A champion for brain injury patients
Alissa Totman ’13 was a sophomore when she joined MIT BrainTrust, a student-run organization that connects Institute undergraduates and people with brain injuries for support and socializing. “That group was a great way to learn about the human experience of what people go through when they experience a brain injury,” she says.
Alissa Totman ’13 began her journey into brain injury medicine during her sophomore year at MIT, when she joined MIT BrainTrust. This was a student-run organization that paired undergraduates with individuals living with brain injuries for mutual support and social interaction. Totman described the experience as eye-opening, stating that it helped her understand the real-life challenges faced by people with brain injuries. This early exposure to the human side of brain injury care shaped her long-term career path. MIT BrainTrust was founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a leading research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Totman pursued her undergraduate studies.
After graduating from MIT, Totman became a physician specializing in brain injury medicine. She now works at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), a large healthcare system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she treats adults with a variety of brain-related conditions. These include head trauma (physical injury to the brain), stroke (a sudden interruption of blood flow to the brain), and brain tumors (abnormal growths in the brain). Her work focuses on helping patients recover and improve their quality of life after such conditions. Brain injury medicine is a specialized field that requires understanding both the medical and psychological aspects of brain damage.
During medical school at Stanford University in California, Totman and a classmate, Jaclyn Konopka ’14, co-founded a group to support individuals with brain injuries. This initiative later evolved into Synapse, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing resources and assistance to people affected by brain injuries. Synapse officially launched as a national service organization in 2016, while Totman was pursuing a master’s degree in public health at Harvard University in Massachusetts. The organization aims to fill gaps in support systems for brain injury survivors and their families.
Since its launch, *Synapse* has expanded significantly. As of the time of the article, it has established chapters at 28 universities across the United States. Totman continues to lead the organization, reflecting its growing influence and reach. The need for such resources remains high, as brain injuries can have lifelong effects on individuals and their families. Synapse provides support through education, advocacy, and community-building, helping to connect survivors with peers and professionals who understand their experiences.
