Over the past year, a transatlantic partnership has been taking shape, linking Philadelphia and Dublin through a shared commitment to improving the lives of people living with severe acquired brain injury (sABI).
At Jefferson Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, the Brain Injury Neuropsychology Laboratory led by Amanda Rabinowitz, PhD, has partnered with Kirby Wycoff, PsyD, EdM, MPH, NCSP, of the Thomas Jefferson University College of Health Professions to build a research collaboration with colleagues at University College Dublin and leaders of the An Saol Foundation. Together, this group is asking a critical question: how well do our systems truly support individuals living with the long-term consequences of severe brain injury, and where are the gaps, not only within individual countries, but across healthcare systems globally? By examining these challenges through an international lens, the collaboration seeks to understand how policy, culture, and infrastructure shape long-term brain injury care worldwide and how lessons learned in one context can inform change in another.
The roots of this collaboration are deeply personal. Reinhard Schäler, CEO and founder of the An Saol Foundation, did not set out to create a national movement. His son, Pádraig, had just completed his degree at Trinity College and traveled to Cape Cod for his final summer before graduation. Only weeks later, he was struck by a truck while cycling to work. The accident left him with a severe acquired brain injury.
When the family returned to Ireland, they assumed long-term services would be available. After an exhaustive search, they realized there was no dedicated support for people living with the chronic effects of sABI. Connecting with other families revealed a systemic gap. From that realization, the An Saol Foundation was born. Since then, it has been grounded in the belief that individuals with severe brain injury deserve meaningful, community-based opportunities and sustained support.
Dr. Rabinowitz brings expertise in chronic TBI outcomes, while Dr. Wycoff contributes experience in qualitative research and trauma-informed care. The collaboration with University College Dublin has driven by the vision of Lizbeth Goodman, PhD, Chair of Creative Technology Innovation and Full Professor of Inclusive Design for Education at UCD. Dr. Goodman directs the Inclusive Design Research Centre of Ireland and founded SMARTlab, an international, transdisciplinary collective advancing social change through creative technology and user-driven design. Through SMARTlab, which now spanns UCD and Jefferson, she has helped ground this partnership in inclusive innovation and community engagement.
The collaboration has evolved into two complementary research efforts. The first centers on listening: Jefferson and UCD researchers are conducting qualitative interviews with Irish caregivers and rehabilitation providers to understand how families navigate Ireland’s system of care and experience the burdens and barriers of long-term support. The second project, a scoping review, titled Systemic Factors and Management Practices in Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation, maps the European evidence base on chronic TBI rehabilitation, examining how policy, organizational structures, and management practices shape outcomes.
Together, these projects connect lived experience with systems-level analysis. They reflect a shared understanding that severe brain injury is not only an acute event, but a lifelong condition requiring coordinated, inclusive, and sustainable support.
Just as importantly, this partnership is training the next generation of scholars. PhD and DHSc students at Jefferson and UCD are contributing to both projects, gaining experience in international, community-engaged research.
What began with one family’s search for services has grown into a transnational effort to advance brain injury collaboration. As the work continues, Jefferson Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute is proud to stand alongside our colleagues at University College Dublin and the An Saol Foundation in building a more responsive and inclusive future for individuals living with severe acquired brain injury.