Leadership

James Kelly, MD is the Chief Medical Scientist of the Invisible Wounds Foundation. An academic behavioral neurologist with a career focus on traumatic brain injury, he served as founding Director of the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, founding Executive Director of the Marcus Institute for Brain Health, and is Professor Emeritus of Neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Dr. Dallas C. Hack serves as the Co-Director of the Neurologic Performance Group’s Medical Advisory Board and as a Concussion Specialist. As the former Director of the Combat Casualty Care Research Program, he led groundbreaking research that has significantly improved care for both military personnel and civilians.

Dr. Ibolja Cernak is a professor, senior clinical research expert, and consultant combining over 30 years of research experience focusing on traumatic brain injury, blast injury, and chronic stress. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and NATO Task Groups.

Dr. Grafman is the director of Brain Injury Research at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, is on faculty at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. He previously served as the former Chief of the Cognitive Neuroscience Section at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. He has coedited several books on Traumatic Brain Injury and has authored over 600 publications that have appeared in scientific journals.

Dr. Josh Duckworth is a neurologist with more than 20 years of experience in the medical field. He is the founder and Medical Director at Brainpharm and Assistant Professor at Uniformed Services University.

Kristen Dams-O’Connor, Ph.D., is the Director of the Brain Injury Research Center at Mount Sinai Hospital and a Professor of Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She has served as a subject matter expert to the U.S. Secretary of the Army and has authored over 250 scientific publications.

Rocco A. Armonda, MD, is director of Neuroendovascular Surgery for MedStar Washington Hospital Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, and associate professor and director of Neurosurgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). Dr. Armonda focuses on the areas of cerebrovascular disease, neurotrauma, and neurocritical care.

Terri Tanielian is a nationally recognized leader in veteran and military health policy, behavioral health, and suicide prevention. She served as Special Assistant to the President for Veterans Affairs and Behavioral Health (2021–2025); served as a RAND Corporation senior behavioral health scientist, and has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications including the landmark report, Invisible Wounds of War, the first and only comprehensive non-governmental assessment of PTSD and TBI associated with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.