Trauma recovery: new science and technology for mental and physical health

Dame Sue Ion GBE FRS FREng is Hon President of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear. She was previously Chairman of the UK Nuclear Innovation Research Advisory Board (NIRAB). She represents the UK on a number of international review and oversight committees for the nuclear sector including the Euratom Science and Technology Committee which she chaired until late 2018. She was the only non-US member of the US Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee on which she has served from 2005-2020.She currently serves as a member of the Office of Nuclear Regulation Independent Advisory Panel.

Sue spent 27 years with British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) rising to the position of Chief Technology Officer in 1992, a post she held until 2006 when she assumed a number of mainly voluntary roles in Science and Engineering, including membership of the UK Council for Science and Technology and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). She was Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering 2002-2008 and chaired its MacRobert Committee 2013-2019. Sue was Deputy Chair of the Board of the University of Manchester until September 2018 and currently serves on the Board of the University of Central Lancashire.

Her core expertise is in materials science and engineering associated with the nuclear sector. Sue is a member of the Chief Scientific Advisor for Wales’s Science and Innovation Advisory Council. She has been a Visiting Professor in the Department of Materials at Imperial College since 2006, holds an Honorary Professorship at the University of Manchester and is now Chair of the Royal Society Science, Industry and Translation Committee.

Dr Boos has been an NHS Consultant Cardiologist at Poole Hospital and the Royal Bournemouth Hospitals since 2008. He is dual accredited in General Internal Medicine. After qualification at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in 1994 he undertook Junior Doctor Training posts at St Mary’s, the Royal London, the Royal Brompton and Portsmouth Hospitals. Thereafter, his specialist training in Cardiology was initially with Wessex (2001 - 2005) followed by the West Midlands Deanery (2005-2008) where he completed an MD in cardiac research and sub-specialty training in heart failure and complex device therapy.

Dr Boos has a strong academic interest and has published more than 130 papers in peer reviewed journals. He is a visiting Professor at Leeds Beckett University and a visiting research fellow at Bournemouth University and Kings College London. He leads the Cardiac trials unit at Poole Hospital. His main research interests are in the field of Sport and Exercise Medicine and Cardiovascular Risk. He is the lead for the heart failure, cardiac pacing and Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing Services at Poole Hospital.  His other clinical interests include patients with unexplained breathlessness and atrial fibrillation. Dr Boos is the current Civilian Consultant Advisor in Cardiology to the British Army.

Dave joined the British Army in 2008, commissioning into the Corps of Royal Engineers and deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 as a Royal Engineer Search Advisor. In February 2011 Dave lost both of his legs to an IED blast. Dave used sport as a catalyst for his recovery and has competed at the Warrior Games, Invictus Games, IPC World Championships and the Paralympic Games; winning medals in all competitions. Dave is currently completing his PhD in Amputee Biomechanics at Imperial College, London (submission January 2020). Dave is a trustee of the Invictus Games Foundation, the Explora Scholarship Fund, and the ADVANCE Study Charity. He is the Veterans’ Advisor to the Centre for Blast Injury Studies and the co-chair and founding member of the CASEVAC Club. Dave is married to Hayley and has two daughters. He was awarded the MBE in 2014 for services to the military, and is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Hertfordshire.

Barbara O. Rothbaum, PhD is Executive Director of the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program. She is a Professor and Associate Vice Chair of Clinical Research at Emory School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Director of the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program and holds the Paul A. Janssen Chair in Neuropsychopharmcology. Dr Rothbaum specializes in research on the treatment of anxiety disorders, particularly PTSD. She was a member of the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Study on Assessment of Ongoing Efforts in the Treatment of PTSD, and briefed the DOD, VA, House and Senate Committees on Veterans Affairs and Armed Services Committees on the IOM report results (June 17-18, 2014).

Dr Rothbaum has been studying PTSD treatments since 1986 and has developed, tested, and disseminated some of the most innovative and effective treatments available for PTSD. She is an inventor of virtual reality exposure therapy. She was a pioneer in applying it in the treatment of PTSD in combat veterans. She has authored over 350 scientific papers and chapters, has published 11 books on the treatment of PTSD and edited 4 others on anxiety, and received the Diplomate in Behavioral Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology. She is a past president of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), is currently on the Scientific Advisory Boards for the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA), National Center for PTSD (NC-PTSD), and the executive committee of the Warrior Care Network. She is a fellow of the ACNP (American College of Neuropsychopharmacology), the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), and American Psychological Association’s Division 56 (Division of Trauma Psychology) and was awarded the 2010 “Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Practice of Trauma Psychology” for APA Division 56 and the Robert S. Laufer Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS). Her outreach efforts include training community clinicians in evidenced based treatment for PTSD.

