Army Col. (Dr.) Geoffrey G. Grammer
National Director
Army Col. (Dr.) Geoffrey G. Grammer is the national director of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. He oversees all aspects of the organization’s mission, which is to serve active-duty service members, veterans and their family members with traumatic brain injury through state-of-the-science medical care and care coordination, and innovative clinical research and educational programs.
Until recently, Grammer was the department chief of research at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence. Prior to that, he served for eight years as the chief of inpatient psychiatric services at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Maryland.
Grammer completed two deployments to Iraq. During his first deployment he served as the medical director for the 785th Combat Stress Control Company; during his second deployment he served as a psychiatrist at the combat support hospital at Contingency Operating Base Speicher. He also deployed to Afghanistan as a psychiatrist at the combat support hospital in Bagram.
Grammer completed his Bachelor of Science in Biology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, Virginia. In 1996, he graduated from Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, Maryland, with his medical degree. Subsequently, he completed his residency in internal medicine and general psychiatry at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in geriatric psychiatry.
Grammer currently holds board certification in psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, and behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry. He is also currently an assistant professor of psychiatry at his alma mater, USUHS.
Grammer’s military awards include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal (three awards), Army Achievement Medal (three awards), Army Superior Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal (two awards), Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal (three stars), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (three awards), and NATO International Security Assistance Force Medal.
Katherine M. Helmick, M.S., CRNP, ANP-BC, CNRN
Deputy Director
Ms. Katherine Helmick is the deputy director of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC). She brings considerable clinical, educational and research experience in the field of neuroscience to include more than 100 regional, national and international presentations and more than 15 peer-reviewed publications.
Helmick has served in a variety of leadership, advisory and operational roles, including deputy director for the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury; deputy director for the Clinical and Educational Affairs Office for DVBIC; manager of the Office of Clinical Standards at DVBIC; neurological surgery nurse practitioner at Hodes Neurosurgery in Louisville, Kentucky; nurse practitioner/clinical care coordinator at the University of Louisville Hospital; and clinical research coordinator in the Division of Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals.
Helmick holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in family and child development from Virginia Tech University.
She has earned the following certifications: Adult Nurse Practitioner (ANP) through the American Nurses Credentialing Center and Neuroscience Registered Nurse (CNRN) through the American Board of Neuroscience Nursing.