Led by the Little Orange Fish, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to furthering community mental health, The Inner Defense Initiative is a collaborative effort with iXpressGenes Inc., Paragon Research Corporation, University of Alabama Huntsville and passionate individual contributors from our community. Our efforts build on early-stage research indicating a direct connection between an individual’s immune system and their resilience to psychological trauma. Our small impassioned research group here in Huntsville, Alabama has found a connection between specific blood-based biomarkers and the psychological symptoms in those who suffer from PTSD. This is a novel approach to understanding PTSD, and with so many suffering from the effects of trauma, the impact of developing this research could be life-changing for all who suffer from the effects of trauma.