USU Professor Dr. Michael Roy Receives $500,000 Grant for Blast Exposure Research

Dr. Michael Roy has been awarded a $500,000 grant to conduct research on the effects of blast exposure among military service members.

Senior Airman Adrianna Williams, left, and Airman Madalyn Duke, 66th Security Forces

Squadron entry controllers, wear female body armor during a shoot, communicate, and move 

training at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., June 29. The newest issue of body armor was 

designed specifically to fit females during combat and contingency operations. (U.S. Air 

Force photo by Lauren Russell)

September 5, 2024 by Claire Pak

Dr. Michael Roy, professor of Medicine and deputy director of the Military Traumatic Brain Injury
Initiative at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF) to conduct research on the effects of blast exposure among military service members. This funding, made possible through a charitable gift to HJF from retired Navy Admiral William McRaven, former commander of the United States Special Operations Command, will support Roy's pilot study, focusing specifically on how blast exposure affects female warfighters in certain military occupational specialties.

Retired U.S. Army Col. (Dr.)

Michael J. Roy, the director

of the Division of Military

Internal Medicine and a USU 

professor, oversees a research 

portfolio focused on better

understanding the human brain

and improving therapies to assist

in healing the mind in the wake

of trauma. (Photo by Ricardo 

Reyes-Guevara, WRNMMC)

Roy's research will build on his extensive work in understanding the long-term effects of blast exposure on the armed forces, with an emphasis on developing mitigation strategies and protective measures. Roy, who also serves as the director of the Division of Military Internal Medicine at USU, is the principal investigator for the INVICTA (INVestigating traIning assoCiated blasT pAthology) research study. INVICTA is a five-year longitudinal study of the impact of repetitive sub-concussive blast exposure, which to date has assessed 224 study participants with a wide range of measures to determine the effects of blast exposure on various aspects of brain function. 

Roy says that the current understanding of blast exposure is still limited, and that studies such as INVICTA are beginning to offer some insight into the actual physiological impact of blast and its long-term effects on service members and veterans. “However,” he says, “INVICTA is also limited, as it focuses solely on male study participants. This grant will allow us to conduct additional research to discover if neuroendocrine and physiological differences between male and female service members lead to different risk levels or impacts in women than what has been observed in men.”

“Medical research, especially in areas such as heart disease, cancer, and mental illness, has made progress in expanding knowledge of impacts on women’s health, and this is an important step in continuing that progress,” says retired Army Col. (Dr.) Paige Waterman, chair of the USU Department of Medicine.  

“Understanding the unique effects of blast exposure on all of our service members, particularly female warfighters, is critical to advancing military medicine and ensuring that we provide the best possible care and protection,” said Dr. Eric Elster, dean of the School of Medicine at USU.  “Dr. Roy’s research has the potential to uncover vital insights that will help us develop tailored strategies to mitigate risk and enhance the safety and operational readiness of those who defend our nation.”

“I’m honored to be selected for this generous grant,” says Roy, “and very pleased to have the opportunity to expand our knowledge of TBI resulting from blast exposure.”