Michael D. Lewis, MD, MPH, MBA, FACPM

Dr. Lewis is the Founder and President of the Brain Health Education and Research Foundation, LLC. Dr. Lewis is a graduate from the US Military Academy at West Point. After serving five years in Infantry Divisions in Korea and California, Dr. Lewis graduated from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans. His postgraduate training was completed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and he is board-certified and a Fellow in the American College of Preventive Medicine.

While serving over 31 years in the Army, Dr. Lewis ran the primary care and flight medicine clinics at the Pentagon, envisaged and developed the ESSENCE Syndromic Surveillance System - the first and largest such system now in use by the DoD, the CDC, and universities and health departments world-wide, developed the Emerging Infections Surveillance program at the joint US-Thai Army research lab in Bangkok,
and served as the Director of the Epidemiology Division at the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine in Bethesda. 

Most recently, he has several years of experience developing programs for the military
on the use of omega-3 fatty acids and traumatic brain injury and suicide prevention. 
He has several patents pending on unique uses for omega-3 fatty acids in these fields
and is the lead researcher in new product development using concentrated omega-3 formulations. Dr. Lewis has been a pioneer in the clinical use of omega-3 fatty acids for the prevention, acute treatment, and rehabilitation of brain injuries from physical and psychological trauma to include traumatic brain injury and concussions, stroke, PTSD,
and other conditions. Over his career, his insights and revolutionary work have impacted thousands of lives and he is passionate about continuing to find improved solutions to the age old problem of brain injury.

Dr. Julian Bailes is the Chairman of the Department of Surgery at NorthShore University HealthSystem and Co-Director of the NorthShore Neurological Institute. Dr. Bailes is a nationally-recognized neurosurgeon with an expertise in neurovascular disease and has conducted extensive research in traumatic brain injury. He is a recognized leader in the field of neurosurgery and the impact of brain injury on brain function. Dr. Bailes also is
a founding member and director of the Brain Injury Research Institute, which focuses on the study of traumatic brain injuries and their prevention. Since 1994, he has been a neurological consultant to the NFL Players' Association (NFLPA), which has supported research on the effects of head injuries on professional athletes. He is the Medical Director of the Center for Study of Retired Athletes based at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Dr. Bailes has over 100 scientific publications concerning various aspects of neurological surgery, including three books on neurological sports medicine, and performs editorial duties for a number of medical journals. Dr. Bailes has been honored as one of the nation's best surgeons for eight consecutive years in U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Doctors" and "America's Top Surgeons."

Victor Coronado, MD, MPH

Dr Coronado graduated with honors from the Federico Villarreal Medical School in 1979 in Lima, Peru.  He completed the Internal Medicine residency training al San Marcos University Medical School in Peru (1980-1982) and obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health from Tulane University (July 1988- August 1989).  Dr. Coronado also graduated as an EIS officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Hospital Infection Program (July 1991- June 1993) and completed the Preventive Medicine Residency training program at CDC (1997-1998).  

Since 2012, Dr. Coronado has worked in the area of traumatic brain injury epidemiology and prevention. In this capacity he has led the production of two reports to congress on TBI and has authored or contributed to the production of several chapters on TBI for neurotrauma related text books as well as peer and non-peer reviewed journal articles.

Joseph Hibbeln, MD

CAPT Joseph R Hibbeln MD is Acting Chief of Section of Nutritional Neurosciences, Laboratory of Membrane Biophysics and Biochemistry, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. 
A psychiatrist and lipid biochemist by training, Dr Hibbeln is now one of the world's leading experts on the importance of dietary fats for human brain development and function.  His work is focused on translating basic neuroscience on the omega-3 essential fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (found in fish and seafood) into direct clinical applications, and he has published more than 80 peer-reviewed scientific papers to date.  His research interests range from severe pathological states, including suicide and psychosis, through depression and antisocial behaviour, to normative personality in adulthood and early development.  He believes that a substantial proportion of emotional distress in modern society might be reversed by adequate intakes of omega-3 fatty acids.

He has extensive international collaborations for clinical trials of omega-3 fatty acids for the prevention of suicide, postpartum depression, and violence. He is a primary collaborator in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, Bristol, UK, examining the residual effect of nutritional insufficiencies in pregnancy in childhood neurodevelopmental outcomes and relevant gene-nutrient interactions. Joe was one of the very first investigators to draw attention to the importance of omega-3 fatty acids in psychiatric disorders (he organized a key international conference on this theme at NIH in 1998), and he is frequently sought out to communicate scientific findings in this field though major public media.

