Biomedical engineering faculty awarded at neuroscience conference for brain blast injury research

Researchers in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Wayne State University recently concluded a study to understand the mechanisms of primary blast injury to the brain. Their work, funded by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (MRMC), was awarded Best Poster Presentation at the BrainStorm symposium in April.

A collection of co-authors that included John Cavanaugh, professor and interim chair of biomedical engineering, and Srinivasu Kallakuri, a research assistant professor at Wayne State, measured pressures in different brain regions and developed computational finite element models of the brain during a blast. The study provided direct histological evidence that primary blast can cause injury to the nerve cells and inflammation in the brain.

"The study advances our understanding of brain injury due to explosions as well providing computer models to assist in designing helmets and other equipment to protect the brain during a blast," said Kallakuri, who presented these findings at BrainStorm, an event hosted by Brain@Wayne that gathered neuroscience experts from across campus to share research.

Other collaborators on the project included Liying Zhang, Ke Feng, Xin Jin, Runzhou Zhou, Anil Kalra, Feng Zhu, Chaoyang Chen, King Yang, and Albert King.