Mission:BRAIN

What Mission:BRAIN does

Mission:BRAIN (legal name: mission:brain Foundation) is a US-incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Sausalito, California, with a new regional headquarters being established in Cancún, Mexico. Founded in 2010, the organization operates a global platform of programs aimed at advancing equitable neurosurgical care: a network of 130 university-based chapters across 27 countries, an annual Hackathon (5th annual planned for 2026), Neurocamp, the Women in Neuroscience Global Symposium (WINGS), the Global Neuroscience Research Group (GNRG), a Research Peer Mentorship Program (RPMP), a Suturing Mission with donated surgical simulators, a Lecture Series, and a podcast. Mission:BRAIN also administers scholarships (WINS, Beckmann, Hannegan, Atlas) and conducts direct surgical mission trips in partnership with hospitals such as Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Hospital Puerta de Hierro, and INNN, reporting over 1,000 neurosurgical procedures performed and 55,000+ lives impacted. A landmark outcome includes placing the first neurosurgeon in South Sudan.

The organization serves three primary constituencies: medical students and pre-medical trainees participating in chapters and educational programs; neurosurgery residents and junior faculty pursuing international training through scholarships and observerships at host institutions including the University of Florida and Barrow Neurological Institute; and patients in underserved regions lacking access to neurosurgical care. Core technology infrastructure includes the Mission Metaverse University (MBMU), a virtual education platform described as connecting communities via the Metaverse for neurosurgical training, and AI used for data collection in neurosurgical contexts.

Mission:BRAIN does not charge for its programs. Revenue is generated entirely through donations and grants from individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsors, including financial partnerships with the Beckmann Foundation, CNS Foundation, We Love Foundation, and Guiribitey Family Foundation. Strategic and co-development partnerships with the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS), Harvard Innovation Labs (2024 Hackathon host), UpSurgeOn, Women in Neurosurgery (WINS), and FUNED extend its operational reach. The organization is led by President Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa and CEO April Sabangan, with a regional LATAM Director (Dr. Mariana Itzel Bravo Treviño) supporting Latin America operations.

Name

Mission:BRAIN

Legal name

mission:brain Foundation

Website

https://missionbrain.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mission:BRAIN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating 130 university chapters across 27 countries to advance global neurosurgical education, training, and capacity building. It serves medical students, neurosurgery residents, and underserved patients through scholarships, mission trips, and programs such as WINGS, Neurocamp, and a Hackathon.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Global Neurosurgery Education

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Neurologic Rehabilitation (Stroke, TBI, Parkinson’s, MS) (HSADAIAC)

Keywords

• Global neurosurgery education
• Neurosurgical capacity building
• Medical mission trips
• Neurosurgery research training
• Medical education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Sausalito

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Mission:BRAIN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates primarily through charitable donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsors. Donations support mission trips, scholarships, chapter activities, and neurosurgical equipment acquisition.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Mission:BRAIN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation that operates a global network of 130 university-based neurosurgery chapters across 27 countries. It delivers educational programs (lectures, hackathons, mentorship, scholarships), hands-on surgical training (Neurocamp, Suturing Missions), and capacity-building mission trips designed to expand access to safe, affordable, and timely neurosurgical care in underserved regions worldwide.

Product overview

Mission:BRAIN is a nonprofit organization operating as a platform of interconnected programs focused on advancing equitable neurosurgical care worldwide. The organization does not offer a unified commercial product but rather a portfolio of programs including educational initiatives (Hackathon, Neurocamp, WINGS, Lecture Series), mentorship and research programs (GNRG, RPMP), training initiatives (Suturing Mission), scholarship opportunities (WINS, Beckmann, Hannegan, Atlas), mission trips, and a chapter network spanning 130 chapters across 27 countries. These programs work together to Treat, Educate, and Empower communities in global neurosurgery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MB:Pathways: Regional chapter program for medical and premedical trainees in North America who do not have access to a campus-based chapter
• Hackathon
• WINGS
• GNRG (Global Neurosurgery Research Group)
• RPMP (Research Peer Mentorship Program)
• Neurocamp
• Suturing Mission

