On February 24th, the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine hosted the 2025 SHIELD Conference.
SHIELD stands for
Sustained Homeostatic Imbalance due to Environmental-Exposure Linked to Deployment. This event provided updates on Gulf War Illness (GWI) research that focused on where we started, where we are now, and how we can "close the loop" to support affected veterans.
This event consisted of the following presentations:
Conference Opening:
Dr. Nancy Klimas | Conference Introduction
Dr. Lea Steele | GWI Population Research and What Has Been Learned about Associations with Exposures
Gut Health Metabolic:Dr. Ashok Tuteja | Gut Health Metabolic
Neuroscience (CNS):
Dr. Kimberly Sullivan | The Boston Biorepository and Integrative Network for GWI (BBRAIN): Working Together to Develop Diagnostic Markers and Treatments for GWI
Dr. Rosemary Toomey | Subjective Cognitive Decline and Correlated Biomarkers in Gulf War Veterans
Immune/Pain:
Dr. Dane Cook | Chronic Widespread Pain in Gulf War Veterans - Acute and Chronic Exercise
Dr. Laila Abdullah | Immune Responses in Gulf War Illness
Conference Closing
Anthony Hardie | The Role of Advocacy in GWI
*Presentations Not Featured:
Dr. Saurabh Chatterjee | Gut Microbiome and Chronic Fatigue: Links to Immune and Cellular Metabolism
Dr. Ashok Shetty | Neuroinflammation and Related Therapeutic Studies in GWI Models
Important Links:
Gulf War Illness Registry (INIM)
ClinicalTrials.gov
