Three-year collaboration with Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) to improve acquired brain injury care

The National Injury Insurance Agency, Queensland (NIISQ Agency) has recently agreed to fund a three-year collaboration with the University of Queensland’s (UQ) Queensland Brain Institute (QBI).

The collaboration, the Queensland Brain Injury Collaborative (QBIC), will aim to improve care across the trajectory of acquired brain injury by breaking down barriers and connecting researchers, scientists, clinicians, health professionals, people with lived experience, and other stakeholders.

NIISQ Agency CEO Neil Singleton said that with about 80% of current NIISQ participants living with traumatic brain injury, QBIC would provide vital connectivity across disciplines to further improve understanding and research in the brain injury field.

“We want to make sure the work we are doing will have direct and lasting positive impacts on NIISQ participants, along with others living with acquired and traumatic brain injury,” Mr Singleton said.

“This initiative will create a platform to introduce and exchange knowledge and data, identify collaborative and co-designed research opportunities, and develop evidence-based research that can be implemented into practice.”

QBIC will focus on five portfolio areas, each led by a leading researcher in that particular field:

• Stroke | Professor David Copland
• Traumatic brain injury | A/Professor Fatima Nasrallah and Professor Jennifer Fleming
• Concussion | Professor Karen Barlow
• Technology and innovation | Professor Trevor Russell
• Economics and health services | Kim-Huong Nguyen.

To commence the collaborative’s goal to connect industry and community members, we recently co-hosted a series of awareness events with QBIC in North Queensland. You can read more about these inaugural events here: NIISQ visits Townsville as part of inaugural brain injury information sessions – National Injury Insurance Scheme, Queensland.