His numerous honours include the TL Cleave Award from the McCarrison Society, London, United States Public Health Service (USPHS), Outstanding Service medal, three USPHS Crisis Response Awards, the Gerald Klerman award from the National Association for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression, Independent Investigator and Young Investigator awards from NARSAD and Eagle Scout, BSA.  Dr Hibbeln received a BA with special honours from the University of Chicago in 1983 and an MD from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1988.  He is a board certified physician in psychiatry and serves as a Captain in the USPHS.

Joseph Maroon, MD

Dr. Joseph Maroon, MD, is a board-certified neurosurgeon at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and the team physician of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Honored as one of America’s Best Neurosurgeons for 8 consecutive years in America’s Best Doctors, he has published over 250 scientific papers, 8 books, and 40 book chapters and sits on the editorial board of 5 medical journals. His research has focused on the prevention and treatment of injuries and diseases of the brain and spine. Various national neurological societies, both here and abroad, have recognized Dr. Maroon’s contributions to neurosurgery with a number of awards. A devoted athlete, he has completed 50 Olympic distance triathlon events since 1980 and was inducted into the Lou Holtz Upper Ohio Valley Hall of Fame for his athletic accomplishments and contributions to sports medicine

Keri Marshall, MS, ND

Dr. Marshall is a licensed naturopathic doctor who specializes in pediatrics, women's medicine, and chronic disease management. Dr. Marshall has published several scientific papers and magazine articles, has written a book on proteins and amino acids, and appears regularly in the media, including radio shows ABC's "A View from the Bay," PBS's "Healing Quest," and NPR. Dr. Marshall has served as a scientific advisor to Citizens for Health, a nutrition advisor to the United States Sugar Association, a nutrition expert in her local public school district, and on a national level for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. She also serves on several advisory boards for peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Marshall is currently the Chief Medical Officer for Nordic Naturals. She received her Naturopathic Medical degree from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, OR, her MS in Epidemiology from SUNY Buffalo, and her BS from the George Washington University. She maintains a small private practice in Bethesda, MD.

John Norwig is in his 22nd year as the Steelers' head athletic trainer and his 33rd year in athletic training.

In February of 2008, Norwig was elected President of the Professional Football Athletic Trainers' Society. He also was chosen as a 2008 recipient of the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award from the National Athletic Trainers' Association. The Steelers' athletic training staff was named 2008 Professional Football Athletic Training Staff of the Year by the Professional Football Athletic Training Society (PFATS).

Norwig's career began in 1979 as the athletic trainer at Bellefonte (Pa.) High. Norwig then served six years as assistant athletic trainer and health education instructor at Penn State (1980-85). During that time he assisted the San Francisco 49ers at their 1984 training camp. He then became head athletic trainer at Vanderbilt (1986-91) before joining the Steelers.

Norwig earned a bachelor's degree in health and physical education from Penn State in 1979 and a master's in health education in 1984. He is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine, American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine and the National Athletic Trainers Association. In October of 2011, Norwig was named a Penn State Alumni Fellow, the highest award given by the Penn State Alumni Association recognizing those for their outstanding professional accomplishments.

Born in Hanover, Pa., Norwig and his wife Emily have three children, daughter Erin (19), and sons Nicholas (16) and Luke (14). The Norwigs live in the North Hills.

Tim Walilko, PhD

Dr. Walilko is a Biomedical Engineer with 20 years of experience in conducting research in human vulnerability to primary blast, blunt trauma, ballistic, fragment, toxic and thermal threats. Dr. Walilko has led a number of projects involving the design and evaluation of protective equipment ranging from sporting to explosive. Dr. Walilko has directing several programs directed at improving the personal protective gear worn by the military and athletes using mechanical, post-mortem human (PMHS) and animal surrogates in combination with numerical modeling. One project was the evaluation of the effectiveness of tactical ballistic gear (helmet and soft body armor) in a blast environment. In this effort histological analysis of the porcine brains revealed, in the absence of blunt trauma, evidence of neurological injuries at overpressure levels well-below the lethal ranges for thoracic injuries.

Prior to joining ARA, Dr. Walilko was actively engaged in research seeking to establish human tolerance levels to automotive, sports and non-lethal impacts. During this time, his research scope included determining a boxer's punch force to the jaw, the fracture strength of the facial bones to a non-lethal weapon, and determining the strains in the PMHS mandible resulting from a blow to the chin point with and without a mouth guard.