Operating Charter
How the Fight Medicine Research Institute is organized: who governs, who administers, who does the research and who reviews it.
O-01. Organization and authority
Fight Medicine Research Institute currently operates as a privately operated research initiative in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. The planned operating structure is an independent Alabama nonprofit corporation organized for scientific and educational purposes, with an application for IRS recognition under Section 501(c)(3). The operator maintains the actual business records, contractual authority, accounts, insurance arrangements where applicable, and ownership disclosures.
The operating model separates institutional oversight, executive administration, research work, scientific review, and external ethics review. It follows the institutional organization illustrated by The George Institute's governance framework, using the Fight Medicine Research Institute's own original charter and U.S. research-protection policies.
The Research Governance Board receives the research-oversight authority delegated by the operator. John Parris implements approved decisions as Institute Director. Casey C. Sears retains the Founder designation and contributes to the Fight Medicine Research Institute's mission and research development. Founder status does not confer an independent override of Board votes, scientific review, or required external oversight.
O-02. Research Governance Board
The Board has seven voting seats. The founding roster is Jay Deas; Lou Lombardy; Casey C. Sears; Paul W. Kirby, MD; James B. “Jimmy” Robinson, MD; Jeff Dodson; and John Parris. Appointment, acceptance, term, conflicts, and independence are recorded for each seat.
At least four members must meet G-01's independence criteria. The Institute Director and anyone exercising executive management authority are not counted as independent. A nonexecutive advisory role is assessed on its actual relationships, duties, compensation, and conflicts; independence is not presumed from a title.
Members elect an independent chair from eligible members. The Institute Director may not chair the Board. Terms last three years, with no more than two consecutive terms. Initial staggered terms may be recorded in the appointment decision.
The Board meets at least quarterly. A quorum is four eligible, nonconflicted members, including at least three independent members. Ordinary decisions require a majority of eligible members present; a tie fails. A new research program, human-participant study, material policy change, or related-party arrangement also requires at least three independent affirmative votes.
Recused members do not count for the affected matter. If conflicts prevent a quorum, the decision is deferred until the Board has a properly constituted, conflict-free quorum. External advice informs the decision and does not replace the required votes.
The Board approves research strategy, budgets, major partnerships, policies, research appointments, project authorization, and integrity arrangements. It reviews annual activity and accounts, project progress, safety, data incidents, complaints, funding independence, and publication performance. Minutes record votes, recusals, decisions, delegated work, and due dates. Public summaries follow the approved confidentiality and 30-day summary rules.
O-03. Executive and founder responsibilities
John Parris — Institute Director
The Director manages day-to-day administration, budget preparation and execution, contractual arrangements within delegated authority, staffing and adviser coordination, correspondence, records, training, information-security implementation, and the policy register.
The Director maintains the project and publication registers, ensures required scientific and ethics determinations are obtained, confirms operational readiness, and records institutional authorization before work begins. He coordinates annual activity reporting and maintains the organization's consistent public identity.
Contracts outside an approved budget and related-party arrangements require prior Board approval. The Director cannot substitute administrative approval for an IRB determination, a clinical review, a scientific review, or a journal's editorial decision.
Casey C. Sears — Founder
The Founder represents the Fight Medicine Research Institute's founding purpose, advises on research priorities, contributes combat-sports and ringside expertise, and supports research development and collaboration. His confirmed public title is Founder.
The appointment schedule assigns him a separate role as Ringside Assessment Research Lead: coordinating the assessment workplan, protocol drafting, evidence extraction, and operational research planning. Principal-investigator responsibilities are assigned for each actual project according to competence and its approved protocol; they do not arise automatically from Founder status.
Relevant regulatory, editorial, publishing, ownership, and intellectual-property interests are disclosed. Decisions on the Founder's own research, featured publications, or related-party arrangements are handled by eligible independent decision-makers.
O-04. Research appointments and responsibilities
| Person | Scheduled appointment | Principal responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| John Parris | Institute Director | Administration, operations, institutional accountability, and implementation |
| Casey C. Sears | Founder; Ringside Assessment Research Lead | Mission, ringside research development, protocols, and evidence-review coordination |
| Paul W. Kirby, MD | Clinical Research Adviser — Emergency and Prehospital Care | Acute assessment, emergency protocols, clinical outcomes, and agreed clinical education review |
| James B. “Jimmy” Robinson, MD | Senior Clinical Research Adviser — Sports Medicine | Athlete health, follow-up research, sports-medicine design, and agreed clinical education review |
| Lou Lombardy | Research Governance and Data Security Adviser | Data plans, security controls, governance records, and unconflicted concern intake |
| Jay Deas | Research Adviser — Training and Event Operations | Fighter consultation, training/event feasibility, and participant burden |
| Jeff Dodson | Fighter Research Adviser — Officiating and Fight Safety | Stoppage observations, officiating variables, fighter experience, and ring safety |
Research-adviser assignments are nonexecutive unless an appointment explicitly grants executive authority. Each record includes duties, time commitment, term, compensation or voluntary status, confidentiality, conflicts, publication responsibilities, acceptance, and review arrangements. Advisory appointments can be unpaid; employment is established only through the applicable agreement.
