moment spine testing apparatus, and blast tube for in-vivo rodent testing.
Computational Modeling Facilities
Maintained by MCW’s Computational Modeling Group, the Computational Modeling Facilities support faculty and staff in conducting computational solid modeling using finite element modeling techniques.
Neuroscience Facilities
Neuroscience facilities support investigations into spinal cord injury and central nervous system disorders.
Rodent Behavioral Testing Facilities
The Rodent Behavioral Testing Facilities are uniquely equipped to support research in rodent spinal cord and traumatic brain injury.
Small Animal Procedures Facilities
The Zablocki VA Medical Center Laboratories support ongoing research in spinal cord injury and central nervous system function and dysfunction.
Molecular Biology Facilities
The Molecular Biology Facilities allow for the delineation of the basic mechanism of action and biological processes involved in spinal card injury.
Histology & Microscopy Facilities
Histology and Microscopy Facilities are capable of all perfusion, histological preparation, and imaging techniques.
Electrophysiology & Optogenetics Facilities
The Electrophysiology & Optogenetics Facilities house a variety of neurophysiology, muscle physiology, optical and electrical stimulation and microinjection equipment to support the neural prosthetic and viral gene therapy research endeavors of investigators at the ZVAMC Labs.