From invisible wounds to
VISIBLE IMPACT
Special Operations Forces Brain Health Initiative
Even after 20+ years of progress, too many warriors are left without answers. Military-related TBI remains largely invisible, un-diagnosed, and untreated. The SOF Brain Health Initiative is here to change that—bringing together top experts, advancing cutting-edge science, and targeting root causes to eliminate blast-induced TBI. Here’s how we’re leading the charge:
Our Strategy
1.
Build Strategic Partnerships
2.
Fund High-Impact Research
3.
Unite Leading Brain Health Experts
4.
Advance Diagnostics, Treatment, and Prevention
The Special Operations Forces
Brain Health Initiative
When you give to the Invisible Wounds Foundation, you’re directly powering the SOF Brain Health Initiative: a targeted, strategic effort to diagnose, treat, and prevent traumatic brain injuries in SOF personnel.
Here’s how the initiative works and where your monetary support goes:
Building Strategic Partnerships
The need is clear: traumatic brain injury among service members, especially Special Operations Forces (SOF), remains an urgent and unresolved crisis. Leading voices in Congress, the SOF community, and medical experts agree—more must be done, and it must be done now. In response, we are building a coalition of aligned organizations and top experts to catalyze the next generation of research and solutions.
The Initiative brings together researchers, clinicians, and SOF stakeholders around a common agenda: to accelerate science that gets at the root causes of traumatic brain injuries.
Funding High-Impact Research
While scientific consensus affirms the need for more research, federal support has declined: the FY2025 Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) has eliminated dedicated funding for TBI.
Through the Brain Health Research Fund, we aim to address this funding gap. Guided by our Medical and Science Advisory Council of brain health experts, the Initiative will fund targeted, innovative research that investigates the root causes and physical injuries of TBI, with the goals of accelerating the development of early diagnostics and effective interventions.
While the near-term focus is on the most exposed population, our Special Operations Forces, this work has broad implications; it will provide a blueprint to protect the health of all service members facing similar risks.
UNITING TOP BRAIN HEALTH EXPERTS
At the heart of our work is our Medical and Science Advisory Council, which ensures continuous learning, efficacy and application of outcomes, and accountability, and includes leading neuroscientists, clinicians, defense health experts, and strategists.
Through best practices in program management and governance, the Council will guide the Initiative’s research strategy and develop a rigorous, transparent operational framework.
The Council will oversee a competitive grantmaking process that ensures resources are dedicated to the most promising and innovative research programs. To ensure accountability and continuous learning, the Council will establish a robust evaluation and reporting system and provide regular updates to stakeholders on the progress, outcomes, and impact of the research.
ADVANCING DIAGNOSTICS, TREATMENT, AND PREVENTION
The Initiative is laser-focused on identifying the root causes of traumatic brain injury. We fund research that advances early diagnostics and prevention strategies.
We also help drive scientific collaboration and communication to ensure that emerging discoveries are rapidly shared, validated, and translated into operational readiness tools across the military and medical communities.
