Vicky Johnson: brain researcher who studied the links between traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative disease

Until her untimely death aged 44, Scottish born Vicky Johnson, associate professor of neurosurgery at Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, led landmark international research exploring the biology and pathology of traumatic brain injury (TBI), with projects spanning complex pre-clinical models to human pathology studies. She established herself as one of the leaders in TBI research, directing multiple programmes and mentoring many students and postdoctoral researchers.

“Traumatic brain injury is a common and often devastating health problem,” she said on the Johnson Laboratory website, highlighting how it affected 2.5 million people a year in the US.1 Johnson’s research focused largely on links between TBI and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, including the short and long term outcomes of sports concussions. Her work advanced understanding of the mechanisms by which acute brain trauma leads to long term neurological decline. She contributed to more than 120 published research articles and garnered multiple research awards.

Vicky Johnson was born in Stirling, Scotland, in August 1981 to Eleanor, a social housing manager, and Frederick Johnson, an engineer and subsequently manager in the telecommunications sector. She grew up with her older brother Scott and attended Balmalloch Primary School and Kilsyth Academy, where she was a popular and industrious student.

In 1999 she was admitted to the University of …