The ROCR Foundation funds FDA-guided clinical research into regenerative treatments for traumatic brain injury and orthopaedic conditions — moving promising science from theory into regulated, reproducible medicine.
Orthopaedic injuries and traumatic brain injuries affect millions of people every year. Yet most current treatments remain focused on symptom management — not tissue repair, not long-term recovery, not meaningful change in the trajectory of chronic injury.
"There is currently no FDA-approved therapy that repairs injured brain tissue, alters long-term orthopaedic degeneration, or changes the course of chronic injury. This gap is where our foundation operates."
Regenerative therapies must be studied as drugs under FDA oversight. Without regulatory compliance, innovation stalls at anecdotes. Every trial we fund operates within an IND framework from day one.
Our foundation is led by practicing orthopaedic surgeons, sports medicine specialists, and clinical researchers — people who see unmet patient needs every day. This research addresses real problems, not theoretical ones.
Published FDA-guided studies using adipose-derived stem cells in orthopaedic conditions have demonstrated strong safety profiles, meaningful functional improvement, and in some cases delayed or avoided surgery.
Personalized Stem Cells, Inc. (PSC) has been granted an IND (Investigational New Drug) approval to study IV infusions of autologous stem cells for treatment of Chronic Concussion Syndrome. This 10-person Phase 1B safety trial establishes tolerability, safety, and preliminary signals before a larger efficacy study. Study subjects are retired Special Operations veterans. Recruitment has begun, co-sponsored by Valor For Life Foundation and the ROCR Foundation.
Following completion of the Phase 1B safety trial, a 45-patient Phase 2 trial will investigate safety and efficacy in real chronic TBI patients — primarily retired athletes. This trial is designed to generate the controlled, reproducible data needed to accelerate FDA approval and change the standard of care for millions of patients living with long-term concussion effects. Preliminary studies have shown improvements in post-concussive symptoms, depression, sleep, learning efficiency, memory, attention, and mental speed.
Accurate diagnosis of TBI remains one of the biggest barriers to treatment. Symptoms are often subjective, imaging may be inconclusive, and objective biomarkers are only now emerging.
The ROCR Foundation has established a partnership with GAIA, which has developed salivary biomarkers for TBI that can form the basis of a rapid, accessible commercial diagnostic test — much like an at-home COVID test, but for concussion.
We are actively exploring collaboration with Sharp HealthCare to quantify the relationship between sub-concussive events and measurable performance changes in real-world settings.
GAIA has developed a salivary biomarker panel capable of detecting TBI signatures — enabling rapid, point-of-care concussion testing. The goal: take a complex neurological event and make it diagnosable at the sideline, in a clinic, or at home.
Quantifying and defining relationships between sub-concussive events and measurable performance changes in real-world athletic settings.
This work is too early for commercial funding, too complex for small grants alone, and too important to delay. Philanthropy is what moves FDA-guided research forward. Your contribution directly funds clinical trials, diagnostic development, and the path to real treatments.
Goal: $4.5 million — 45-patient FDA efficacy trial
ROCR Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Your donation is tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law.
EIN: [pending — update before launch]