Products and services

• Chapter Program A network of 130 university-based neurosurgery chapters in 27 countries that engage medical students and trainees in grassroots neurosurgical education, outreach, and capacity-building activities.
• Hackathon Program Innovation-focused hackathons that engage students and trainees in solving global neurosurgery challenges through collaborative problem-solving.
• WINGS (Women's Inclusivity in NeuroSurgery) An inclusion initiative advancing women and underrepresented groups in neurosurgery through targeted programming, mentorship, and advocacy.
• GNRG (Global Neurosurgery Resident Research Group) A resident-led research collaborative that supports neurosurgery trainees in conducting and publishing research on global neurosurgical care.
• RPMP (Research and Publication Mentorship Program) A structured mentorship program pairing early-career researchers with senior neurosurgery faculty to guide trainees through research design, manuscript preparation, and publication.
• Neurocamp Immersive neurosurgery skills training camps that provide trainees with hands-on exposure to neurosurgical procedures and techniques.
• Suturing Missions Mission trips delivering surgical care and technical skills training (including suturing) to underserved communities and local clinical partners.
• Lecture Series Educational lecture programming delivered through the chapter network, providing core neurosurgery content and exposure to medical students and residents.
• Scholarships Financial scholarships supporting medical students and trainees to participate in neurosurgery education, training, and research experiences through Mission:BRAIN programs.
• Mission Trips International mission trips that deliver neurosurgical care, training, and capacity-building support to underserved regions around the world.
• MB:Pathways A pathways program guiding participants through structured educational, mentorship, and clinical experiences in neurosurgery.
• Mission Metaverse University (MBMU) Online educational platform extending the organization's neurosurgery training programs to a global audience beyond in-person chapters and missions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 130 chapters in 27 countries
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FUNEDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMexican foundation partnering with Beckmann Foundation and Mission:BRAIN to administer the Juan Beckmann Vidal Scholarship program for Mexican neurosurgeons.
• CNS FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCongress of Neurological Surgeons Foundation partnering with WINS and Mission:BRAIN to provide scholarships for female neurosurgeons for observerships and research in the US.
• Women in Neurosurgery (WINS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWINS partners with Mission:BRAIN and CNS Foundation to empower women in neurosurgery through scholarships, mentorship, and leadership development.
• UpSurgeOnminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical simulation company that donated 10 surgical simulators to support the Suturing Mission program at Humanitas University and enabled international expansion of the program.
• Harvard Innovation LabscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosted the 2024 Hackathon virtually, providing innovation lab space and resources for the global neurosurgery hackathon event.
• World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal neurosurgery organization with which Mission:BRAIN collaborates on global neurosurgery initiatives and the Twinning Program.
• Hospital Civil de GuadalajaracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner hospital in Mexico where Mission:BRAIN conducts surgical missions and training, performing complex neurosurgical procedures.
• Hospital Puerta de HierrocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState-of-the-art private hospital in Guadalajara partnering with Mission:BRAIN for surgical missions and neurosurgical training.
• Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía (INNN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMexico City institution where Mission:BRAIN conducts research collaborations and surgical training programs in neuro-oncology.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Partners In Health: Global health nonprofit that delivers direct medical care and trains local clinicians in resource-poor settings. Comparable long-term capacity-building model and university-hospital partnership approach.
• G4 Alliance: Coalition advancing access to safe surgical, obstetric, trauma, and anesthesia care globally. Mission:BRAIN operates in adjacent advocacy and capacity-building space for the surgical workforce crisis.
• Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders: The dominant global medical humanitarian organization, operating surgical missions and capacity-building programs in many of the same LMICs as Mission:BRAIN. A broad incumbent with overlapping mission-trip model and donor base.

Direct peers

• Global Surgery Foundation: Focused on expanding access to safe, affordable surgical care worldwide — including neurosurgical capacity building in LMICs. Highly comparable mission and operating model to Mission:BRAIN's Treat-Educate-Empower framework.
• ReSurge International: Reconstructive surgery nonprofit providing care and surgical training in LMICs. Shares Mission:BRAIN's model of combining direct surgical service with trainee education and scholarship pipelines.
• Smile Train: Specialty surgical nonprofit focused on cleft lip/palate in LMICs, using a 'teach a man to fish' model of training local surgeons. Comparable approach to Mission:BRAIN's local capacity-building philosophy.
• Mercy Ships: Operates hospital ships delivering free surgical care and training local healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa. Highly comparable model combining surgical mission delivery with local surgeon training.
• Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery (FIENS): Nonprofit focused specifically on advancing neurosurgical education and training in low-resource settings. Closest niche-overlap peer to Mission:BRAIN's neurosurgery-specific training and scholarship mission.
• Operation Smile: Volunteer-driven surgical nonprofit providing cleft surgery in developing countries. Comparable mission-trip delivery model, volunteer-medical-professional base, and scholarship/training programs.
• World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies: Global neurosurgery professional society and Mission:BRAIN's named Twinning Program partner. Operates the worldwide network of national neurosurgical societies and runs the global initiatives that Mission:BRAIN participates in, making it the closest direct peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutu.be/rRfFs_y2t8s
• Facebookfacebook.com/missionbrainorg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mission-brain-foundation
• Xx.com/missionbrainorg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Mission:BRAIN