2025 Spring Edition
Member Spotlight: Yelena Bodien, PhD
Tell us about your current role. What is your position, and what are your primary research or clinical interests related to brain injury?
I am an Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC)in Nashville TN. My primary appointment is in the Department of Surgery and I have secondary appointments in the Department of Neurological Surgery and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. I also co-direct the Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship (CIBS) Center’s Imaging Core. My primary research interest is in understanding what causes loss of consciousness after brain injury and how to precisely diagnose and establish prognosis for patients with these injuries.
How did you first get involved in the ACRM Brain Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group (BI-ISIG)?
When I started my post-doctoral fellowship, my mentor Dr. Joseph Giacino, now Professor of PMR at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, articulated the many ways in which ACRM jump-started his career. His involvement in the ACRM BI-ISIG Disorders of Consciousness Task Force ultimately led to multiple leadership positions, including as President of ACRM. He highly recommended that I make ACRM my professional home and I am glad I followed his advice!
How has ACRM influenced your career? Have there been key collaborations, mentorships, or opportunities that shaped your work?
I attribute many of my career milestones to opportunities provided by ACRM, either directly or indirectly. Through ACRM’s Disorders of Consciousness Task Force I was exposed to a wide landscape of disorders of consciousness research – spanning prospective studies, guideline development, translation, and implementation. I was able to interface with the very leaders who were, and continue to, push the research into clinical practice. Most importantly, being part of this task force and of ACRM in general allowed me to participate as a junior investigator in a variety of projects which ultimately resulted in opportunities to lead projects. Mentorship from ACRM leaders such as Drs. Giacino, Sherer, Katz, Nakase-Richardson, Hammond, and others has been instrumental in my career. ACRM also exposed me to investigators across the US with complementary research interests but diverse areas of expertise, resulting in new collaborations and projects that could not have happened otherwise.
What is a project, publication, or initiative you’re currently working on that you’re excited about?
I have the unique opportunity of establishing a new lab focused on disorders of consciousness at VUMC. This requires building new collaborations and infrastructure, developing protocols, and obtaining funding for ideas that I think will help move the field of disorders of consciousness forward. One of the most rewarding aspects of this process has been seeing how my successes and failures over the past 12 years at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital have given me the skills and confidence to take this step in my career. Some of my first goals are to develop an accurate approach for identifying patients admitted to VUMC with an acute disorders of consciousness and using medical record clinical and imaging data to understand short-term prognosis. We are also establishing a prospective cohort of patients with disorders of consciousness that are systematically assessed in-patient and followed long-term. Finally, we have a new Lived Experience Advisory Board for Brain Injury Research (LIBRA) consisting of persons with a history of brain injury and caregivers who we are engaging to ensure our approach to research is person-centered and meaningful to those whose lives it affects the most.
What do you see as one of the biggest challenges or opportunities in brain injury rehabilitation research today?
There is always an element of uncertainty in research in terms of being able to obtain funding to carry out studies. Right now, that uncertainty is higher than ever posing a real challenge for existing and future investigators. On the other hand, I also see renewed comradery and collaboration that I anticipate will result in new ideas and progress for our field.
What advice would you give to early-career professionals or students interested in brain injury research and rehabilitation?
Research in any area of science, but especially in brain injury, requires passion, perseverance, and patience. To succeed in this field you have accept that failure comes more often than success, and success can take a very long time to materialize. Finding a mentor who will both challenge you to become a better scientist and support you in difficult times is critical to making it though the early career phase and on to independence.
Outside of your work in brain injury, what are some of your favorite hobbies or ways to unwind?
I unwind in nature, and especially climbing on steep overhanging cliffs. This is a time when I focus entirely on something that is not work-related, allowing me to recharge both mentally and physically.
