TRC4 is a collaborative at UT Health San Antonio in partnership with the Department of Defense and the entire UT System to address an urgent need for improved trauma care both on the battlefield and at home.
"Traumatic injuries are actually the leading cause of death among people, one through 45 years of age. And it's also the third leading cause of death of all age groups across the U.S.," said James Bynum, PhD, the vice chair of research for the Department of Surgery at UT Health San Antonio.
He's also the executive director of the Trauma Research and Combat Casualty Care Collaborative — or TRC4.
TRC4 was created to do the kind of cutting edge research that will improve the care, survival rate, and ultimate quality of life for trauma injuries, like traumatic brain injuries, and burns.
"You really need better treatment and resuscitation strategies and skin substitutes, etc., of wound healing," he said. "And we do know that major trauma, even in the civilian sector, can have long lasting mental effects as well."
San Antonio — a health research hub for the military — is an ideal place for TRC4’s research, and Bynum — a more than 20 year department of defense researcher — sees this as a major opportunity.
"Doing something even if it's small after 20 years of serving with the Army to try to make a difference from a civilian standpoint is to me a noble endeavor," he said. "It's worth getting up every morning to try to make a difference for those that put their selves in harm's way, so we can all enjoy our freedom as a country."
Science & Medicine is a collaboration between TPR and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio that explores how scientific discovery in San Antonio advances the way medicine is practiced everywhere.
