Membership with CIC, WINS, and NRC Provide Valuable Opportunities to Tailor Research for One Brain Injury Researcher
What started out as a close office location blossomed into relationship building and research collaboration opportunities for Dr. Lin Nelson, professor and director of translational research in the MCW Department of Neurosurgery. Nelson’s first office as a trainee and early career faculty member at MCW was located just steps from then Director Dr. Cecelia Hillard’s in the Neuroscience Research Center (NRC). This proximity turned out to be invaluable, as Nelson’s membership with the NRC provided early mentorship and encouraged cross-disciplinary conversations that connected her with basic scientists whose perspectives would go on to shape her work.
The opportunities from the NRC allowed Nelson to also become connected with MCW’s Comprehensive Injury Center (CIC) and the Wisconsin Institute of NeuroScience (WINS). In 2024, Nelson received funding from the CIC’s Injury Control Research Center grant to conduct a study examining how to integrate screening for basic needs – such as housing, food, and transportation – into traumatic brain injury (TBI) clinical care.
“I was grateful to be included in the grant,” Nelson said. “Under Dr. deRoon-Cassini's leadership, the CIC has become an essential resource at MCW, offering student training, research resources, and a supportive community for those committed to improving care and advocating for people with TBI and other injuries.”
WINS has offered Nelson the chance to continue building infrastructure around her clinical-based research through clinical trial infrastructure and strengthening relationships with MCW’s healthcare collaborators. With this, she is able to receive input and feedback from both clinicians and patients on study design, implementation, and results – all crucial roles of successful research studies.
“My work increasingly focuses on developing and evaluating new care pathways and programs for individuals with TBI,” Nelson said. “Because healthcare systems are complex, strong relationships with Froedtert, ThedaCare, and other partners are critical to asking the right questions and designing solutions that work in real clinical environments.”
In developing her project with the CIC, Nelson wanted to focus on the important but often overlooked question of how healthcare systems should address basic nonmedical needs. In TBI care, patients treated in Level 1 Trauma Centers – like Froedtert – are disproportionately likely to experience challenges related to meeting basic needs which can prevent access to follow-up care and slow recovery. With the study, her team is looking at several foundational questions needed to build better systems of care:
- How common are unmet basic needs among trauma patients in the hospital?
- How do patients feel about being asked about unmet needs during emergency department and other healthcare visits?
- What is the experience and impact to patients of current hospital programs designed to identify and address these needs?
To start answering some of these questions, Nelson’s team surveyed 220 emergency department patients. Through the surveys, the study team found that unmet basic needs are extremely common, as more than two-thirds of participants reported at least one unmet basic need. The most frequently reported were those related to food insecurity, housing instability, and financial strain. From the survey, they also learned that patients are highly supportive of healthcare teams screening for basic needs, and some participants even shared specific preferences that could be used in designing screening programs that are respectful, comfortable, and useful. Then, the team interviewed individuals who had reported unmet needs during their inpatient stays, inpatients who screened as needing support for meeting their basic needs by conducting interviews that provided deeper insight into how existing hospital screening programs could be improved.
“Patients emphasized that timing matters – being screened while in pain or immediately after injury can feel overwhelming,” Nelson said. “Many also described how their injury temporarily changed their mobility and independence, meaning community resources they previously could access were no longer realistic after discharge.”
For the team, this highlighted the importance of tailoring resources to a patient’s current abilities. Additionally, although federal policies require hospitals to screen for basic needs, patients often do not fully understand the impact of their injury until they return home. Following up after discharge is essential to identifying new or worsening challenges and connecting people with more effective support. By addressing both medical and nonmedical needs, patients with TBI leave the hospital better supported for recovery and long-term wellbeing.
For Nelson, the relationships and collaboration opportunities she has gained through membership with the CIC, WINS, and NRC have allowed her to continue building a research portfolio that is filling gaps in traditional care for brain-injured patients. Her work is allowing TBI patients to return to their communities with a long-term higher quality of life.
“As our health system and understanding of TBI evolves, I am lucky to have the resources offered by these three centers and institutes to do research that focuses on patient priorities and advancing more individualized, holistic care,” Nelson said.