USF recipient Jeffrey Sargent aims to help other veterans with a career in health sciences.

TAMPA, Fla. (June 16, 2016) – University of South Florida student and Bronze Star Medal recipient Jeffrey Sargent is among the 60 U.S. military service veterans and military spouses from throughout the nation recently named 2016 Tillman Military Scholars by the Pat Tillman Foundation.  Sargent, who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in health sciences, has been awarded a $15,000 scholarship for the 2016-17 academic year.

The Pat Tillman Foundation recognizes individuals for “their military service, leadership and academic excellence.”  This year’s group will receive over $1.8 million in scholarships to pursue higher education and continue their service in the fields of medicine, law, business, policy, technology, education and the arts.

Feeling a deep passion for his country, even in his childhood, Sargent enlisted in the U.S. Army Infantry following high school in 1999. He served two tours during Operation Iraqi Freedom, becoming a squad leader during his second tour.  While serving in Iraq, Sargent experienced the loss of several members of his unit, including his platoon leader, which had a deep impact.   During the ceremony to promote him to Sgt. 1st Class, he suffered his first panic attack stemming from his time in the battlefields.  It signaled the start of his of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which led to his honorable discharge in 2011 after 12 years of service.

Over the past five years, Sargent has learned how to effectively manage his PTSD with medication, an intense fitness regimen, counseling and family support – a holistic approach he would like to use to help fellow veterans with combat related mental health issues.  He hopes to achieve that goal by becoming an occupational therapist.

“In the military, I learned what selfless service means and to never give up,” Sargent said. “I plan to work at the VA and hope to change the current mental health paradigm by focusing on the body as a whole with nutrition, fitness and physical and mental health counseling. I believe that it only takes one medical professional to change a person’s life — I will be that professional. Thanks to the Tillman Foundation, I will honor the life of Pat Tillman in my second career in service to veterans.”

In addition to being a student, Sargent works part-time in the USF Office of Veteran Success. Director Larry Braue, a retired U.S. Army veteran, is well acquainted with current and past Tillman Scholars.

“As a Tillman University partner, we are thrilled to welcome Jeff to our cohort of Tillman Military Scholars on campus,” Braue said. “As the fifteenth USF scholar since the start of the program, our veteran community is well represented. It will truly be a pleasure to watch Jeff achieve his educational aspirations this coming year. Given his passion and ability to inspire others with PTSD on campus to seek treatment, there is no doubt that he will achieve his life goals.”

USF is consistently ranked among the most veteran-friendly schools in the nation, including No. 1 by Money magazine and No. 2 by Military Times.

For the full list of 2016 Tillman Military Scholars, including service branches, institutions and fields of study, visit the Pat Tillman Foundation website.

News release by  Renee Hunt (media contact)
reneehunt@usf.edu or (813) 974-5383

The Department of Defense grant may lead to better treatments, readjustment skills for veterans

Tampa, FL (Jan. 31, 2012) – The University of South Florida has received a $1.57 million U.S. Department of Defense grant to conduct translational research on traumatic brain injury and other battlefield related injuries and diseases. The studies, many in collaboration with James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, are intended to improve the quality of life for military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is known as the signature injury of soldiers returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq. Blast forces sustained in combat often cause damage to parts of the brain critical to high-level functions influencing memory, attention, decision-making and motor skills. Many veterans developing symptoms after TBI also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

U.S. soldiers conduct combat patrol in Afghanistan. Photo courtesy of Department of Defense.

“Working with the VA, the Department of Defense and private research entities, we will develop novel studies – everything from drug discovery and preclinical work to clinical, social and behavioral trials,” said principal investigator Dr. Paul R. Sanberg, USF senior associate vice president for research and innovation and director of the USF Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair. “Our multidisciplinary work will provide critical knowledge about TBI and its complications that could lead to more effective diagnosis and treatments for soldiers and veterans, as well as skills to improve their physical and psychological adjustment into civilian life.”

“This new federal award is a tremendous boost to USF’s efforts to build a research infrastructure to support our veterans reintegration strategy,” said Karen Holbrook, PhD, USF senior vice president for research, innovation and global affairs.

The two-year, DOD-funded grant joins faculty from across colleges and disciplines. Among USF faculty members leading studies are Cesar Borlongan, PhD; Juan Sanchez-Ramos, MD, PhD, and Michael Schoenberg, PhD; all from the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine; Theresa Chisolm, PhD, William Kearns, PhD, and Larry Schonfeld, PhD, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences; David Diamond, PhD, College of Arts and Sciences; William S. Quillen, PT, DPT, PhD, and Larry Mengelkoch, PhD; School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and Larry Braue, USF Office of Veterans Services.

Dr. Paul Sanberg, USF senior associate vice president for research and innovation, is overseeing the DOD-funded projects.

The grant involves four major projects:

• Researchers will assess in animal models how granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF), a growth factor that mobilizes the body’s own stem cells, may help treat traumatic brain injury.

• A clinical trial will test whether GCSF reduces neurological damage and improves recovery of memory, decision-making and other cognitive functions in soldiers and veterans with TBI, even when administered a month or two after the initial injury. Patients will be recruited from the polytrauma rehabilitation and blast injury programs at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital.

• In an attempt to identify better diagnostic measures for mild TBI, a frequently underdiagnosed condition, a study will compare the balance, gait, hearing and vestibular functions of otherwise healthy USF student veterans with and without self-reported TBI to those of non-veteran students. Evaluations will be conducted at the USF School of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences Human Functional Performance Laboratory.

• Using advanced technology researchers will monitor changes in patterns of everyday movement and the cognitive function of TBI patients undergoing smart house-based rehabilitation at the Tampa VA hospital’s Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Program. The study will evaluate whether scientific analysis of movements, tracked by devices like radiofrequency identification and global positioning systems, can help assess therapeutic improvement. A second arm of the study will investigate whether variability in walking patterns is greater for USF student veterans reporting mild TBI than for those without this diagnosis.

The new DOD award adds momentum to USF’s plans to work with the VA and DOD to build a first-of-its kind Center for Rehabilitation, Science, Engineering and Medicine, an interdisciplinary research, education and treatment facility. Over the last three years, the university’s Veterans Reintegration Strategy program has joined researchers across colleges and disciplines to work on studies in areas including TBI, PTSD, robotics and prosthetics, gait and balance, and aging-related disorders.

“This award reflects USF’s collaborative efforts to leverage our research and academic expertise to enhance the quality of life of our men and women in uniform, and their families, who have so selflessly served this country,” said Lt. Gen. Martin Steele (USMC retired), executive director of USF Military Partnerships. “It builds, not only upon interdisciplinary research within the university, but also strengthens our longstanding ties with Tampa Bay’s military community through two major VA hospitals, MacDill Air Force Base, U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command.”

Earlier this month at a news conference announcing an initiative of the country’s top medical schools, including the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, to ensure care for veterans and their families, First Lady Michelle Obama recognized USF as an example of universities stepping up to meet veterans’ unique health care needs.

– USF –

The University of South Florida is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. USF is classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in the top tier of research universities, a distinction attained by only 2.2 percent of all universities. It is ranked 44th in total research expenditures and 34th in federal research expenditures for public universities by the National Science Foundation. The USF System has an annual budget of $1.5 billion, an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion, and serves 47,000 students in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and Lakeland.