The University of Chicago’s Third Annual Chicago Neurotrauma Symposium convened September 26–27, 2025, drawing more than 100 of the world’s leading minds in penetrating brain injury (PBI). Under the leadership of course directors Drs. Susan Rowell, Ali Mansour, Fernando Goldenberg, and Paramita Das, the meeting advanced collaborative scientific and clinical thinking at the cutting edge of neurotrauma care. “By bringing this group of experts together each year, we are highlighting new evidence and addressing gaps in knowledge,” said Dr. Rowell.

The agenda featured a rich lineup of speakers. Keynote addresses were given by Geoff Manley, MD, PhD, San Francisco General Hospital, and Bizhan Aarabi, MD, University of Maryland. A panel on updates in PBI guidelines included Gregory Hawryluk, MD, PhD, Medical Director at the Brain Trauma Foundation (BTF), alongside Randy Bell, MD, University of South Dakota, and Bradley Dengler, MD, Walter Reed National Medical Center. Dr. Hawryluk announced that BTF will publish its long‑anticipated penetrating brain injury guidelines and algorithms on October 14 during the Congress of Neurological Surgeons meeting—which are expected to significantly influence standard-of-care paradigms.

In the “Blast and Wartime Injuries” session, Geoffrey Ling, MD, PhD, delivered a talk on TBI in Modern War and joined a panel on firearm- and blast-induced penetrating head injury. Other sessions ranged across critical themes: imaging biomarkers, electrophysiology, ethical and access issues, brain injury care in war zones, and future translational approaches for PBI.

“In military penetrating brain injury cases, mortality has been shown to be significantly lower than in civilian settings, in part due to the nihilism that exists in civilian settings,” said Dr. Rowell. “An important goal of this conference is to develop collaborations between the military and civilian medical communities and to provide an evidence basis to help overcome this nihilism.”

This year’s Chicago Neurotrauma Symposium reinforced its growing reputation as a pivotal venue for shaping the next generation of penetrating brain injury care and science.