Although we have made great progress in gaining a deeper understanding of traumatic brain injury (TBI) related neurodegeneration (TReND), we have not gotten to the point where appropriate thereapeutics are available. This is, in part, due to the limited number of suitable human brain tissue samples available to research institutions. In fact, there exists only one human brain tissue archive dedicated to TBI samples, located at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, UK. In order to overcome this lack of resource, the Brain Banking Core of CONNECT-TBI will bring together nine participating banks that will be capable of providing existing tissue samples from almost 2000 acute and over 800 chronic TBI cases. This Brain Banking Core will establish a unique and comprehensive central archive of all existing TBI related autopsy tissue, that will include a broad inventory of all available tissue and associated clinical data. The CONNECT-TBI Expert Consensus Group members will assess and score digitally scanned images. Within this Brain Banking Core will be high quality, robust clinical datasets and digitized histology sections that will not only support the Research Projects within this proposal, but support approved, external, researcher led studies. Furthermore, the BBC will establish a tissue donation network from all participating centers that will significantly enhance the number of available tissue samples. In all efforts, the Brain Banking Core will optimize best practice protocols and will ensure adherence to strict tissue handling, staining, and scanning protocols. Finally, the Brain Bank Core will facilitate the dissemination all TBI-related samples and data in support of the Research Projects which comprise the mission of CONNECT-TBI.
