Over the past month, MRRI scientists and staff have continued to work virtually with each other, as well as colleagues around the world, to advance our research. During April, we published three new articles on the MRRI blog covering the Lesion-Symptom Mapping workshop we hosted earlier this year, recent updates from our researchers, and a behind-the-scenes look at how MRRI scientists have adapted to working remotely.

We would also like to congratulate our institute scientists on their contributions to eight new research papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals. These recent papers were authored or co-authored by one or more MRRI institute scientists in collaboration with researchers from leading institutions in the Philadelphia area, across the United States, and internationally. Co-authors on these seven papers are affiliated with Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, PA), University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine (Philadelphia, PA), Weill Cornell Medicine (New York, NY), Burke Neurological Institute (New York, NY), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York, NY), Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (Newark, NJ), Brown University (Providence, RI), Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA), Edith Cowan University (Joondalup, Australia), the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research (Köln, Germany), and other top-tier research institutions.

Though nearly all large in-person scientific conferences this spring were cancelled or postponed, MRRI scientists Dylan Edwards, PhD, Tessa Hart, PhD, Amanda Rabinowitz, PhD, and John Whyte, MD, PhD, shared their research through four published abstracts and virtual presentations in the month of April. These included abstracts for the Neuromodulation Online Conference hosted by MRRI, the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, and the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Annual Meeting.

In addition to our high productivity in research dissemination in recent weeks, MRRI scientists have been working diligently to apply for funding opportunities to support their research. We would like to acknowledge Dr. Amanda Rabinowitz for her recent submission of two grant applications to the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) as well as Umi Venkatesan, PhD, for his recent grant application submission to the American Psychological Foundation. All three of these grants propose innovative research projects to further MRRI’s exceptional research in the area of traumatic brain injury.

The past several weeks have been busy and productive for our MRRI team members, and we are excited to continue this momentum as we look towards the summer months.