Each appointee completes induction, annual disclosures, and annual review and contributes to the agreed workplan. Appointment to the Board or an advisory position does not automatically confer authorship, clinical authority, recruitment access, or access to participant information.
The Fight Medicine Research Institute obtains qualified methods/biostatistics advice for each design and specialist neurological, neuropathological, or mental-health expertise when the project's question requires it. The supplied biographies are used to allocate the stated expertise, not to attribute additional specialties.
O-05. Scientific, clinical, and integrity review
For each research protocol, appoint at least two qualified reviewers independent of the study team, including appropriate methods/statistical expertise. Retain written comments, responses, conditions, and the review decision. An investigator or author does not independently review their own project.
Clinical education receives a review by a qualified clinician in the relevant subject. Kirby and Robinson are the advisers for the scopes above; each actual review is credited only after completion. Specialist review is obtained where the content exceeds those scopes.
Lou Lombardy coordinates integrity-report intake when unconflicted. The independent chair assigns an eligible case lead; concerns about that chair go to two other independent members. An external reviewer is appointed when internal relationships prevent independent handling. A person involved in the disputed work does not control the investigation or appeal.
Ethics review for applicable human-participant research is obtained from an independent external IRB under the approved research policies. The Board, scientific reviewers, journal editors, and an IRB perform separate functions. Actual external arrangements and determinations are retained before relevant research starts.
O-06. Research programs and project workflow
The two confirmed research areas are standardized ringside head-trauma assessment and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Related mission priorities include fight stoppage, emergency protocols, mental health, PTSD, suicide prevention, and lifelong fighter health.
Each actual project has a named investigator, written question and design, workplan, resources, data provenance and permissions, analysis plan, conflicts, required scientific and ethics review, safety arrangements, and dissemination plan. The Director records authorization after those requirements are met.
The project sequence is: written concept; protocol and resource plan; independent scientific review; applicable written ethics determination; data/security and safety readiness; institutional authorization; conduct and monitoring; analysis; independent editorial or journal review; publication and preservation.
Recruitment and consent remain separate from licensing, clearance, coaching, matchmaking, and payment authority. Clinical care takes priority. Acute head-injury capacity and mental-health safety arrangements follow R-02.
O-07. Publications, affiliations, and the journal
Fight Medicine Research Institute publications identify actual contributors, the genuine Fight Medicine Research Institute affiliation, methods, funding, conflicts, oversight, and accessible supporting records. Use Fight Medicine Research Institute, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States as the affiliation for work genuinely carried out under that relationship. Retain other legitimate affiliations as appropriate.
Fight Medicine Journal is a publication venue. Its publisher is Sears Publishing Company, as stated by the journal. The Fight Medicine Research Institute's authorization to release a manuscript is distinct from the journal's editorial decision. Apply the journal's independent-handling policy whenever an author or research-team member has a covered editorial or publisher relationship.
A Board member's paper is credited to the Fight Medicine Research Institute when the Fight Medicine Research Institute's contribution and affiliation are supported by the actual work. Original source affiliations are preserved. Every external-study record also credits the Fight Medicine Research Institute's completed selection, original summary, verification, appraisal where completed, and maintenance.
O-08. Records, finances, monitoring, and adoption
Maintain separate institutional records for accounts, appointments, conflicts, policies, protocols, review decisions, data access, safety, publication, corrections, and complaints. Record actual funding and related-party arrangements. Do not imply university, commission, sponsor, or publisher endorsement from a person's outside employment.
The Director conducts a monthly operations review and provides quarterly progress to the Board. The Board reviews the annual research plan, activity report, budget, accounts, policy register, security risks, and independence arrangements. Previously approved response deadlines, appeals, retention periods, safety reporting, and public-summary rules continue to apply.
The operator records adoption of this charter, its effective date, delegated authority, and the seven-seat numerical model. Appointment decisions and acceptances are recorded separately. Public pages publish the adopted rules, confirmed roles, and actual dates; they do not display private acceptance forms or incomplete administrative records.