The National Neurotrauma Society (NNS) has selected Michelle LaPlaca, associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, as its president-elect for the term 2019-2020. The announcement came during the Society’s most recent international conference held in Toronto, Canada, August 11-16.

The National Neurotrauma Society seeks to accelerate research that will provide answers for clinicians and ultimately improve the treatments available to patients. The society promotes excellence in the field by providing opportunities for scientists, establishing standards in both basic and clinical research, encouraging and supporting research, and promoting liaisons with other organizations that influence the care and cure of neurotrauma victims.

LaPlaca earned a Ph.D. in bioengineering (1996) and completed her postdoctoral training in neurosurgery while at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests surround translational research in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and concussion. Her research goals are to better understand acute injury mechanisms and mechanotransduction, identify novel TBI biomarkers, and develop multimodal concussion assessment tools. She has won numerous awards for her research and currently serves as vice chair of the Brain Injury Association of Georgia.