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Imagine a world where we learn how to heal the brain, where people do not live with the lifelong effects of brain injury, and where, rather than accelerating a disease, we can slow its progression or even stop it in its tracks.

Since its inception in 1980, the Brain Injury Association of America has supported the people, programs, and institutions that have advanced brain injury science and medicine. In doing so, the Association has played a pivotal role in improving treatment and care of individuals with brain injury. The pinnacle of BIAA’s commitment to research is the creation of the Brain Injury Research Fund, established in 2019.

The only thing preventing discovery of life-changing treatments for chronic brain injury is a lack of funding.

There are many ways to support brain injury research:

Make a gift to the Brain Injury Research Fund to support the Association’s current annual commitment to the best and most promising research projects.
Advance the Association’s ability to fund research by establishing a new Dissertation or Seed Grant in honor or memory of a loved one by making a single year or multi-year commitment or in perpetuity though an endowment.
Extend the Association’s ability to fund research by creating a named fund that supports one or more grants over time, invest in a particular line of work, or support the area of greatest need.
Transform the Association’s ability to fund the most promising research by considering a planned gift or remembering the Brain Injury Research Fund in your will or estate plan.

Brain Injury Research Fund Honor Roll

Our thanks to the following Research Champions for their generous support of brain injury research:

Dr. Barry Aron in honor of Ira Sherman, Esq.
Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata and Siegel, P.C.
Dr. Julieen Crane
Janet Dale
Mary and David Gerhart in memory of Douglas Gerhart
Jennifer and Eric Kirk
Dr. Juliet Haarbauer-Krupa in honor of Marilyn Price Spivack
Stephanie Rivard Lane
Dr. and Mrs. Brent Masel
Michael’s Mission in memory of Michael Leo Seguin
Janis Moskowitz
Mingkwan Mullins
Dr. Linda Redmann
John Rivard
Ira Sherman, Esq.
Dr. Lance and Laura Trexler
Angela Caveness Weisskopf in memory of Dr. William Fields Caveness

Click here to join our Honor Roll and make a gift supporting brain injury research.

For more information about the BIAA Brain Injury Research Fund, becoming a Research Champion, pricing, or giving options, please contact Stephanie Cohen, Development Manager, at (703) 761-0750 ext. 645.

Meet the Researcher

“This is the golden age of brain injury research with many new, highly trained investigators entering the field. BIAA is fundamental to progress, playing an integral role in equipping researchers with the resources to conduct this work.” -Raj Kumar, Ph.D.

Learn More

Ira Sherman is no stranger to recognizing a need and doing something about it.

During childhood, Ira was first introduced to a community of developmentally disabled adults while helping his aunt and uncle host Saturday night socials at the local YMCA. After starting his career as a trial lawyer, he gravitated toward a focus on individuals impacted by developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Mr. Sherman and his law partners have been making a positive impact on the brain injury community for more than 25 years. With the firm’s focus being on people with developmental disabilities and TBI, Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. has touched thousands of lives in service of their clients while investing time as volunteer leaders at BIAA and the Brain Injury Associations of Washington, D.C., and Virginia. Mr. Sherman served on the BIAA Board of Directors for seven years and as the organization’s treasurer for two of those years. Mr. Sherman and Joe Cammarata founded the BIA of Washington, D.C., and Mr. Cammarata currently serves as its president.

In Fall 2020, the firm announced plans to make a $25,000 gift to the Brain Injury Research Fund, which had recently completed its first year supporting researchers who are seeking cures for chronic brain injury. The fund makes seed grants of up to $25,000 to researchers and grants of $5,000 to support young scientists completing their doctoral work. The benefits of the fund are twofold: investing in the most promising science to increase discovery, and recruiting the best and brightest investigators to specialize in brain injury. Mr. Sherman and his partners hope that this gift inspires others to make a contribution to the fund. “Every grant made by the Fund has the potential to turn on an engine that will ultimately take us down a road to provide relief from symptoms associated with having sustained a TBI,” says Mr. Sherman.

“We know the impact that TBI has on the individual and know the necessity to provide support to organizations who are often the bedrock that the individual with TBI turns to for help. Reliable, trustworthy support – that’s what BIAA provides,” explains Mr. Sherman. For these reasons, Sherman and his partners were compelled to do more. “It is a source of pride for us,” says Mr. Sherman, “BIAA supports individuals along the entire spectrum of brain injury. No one with a brain injury will feel diminished because the impacts on them are significant but may not be demonstrable to others. All with brain injury are served the same way with resources, advocacy, and now research.”

For more information about the Brain Injury Research Fund or becoming a Research Champion, please contact Robbie Baker, Vice President and Chief Development Officer, at (703) 761-0750 ext. 648 or rbaker@biausa.org. To download our research brochure, click here .

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