Daniel Freeman is an NIHR Research Professor, Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, a consultant clinical psychologist in Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, a fellow of University College Oxford, and leads the Oxford Cognitive Approaches to Psychosis (O-CAP) research group at the University of Oxford. Daniel has been working with virtual reality (VR) since 2001 and is a co-founder and Chief Clinical Officer of Oxford VR, a University of Oxford spinout company.

Melinda Fitzgerald is Professor of Neurotrauma and Deputy Director of the Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, jointly appointed by the Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science. Professor Fitzgerald’s research goal is to improve outcomes for patients who have experienced traumatic injury to their central nervous system. She leads her pre-clinical research team in studies to understand how damage spreads following neurotrauma, and uses findings from these fundamental studies to design and test treatment strategies. She is working with her collaborators and clinical research team to facilitate translation of her pre-clinical findings, focusing on prediction of persisting post-concussion symptoms, in order to identify suitable patients for treatment.

The work is part of a broader national initiative to improve outcomes following traumatic brain injury of all severities, which has led to the establishment of a federally funded Mission for Traumatic Brain Injury, for which she is the provisional Chair of the Expert Advisory Panel. She has published over 85 scientific papers, including in discipline leading journals such as J Neuroscience, Nature Nano, ACS Nano, and Biomaterials. She is a Handling Editor for the Journal of Neurochemistry, the Australian representative for the Asia Pacific Regional Committee for IBRO and serves on NHMRC and MS Australia grant review panels as well as a range of scientific advisory committees and steering groups.

Commissioned into the Army Air Corps Nick saw operational service flying helicopters in Northern Ireland and Bosnia. He has extensive experience of training troops in UK, Germany, Canada, Belize and Kenya. Promoted to Major General in 2008, Nick had top level posts in Kosovo and Germany.  He completed his 34-year Army career as the Senior Army Directing Staff at the Royal College of Defence Studies in Seaford House, London.  He became CEO of Blind Veterans UK in October 2014. He is a Director of the Confederation of Service Charities (Cobseo) and a Director of Action Against Age-related Macular Degeneration (AAAMD). 

Nick has been awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service and has been appointed a Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.

As Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Dr Andreas Goppelt has been in charge of Research and Development at Ottobock since September 2017. Goppelt was previously managing director of Otto Bock Mobility Solutions GmbH, the company’s wheelchair business. He joined the Ottobock Group in 2015 as managing director of nstim NeuroBionics GmbH.

Goppelt was a consultant for biopharmaceuticals and medical technology between 2013 and 2015. From 2005 to 2013, he served as head of R&D for the BioSurgery and Regenerative Medicine business unit at Baxter. Goppelt began his career in business in 1997 as co-founder and chief scientific officer of biotech company Switch Biotech AG, which specialises in curing wound healing disorders and skin diseases.

A native of Erlangen, he studied chemistry at Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich and earned his doctorate in biochemistry. After earning his doctorate, Goppelt worked as a postdoc at the LMU’s gene centre and the Max-Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany.

Professor Jane Burridge leads the Neurorehabilitation Research Group at the University of Southampton. Her research aims to understand the mechanisms of sensory-motor recovery following neurological damage. She and her Group use this better understanding to design and evaluate rehabilitation technologies that will improve recovery following central nervous system lesions such as stroke and spinal cord injury. Neurological rehabilitation is changing. Already most rehabilitation takes place in people's own homes and over the next few years technologies to support them will become commonplace.

Oliver Armitage is Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at BIOS, a leading neural engineering startup. Oliver has always had a vision that the human body could be repaired or made better through augmentative technology and how that can be used to improve people’s lives. He studied for his PhD at the University of Cambridge in Bioengineering, working in the world-renowned Nanoscience Centre. He specializes in tissue interfaces and engineering to allow technology to be fused with the body. Oliver was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2018.

Dr Anders Stengaard Sørensen is an electronics and robotics engineer, employed as Associate professor with University of Southern Denmark's department for Health Technology. As head of the Training Technology Lab, he is working closely with health professionals, training experts and humanistic researchers, to create real-world technology for better training. Using robotic devices and components to create bodily interaction with users play a major role in the development of new training methods, but are also employed in improving existing ones. Dr Sørensen and his lab are thus collaborating with Danish patient, elite sports and aerospace organizations to improve and renew training in general. From patients to athletes and even astronauts.

