About Us

BADER is an acronym for “Bridging Advanced Developments for Exceptional Rehabilitation.” Typifying exceptional function following injury, Royal Air Force fighter pilot Sir Douglas Bader lost both legs in a plane crash but went on to shoot down 22 German planes and attempt multiple escapes as a POW during World War II.

Led by the University of Delaware, the BADER Consortium is partnering with four Department of Defense Medical Treatment Facilities to further strengthen and support evidence-based orthopaedic rehabilitation for wounded warriors so that each patient can reach his or her optimal level of function.

The BADER Consortium brings together researchers, health professionals and physicians from the University of Delaware; Spaulding/Harvard Rehabilitation Hospital; the University of Texas at Austin; Christiana Care Health System; the Mayo Clinic; the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Va.; the Naval Medical Center in San Diego; San Antonio Military Medical Center; Walter Reed Army Medical Center; C-Motion Inc. in Germantown, Md.; and the University of Michigan.

Funding is provided by the United States Department of Defense’s Office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program through its Peer Reviewed Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Program.