Managing science is challenging. It is even more challenging when the scientific enterprise extends across multiple institutions in multiple sectors—academia, government and the commercial environment. In matters of national urgency, a collaborative approach that coordinates the scientific enterprise can improve efficiencies, minimize redundancies, fill gaps and, most importantly, speed the discovery and deployment of effective patient treatments and outcomes. Although collaborative science is more common in the physical sciences and large-scale engineering challenges, it is proving extremely effective in the cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG®) cancer research program. It would be useful to apply a similar collaborative approach to specific scientific problems in military medical research, such as TBI and bioweapon response. While the cultural and bureaucratic barriers to collaborative science models are not trivial—particularly in the academic environment—it is, in many ways, more consistent with the military ethos in which team work and a focus on the mission are paramount.