Professor Bull leads and is PI on the Royal British Legion Centre for Blast Injury Studies that exists to improve the mitigation of injury, improve and advance treatment, rehabilitation and recovery thus increasing lifelong health and quality of life after blast injury (www.imperial.ac.uk/blastinjurystudies). This has a strong biomechanics focus on lower limb and spinal injuries and he has extensive research activity in the area of ligament injuries due to sporting activities.

As Director of the Musculoskeletal Medical Engineering Centre funded by the Wellcome Trust and EPSRC (www.imperial.ac.uk/msk) Professor Bull leads his own research group in musculoskeletal dynamics, and also provides underlying research technology support for nine other investigators funded through the Centre. He has in addition extensive research activity in orthopaedic implant and surgical design in many areas associated with lower limb and upper limb biomechanics and ageing.

Air Commodore Rich Withnall joined the RAF as a Medical Cadet in 1990. After GP vocational training, he undertook Senior Medical Officer appointments on fast jet, multi-engine and rotary flying stations, and the RAF’s recruit training unit. He has completed Command & Staff appointments at HQ Personnel and Training Command, HQ AIR Command, HQ Surgeon General and the Ministry of Defence (MOD). He won the Brooke-Popham Prize (Best Defence Research Paper) and the Sir Michael Howard Prize (Best MA student) on the Advanced Command & Staff Course in 2007/8. After a policy role in MOD, Rich returned to HQ AIR Command as Deputy Director Health Services (RAF) in 2010. He became the first RAF Defence Professor of General Practice & Primary Care in 2013. He was promoted to Air Commodore in 2017, becoming the first primary care clinician to be appointed as Medical Director of the UK Defence Medical Services.

Wing Commander Stow has worked all over the world in support of Operations and humanitarian crises. As an example, in 2011, he deployed to Afghanistan with the US Marine Corps and was responsible for the medical evacuation of 1100 sick and wounded people. He volunteered to support the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone and whilst there helped develop a novel method of moving infective casualties by land and air.

In 2016 Stow was invited into the Order of Saint John for his collective efforts to preserve life and reduce suffering for the good of humanity, and in 2019 Stow received the Worshipful Cutler’s prize for Innovation.

Marcus is currently the Chief Operating Officer of JhubMed, the Defence Medical Innovation Hub, working to bring world leading technology into the hands of the Military Medical User, at pace.

Barbara O. Rothbaum, PhD is Executive Director of the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program. She is a Professor and Associate Vice Chair of Clinical Research at Emory School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Director of the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program and holds the Paul A. Janssen Chair in Neuropsychopharmcology. Dr Rothbaum specializes in research on the treatment of anxiety disorders, particularly PTSD. She was a member of the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Study on Assessment of Ongoing Efforts in the Treatment of PTSD, and briefed the DOD, VA, House and Senate Committees on Veterans Affairs and Armed Services Committees on the IOM report results (June 17-18, 2014).

Dr Rothbaum has been studying PTSD treatments since 1986 and has developed, tested, and disseminated some of the most innovative and effective treatments available for PTSD. She is an inventor of virtual reality exposure therapy. She was a pioneer in applying it in the treatment of PTSD in combat veterans. She has authored over 350 scientific papers and chapters, has published 11 books on the treatment of PTSD and edited 4 others on anxiety, and received the Diplomate in Behavioral Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology. She is a past president of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), is currently on the Scientific Advisory Boards for the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA), National Center for PTSD (NC-PTSD), and the executive committee of the Warrior Care Network. She is a fellow of the ACNP (American College of Neuropsychopharmacology), the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), and American Psychological Association’s Division 56 (Division of Trauma Psychology) and was awarded the 2010 “Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Practice of Trauma Psychology” for APA Division 56 and the Robert S. Laufer Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS). Her outreach efforts include training community clinicians in evidenced based treatment for PTSD.

Professor Jane Burridge leads the Neurorehabilitation Research Group at the University of Southampton. Her research aims to understand the mechanisms of sensory-motor recovery following neurological damage. She and her Group use this better understanding to design and evaluate rehabilitation technologies that will improve recovery following central nervous system lesions such as stroke and spinal cord injury. Neurological rehabilitation is changing. Already most rehabilitation takes place in people's own homes and over the next few years technologies to support them will become commonplace.