Professor Pursues Ground-Breaking Military PTSD Research at University of Memphis

March 23, 2017 - Dr. Meghan McDevitt-Murphy, director of the Trauma and Coping Research Group at the University of Memphis, has received a grant of more than $925,000 from the Consortium to Alleviate PTSD (CAP) for a study to help better understand the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder on the lives of combat veterans. Dr. James Murphy, a UofM faculty member, will be a co-investigator on the project.

CAP is a multi-institutional research network jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs. Led by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and the VA National Center for PTSD, the CAP includes experts from numerous civilian, VA and military institutions across the country. They are working together to find the best interventions to detect, prevent, diagnose and treat PTSD and related conditions that affect military service members and veterans.

The CAP study led by McDevitt-Murphy, known as Project BRAVE, aims to understand the daily activity patterns that go along with PTSD. The project will also investigate the ways that PTSD interferes with daily functioning in veterans after deployment. The study involves three assessment visits as well as a three-week period of self-monitoring during which participants will use a mobile device to provide updates on their daily activities in real time.

The Trauma and Coping Research Group is currently looking for participants for Project BRAVE. Any veterans who deployed after 9/11 and are dealing with PTSD symptoms or are having difficulties related to deployment experiences are encouraged to contact the research group. Participants who complete the full study may earn up to $350. To learn more, visit memphisveterans.org, call 901.678.5966 or email tcrg.lab@gmail.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact: Gabrielle Maxey
901.678.2135
gmaxey@memphis.edu