(San Antonio, Sept. 17, 2014) – The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio will jointly present “It’s All about the Blast:
PTSD and TBI after Combat Blast Explosions.” The event will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 23, in the John Peace Library Assembly Room (JPL 4.04.22) on the UTSA Main Campus. The lecture, featuring Dr. Alan Peterson, is free and open to the public.
“It’s All about the Blast” is the first lecture in UTSA and the UT Health Science Center’s joint SALSI Lecture Series supported by the San Antonio Life Science Institute.
Blast explosions are the primary cause of illness and death in military personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. They are also the primary cause of traumatic burns and amputations, combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Dr. Peterson will explore the symptoms, cause and factors contributing to combat-related PTSD and TBI after blast exposure. He will also describe the research opportunities underway at UTSA and the UT Health Science Center to examine the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention and treatment of PTSD and TBI in military service members and veterans.
Dr. Peterson is a professor in the UTSA Department of Psychology and is jointly appointed as a professor of psychiatry in the UT Health Science Center’s School of Medicine, where he is the director of the STRONG STAR Consortium and director of the Consortium to Alleviate PTSD.
STRONG STAR and the Consortium to Alleviate PTSD are national research consortia funded by the U.S. departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to develop and evaluate the most effective early interventions possible for the detection, prevention, diagnoses and treatment of PTSD and related conditions in active duty military personnel and recently discharged veterans. Under the leadership of the UT Health Science Center, the consortia bring together the expertise of more than 125 investigators at more than 20 partnering military, VA and civilian institutions, all working together to help our nation’s war heroes recover from their psychological wounds.
To register for the Sept. 23 lecture, visit www.regonline.com/salsilectureseries1. Questions may be directed to Jaclyn Shaw in the UTSA Office of the Vice President for Research at jaclyn.shaw@utsa.edu or 210-458-6767.
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Media Contacts:
Christi Fish, UTSA, Office: 210-458-5141, christi.fish@utsa.edu
Rosanne Fohn, UT Health Science Center, Office: 210-567-3026, fohn@uthscsa.edu
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 3 percent of all institutions worldwide receiving National Institutes of Health funding. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced more than 29,000 graduates. The $765 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is an emerging Tier One research institution specializing in health, energy, security, sustainability, and human and social development. With nearly 29,000 students, it is the largest university in the San Antonio metropolitan region. UTSA advances knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. The university embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property—for Texas, the nation and the world. Visit www.utsa.edu to learn more.