# From MIT to physician: building support for brain injury

> Alissa Totman turned her student volunteer work into a national nonprofit serving people recovering from head trauma and stroke.
- Title: From MIT to physician: building support for brain injury
- Summary: Alissa Totman turned her student volunteer work into a national nonprofit serving people recovering from head trauma and stroke. MIT graduate Alissa Totman…
- Keywords: alissa totman, synapse nonprofit, brain injury, mit, stanford, harvard, university of pittsburgh medical center, technology, science, physician, building, support
- Source: MIT Technology Review — https://technologyreview.com/2026/10/20/1145297/a-champion-for-brain-injury-patients
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: alissa totman, synapse nonprofit, brain injury, mit, stanford, harvard, university of pittsburgh medical center, technology, science
## Student volunteer finds her calling
Alissa Totman joined MIT BrainTrust as a sophomore, a student-run organization connecting undergraduates with people with brain injuries for support and socializing. The experience shaped her life's direction.

> That group was a great way to learn about the human experience of what people go through when they experience a brain injury.
## Physician specializing in brain injury
Today Totman is a physician specializing in brain injury medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, treating adults with head trauma, stroke, brain tumors and more.
## Synapse grows to twenty eight campuses
Totman founded Synapse, a nonprofit supporting brain injury patients, in two thousand sixteen while pursuing her master's degree in public health at Harvard.

> There's a big need for more resources like this.
## Key takeaway

MIT graduate Alissa Totman founded Synapse, a nonprofit now operating at twenty eight universities, to support people with brain injuries after her own experience volunteering with brain injury patients.